Eys radar post

From the plateau on the Eyserbosweg, you can see about 50 km into Germany and, on a clear day, see the foothills of the Eifel. The Eyserbos overlooked one of the bloodiest battlefields in Western Europe from early October 1944 to early February 1945. During the Battle of the Hürtgenwald, the Americans lost an estimated 60,000 men, while the Germans lost around 15,000 men.

The strategically located Hürtgenwald played a crucial role in the liberation of Europe. The Germans defended the forest area, which was difficult to penetrate, with deadly determination, as its location made it the last natural obstacle before the Ruhr region, the heart of the German war industry. There were also several large reservoirs with which they could control the water level in the river Ruhr.

Not only did the radar post in Eys coordinate the air raids on cities like Cologne and Berlin, it also played an important role during the Ardennes offensive in December 1944. The surrounded American troops in Bastogne had to be resupplied from the air and the Eysder radar allowed for German fighter jets to be intercepted in time.

Until the beginning of January 1945, the last aircraft of the virtually paralysed Luftwaffe succeeded in attacking the radar post in South Limburg several times and the American anti-aircraft artillery had to intervene. After the failure of the Ardennes offensive in mid-January, the German resistance had crumbled and the road to Berlin was open.