This Dutch bunker, concrete casemate S-54 from 1939, is the only tangible proof of the fierce fighting that took place here during the German invasion on 10 May 1940.
This three-man bunker, type 'porcupine', was part of the defense system at the bridge over the Juliana Canal. It is the last of the 45 concrete casemates that the Dutch army had built in 1939-1940 as the 'Juliana Canal Line' (part of the Maas Line) between Maastricht and Echt.
During the German attack, the crew consisted of a soldier who operated the machine gun, his assistant and a lookout who had to take care of the fan against the gunpowder fumes.
The Germans could not cross the bridge because it had been blown up by the Dutch at five o'clock in the morning, just before the Germans arrived in the village. At half past six in the morning the attack was over.
One Dutch soldier had been killed, one seriously injured and a few slightly injured. There were no losses on the German side. The bridges in Stein, Urmond and Berg were also raided at the same time by Germans in Dutch uniforms.
The Germans fired nine grenades at this bunker. All impacts hit their target and are still visible. The machine gun was disabled.
The German army then crossed the Juliana Canal, the Meuse and the Zuid-Willemsvaart and via Belgium to France. For four days, 14,000 infantrymen passed through Elsloo on foot, supplemented by 6,000 horses with carts and cannons.
The Dutch army unit that defended the bridge falls under the territorial commander of South Limburg, Colonel Govers. The German army unit that carried out the attack was the 18th infantry division part of Von Bock's army group.
On September 1, 1944, German troops withdrew here across the Maas and Juliana Canal. A number of ships were moored in the Juliana Canal at that time. They had sought shelter here.
The freighters were blown up by the Germans en passant. A ship was laid transversally to use it as a bridge. It was liberated by the American army on September 18, 1944.
After the war, the bridge of Elsloo over the Juliana Canal was not repaired, but was used to repair the bridges of Stein and Geulle. The current bridge was not built until 1963. Until then, there was a replacement ferry in the canal at the bottom of the Maasberg.
