Fort d ' Évegnée The Fort d ' Évegnée is one of twelve forts built as part of the fortifications of Liège in the late 19th century in Belgium . It was built between 1881 and 1884 according to the plans of General Henri Alexis Brialmont . Contrasting with the French forts built in the same era by Raymond Adolphe Séré de Rivières , the fort was built exclusively of unreinforced concrete , a new material , rather than masonry . The fort was heavily bombarded by German artillery in the Battle of Liège in World War I and again at the opening of World War II . It is presently an industrial site , used for the storage and testing of rocket propellant . Description . The Fort d ' Évegnée is located about east of the center of Liège near the community of Évegnée - Tignée . With the Fort de Fléron , Évignée protects the Hesbaye plain and rail access from the direction of Aachen , as well as the Hervé road . The fort forms an isosceles triangle whose base is long and whose sides measure . A deep by ditch encircles the fort . The principal armament was concentrated in the central massif . The ditches were defended in enfilade by 57mm guns in casemates resembling counterscarp batteries , firing at shot traps at the other end of the ditch . It is one of the smaller forts of Liège . With the exception of the Fort de Loncin , the Belgian forts made little provision for the daily needs of their wartime garrisons , locating latrines , showers , kitchens and the morgue in the fort ' s counterscarp , a location that would be untenable in combat . This would have profound effects on the forts ' ability to endure a long assault . The service areas were placed directly opposite the barracks , which opened into the ditch in the rear of the fort ( i . e . , in the face towards Liège ) , with lesser protection than the two " salient " sides . The Brialmont forts placed a weaker side to the rear to allow for recapture by Belgian forces from the rear , and located the barracks and support facilities on this side , using the rear ditch for light and ventilation of living spaces . In combat heavy shellfire made the rear ditch untenable , and German forces were able to get between the forts and attack them from the rear . The Brialmont forts were designed to be protected from shellfire equaling their heaviest guns : 21 cm . The top of the central massif used of unreinforced concrete , while the caserne walls , judged to be less exposed , used . Under fire , the forts were damaged by 21 cm fire and could not withstand heavier artillery . Armament . Évegnée ' s armament included a Grüsonwerke turret with a single 21 cm Krupp gun , a15cm Creusot turret with twin guns and two 12 cm Châtillon - Commentry turrets with two Krupp guns , all for distant targets . Four Grüsonwerke 57mm gun turrets were provided for local defense . The fort also mounted an observation turret with a searchlight . Nine rapid - fire 57mm guns were provided in casemates for the defense of the ditches and the postern . The fort ' s heavy guns were German , typically Krupp , while the turret mechanisms were from a variety of sources . The fort was provided with signal lights to permit communication with the neighboring Fort de Barchon and Fort de Fléron . The guns were fired using black powder rather than smokeless powder , producing choking gas in the confined firing spaces that spread throughout the fort . First World War . Liège first came under attack on 5 August 1914 , with the intervals around Évegnée the scene of some of the heaviest fighting . When the Liège ' s fortifications proved unexpectedly stubborn , the Germans brought heavy siege artillery to bombard the forts with shells far larger than they were designed to resist . Évegnée was one of the first targets . It was heavily bombarded starting 10 August , continuing until 0450 hours on 11 August . The fort surrendered at 1530 , having lost its ability to resist . Occupying the fort during the remainder of the war , Germans made a number of improvements to the fort in 1914 and 1915 . Fortified Position of Liège . Évegnée ' s armament was upgraded in the 1930s to become part of the Fortified Position of Liège II , which was planned to deter a German incursion over the nearby border . The armament was upgraded with new guns in the turrets and an anti - aircraft battery . This was accompanied by improvements to ventilation , protection , sanitary facilities , communications and electrical power . An infantry shelter with an automatic rifle cloche was built at this time , as well as a remote air intake tower some distance away from fort , linked to the fort by an underground tunnel . The air intake survives , and is in particularly good condition . Second World War . Évegnée was attacked by German forces starting 16 May 1940 , holding out until it surrendered on 19 May . Present . Évegnée is owned and used by the Forges de Zeebrugge for storage and testing of rocket propellant , and is not accessible to the public . The fort was purchased by FZ in 1971 and was stripped of military requipment before its conversion