Have you ever wondered what those strange poles along the Scheldt’s banks are? They’re only visible at low tide on the right bank, a little way upstream from Fort Sint-Filips. Hard to believe, but they date back to the First World War!
The 'Gneisenau', a German passenger liner with room for over 2,000 passengers, made regular voyages from Europe to the Far East and Australia. On August 4, 1914, when the German army invaded Belgium, the SMS Gneisenau was in Antwerp. The Belgian army moved swiftly to seize the huge ship, transforming it into a hospital ship.
Once it was clear the German offensive couldn’t be halted, the Belgian army pulled out of Antwerp. As an attempt to seal off the Scheldt from the advancing German forces, the Gneisenau was deliberately sunk in the river's channel. The plan faltered amid the chaos of the retreat, and the ship was stranded on the bank, serving only as a hindrance.
Despite the ongoing war, the German army brought the Gneisenau back afloat. This was achieved by anchoring a series of poles along the shore, which they used to right the capsized vessel. The tides assisted them in this process. With each gentle rise of the tide, the ship lifted incrementally, enabling the cables to be pulled upwards to the poles. Once the ship was righted, it was refloated and towed back to Antwerp. There it lay until after the German surrender.
The Gneisenau was repaired after the war and sold to an Italian company. Subsequently, it served for several more years as a passenger liner named "Citta di Genova" before being scrapped a decade later. Today, only these poles stand as a reminder of the ship and a Belgian effort to resist an advancing occupying force.
