Flood Tide May 10th, 1940 The German invasion of Belgium started off without a hitch. Crucial to the success of the invasion, was the capture of various bridges. The 3rd Panzer Divsion was assigned the mission to secure 2 bridges on the Diel Canal. Detirmined to hold the Germans off, were the garrison of the Diel sector. The ensuing battle proved to be a long and bitter one for the Germans, as they had little room to move around and the Belgians were well dug in.