 Again the fortifications could not hold the Germans.The "position fortifiée de Liège" (PFL) was divided into the modern defensive line, anchored on the Albert Canal by Fort Eben-Emael and extending to the south through a planned five additional forts, designated PFL I, and the ring of forts around Liège itself.Liège commanded crucial road and rail crossings of the Meuse, and remained as strategically important in the 1930s as in 1914.