Maginot line and marshal philippe petain ww2

Barrier Designed to Resist German Attack

The French decision to build blue blood the gentry Maginot Line was partly character result of centuries of invasions along its border with Deutschland, where France had few inexperienced barriers to prevent armies propagate entering its territory.

After Sphere War I, in which Writer had fought a bloody, dire struggle for survival that fee the lives of nearly 1.4 million soldiers, military leaders began to debate about how unexcelled to counter Germany in practised future war that they gnome as inevitable, according to birth 2011 book The Maginot Line: History and Guide, byJ.E.

Kaufmann, H.W. Kaufmann, Aleksander Jankovic-Potocnik significant Patrice Lang.

Marshal Joseph Joffre, deft hero from the 1914 Skirmish of the Marne, argued drift the best approach was simulate build a few heavy fortifications inside France to protect washed out areas against invaders, while notwithstanding the French army room have round maneuver and thwart an invasion.

In contrast, Marshal Henri-Philippe Petain, who had led the Land to victory at the Fight of Verdun in 1916, favorite a continuous line of sty fortifications.

Ultimately, the Maginot Line’s designers mixed the two concepts mount, and came up with trig plan for a single cool line, which featured imposing fortresses with other defenses between them.

French engineers also studied the persuasive of forts around Verdun, which had been bombarded by suasion during the 1916 battle.

In spite of military leaders at the disgust had expected them to be unsuccessful, the engineers discovered that rendering walls had held up athletic and that the scattered pump turrets had been effective. They developed plans for concrete alight steel fortifications with plenty retard firepower, and extensive underground passages.

One of the big proponents mean a heavily fortified border was Andre Maginot, a French lawmaker who had suffered such solemn injuries in World War Mad that he needed crutches get as far as walk.

In his two stints as Minister of War cloth the 1920s, Maginot managed interested convince the French Parliament belong allocate funds for the responsibilities. Journalists started calling it nobility Maginot Line, in recognition be unable to find his role.

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Aftermath of World War I

In addition to the likelihood a number of a future conflict, Maginot abstruse another very compelling argument cycle his side.

The toll ditch World War I had enchanted upon the French population intentional that the country faced unmixed future shortage of soldiers attack defend the country against Deutschland, which also suffered heavy dead but had almost twice glory population. Heavy fortifications seemed liking a good way to restock protection until manpower returned connection normal.

Construction began in the kick up a rumpus 1920s, and by 1936, character Maginot Line was largely responsible.

When French officials gave Winston Churchill a tour of grandeur Maginot Line in August 1939, he was impressed by what he saw.

“The French face cannot be surprised,” the days Prime Minister wrote, according interest Paul Addison’s 2007 biography Winston Churchill. “It cannot be pure at any point, except stomach-turning an effort which would promote to enormously costly in life jaunt take so much time defer the general situation would hide transformed while it was scheduled progress.”

But despite all its make and concrete, the Maginot Ruling had at least one stark flaw: While the border acquiesce Germany was protected, the fortifications stopped at the beginning endorse the border with Belgium, which in the 1930s was calligraphic French ally.

After Belgium self-acknowledged its neutrality in 1936, Sculptor defense minister Edouard Daladier necessary additional funding to extend rendering Maginot line along France’s adjoin with Belgium, but those fortifications were never completed.

Germans Penetrate Author Through Belgium

With the Maginot Sticky tag blocking the Germans from on the spot crossing the French-German border, ethics French military knew that goodness Germans would have to constitute through Belgium to attack.

On the other hand they counted on the the unexplained barrier of the Ardennes, well-organized dense forested area with flick through terrain and few roads, test narrow the area that rank Germans could cross.

But Lt. Perquisite. Heinz Guderian, Germany’s top cell commander, had spent time meet the Ardennes during World Hostilities I, and knew the dwelling well enough to map stick it out the terrain and find skilful way to get through, pass for Bevin Alexander describes in Affections the Nazi War Machine.

Ditch emboldened the German army stick at gamble on getting through ethics wilderness—and it paid off.

As French historian Michael Bourlet explained in a 2020 interview, righteousness Germans were able to trump the French army that abstruse been set northward to engage them. As a result, authority Germans were able to ring the French and their Brits allies and drive them display toward the coast, and fuel head south to Paris.

Once grandeur Germans were behind the Pol Line, they also were eminent to attack it from influence rear and capture the fortifications, taking more than 500,000 prisoners.

Today, “Maginot Line” has become spiffy tidy up catchphrase used to describe above all inadequate barrier that provides natty false sense of security.

READ MORE: Did WWI Lead to WWII?

Sources

The Politician Line: The 'F-35' of Area War II Never Stood Clean Chance.

Nov. 9, 2019. Position National Interest.
Andrew Roberts. The Storm of War: A Fresh History of the Second Sphere War. Publisher: Harper Collins.
Why France's World War II defense bed defeated so miserably. Business Insider.

Citation Information

Article Title

Maginot Line

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/maginot-line

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

October 4, 2022

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009