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…and some trust in horses. But the writer of that statement continued on, suggesting there were much more reliable things on which one could depend. It’s safe to say that we often misplace our trust and end up disappointed. The French did so in the 1930′s and, on this day in 1940, experienced a disastrous result.
In 1930, France began building a line of fortifications along their border with Germany. Called the Maginot Line (named for Defense Minister Andre Maginot), it was a layered complex of pillboxes, ammunition caches, rail lines, artillery pieces and mortars, and even living quarters. Designed as a “force multiplier”, its goal was to allow a relatively small number of French troops to thwart a direct German attack from a vastly larger enemy.
The French invested billions of francs and more than six years of hard labor into the Maginot Line. And in the end, they created a barrier that the Germans would not attack…but instead would simply drive around and trap from the rear.
The Germans placed an army (Army Group C) near the French/German border that tied down a bunch of French forces at the Maginot Line. And early in the morning of May 10, 1940, the Germans attacked…into Holland with Army Group A. Army Group B headed into Belgium and Luxembourg toward the supposedly impenetrable Ardennes Forest. The massive German machine, measuring over 130 divisions in total, swept into the Low Countries, overwhelming the opposing military forces.
The Maginot Line was technically successful in its goal (it did prevent a direct German attack). But the German tactic of bypassing it and surrounding it, coupled with the rapid fall of France, turned the huge investment into little more than an example of how badly one could be let down.
Recommended Reading: The Times Atlas of the Second World War - The giant book has it all. So many times great books lack good maps. This is the “force multiplier” for reading. If you spend any time with World War II, this book is essential…and now kind of hard to find.
