The Maginot Line was built to fulfil several purposes:
- To prevent a German surprise attack.
- To deter a cross-border assault. ...
- To protect Alsace and Lorraine (returned to France in 1918) and their industrial basin. ...
- To save manpower (France counted 39 million inhabitants, Germany 70 million)
- To cover the mobilisation of the French Army [6] (which took between two and three weeks)
What is the Maginot Line in WW2?
Maginot Line. The Maginot Line (French: Ligne Maginot, IPA: [liɲ maʒino]), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
What benefit did the Maginot Line provide to the French?
The Maginot Line provided absolutely no benefit to the French. The Maginot Line is still used by the French army today. Maginot's experiences during WWI led to his support for the line. The French were betrayed by the Belgians during World War II.
Why was the Maginot Line a failure?
The historian Clayton Donnell commented, "If one believes the Maginot Line was built for the primary purpose of stopping a German invasion of France, most will consider it a massive failure and a waste of money... in reality, the line was not built to be the ultimate savior of France".
What was the Maginot Line made of?
The Maginot Line was fortified with reinforced concrete and 55 million tons of steel embedded deep into the earth. It was designed to withstand heavy artillery fire, poison gas and whatever else the Germans could throw up against it.
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What was the purpose of the Maginot Line quizlet?
Placed severe restrictions of Jews, prohibited from marrying non- Jews, attending schools or universities, holding government jobs, practicing law or medicine or publishing books.
What was the Maginot Line and why did it fail?
The Maginot Line was a vast fortification that spread along the French/German border but became a military liability when the Germans attacked France in the spring of 1940 using blitzkrieg – a tactic that completely emasculated the Maginot Line's purpose.
Was the Maginot Line effective?
For what the French planned and wanted, the Maginot line was a cost-effective way to achieve that. The whole Maginot line costed about 5 billion francs 1930-1939, or about 2% of the French military budget for those years. The French would not have gotten more tanks or better reservist training out of those money.
What went wrong with the Maginot Line?
The Maginot Line was impervious to most forms of attack. In consequence, the Germans invaded through the Low Countries in 1940, passing it to the north....Maginot LineMaterialsConcrete, steel, ironBattles/warsWorld War II Battle of France (1940) Operation Nordwind (1945)13 more rows
Why did France not extend the Maginot Line?
The French didn't extend the Maginot Line along the Belgian Border because A) the water table is high in Flanders, and the soil is soft, which would have made constructing defences difficult; B) the French didn't want to give the impression that they would abandon the Belgians; and C) the French were spending money on ...
What lesson can readers learn from Maginot Line?
You do not discourage tyrants by drawing lines for them to cross. You deal with them by beating the devil out of them at the first pretext. This is the lesson that the human race should have learned at the Maginot Line.
How did the French lose control of the Maginot Line?
How did the French lose control of the Maginot Line? The Germans overtook the fortresses with military power.
Is the Maginot Line still active?
The Maginot Line still exists, but is not maintained and not used for military purposes anymore.
What was the purpose of the Maginot line?
In analysing the Maginot Line, Ariel Ilan Roth summarised its main purpose: it was not "as popular myth would later have it, to make France invulnerable", rather it was constructed "to make the appeal of flanking far outweigh the appeal of attacking them head on." J.E. Kaufmann and H.W. Kaufmann added to this, that prior to construction in October 1927, the Superior Council of War adopted the final design for the line and identified that one of the main missions would be to deter a German cross-border assault with only minimal force thus allowing "the army time to mobilize." In addition, the French envisioned that the Germans would conduct a repeat of their First World War battleplan in order to flank the defences and drew up their overall strategy with that in mind. Julian Jackson highlighted one of the line's roles was to facilitate this strategy by "free [ing] manpower for offensive operations elsewhere ... and to protect the forces of manoeuvre"; the latter included a more mechanised and modernised military, which would advance into Belgium and engage the German main thrust flanking the line. In support, Roth commented that French strategy envisioned one of two possibilities by advancing into Belgium: "either there would be a decisive battle in which France might win, or, more likely, a front would develop and stabilize". The latter meant the next war's destructive consequences would not take place on French soil.
What is the Maginot line?
The Maginot Line ( French: Ligne Maginot, IPA: [liɲ maʒino] ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, as well as obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
What was the main fortification section of the Maginot line?
The principal fortified section of the Maginot Line. French planning for war with Germany was always based on the assumption that the war would be la guerre de longue durée (the war of the long duration), in which the superior economic resources of the Allies would gradually grind the Germans down.
What was the name of the line that was built in the run up to World War II?
Based on France's experience with trench warfare during World War I, the massive Maginot Line was built in the run-up to World War II, after the Locarno Conference gave rise to a fanciful and optimistic "Locarno spirit".
How deep was the maginot line?
Although the name "Maginot Line" suggests a rather thin linear fortification, it was quite deep, varying (from the German border to the rear area) from 20–25 kilometres (12–16 miles ).
What was the name of the line of concrete fortifications that France built in the 1930s?
Battle of France (1940) Operation Nordwind (1945) The Maginot Line ( French: Ligne Maginot, IPA: [liɲ maʒino] ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, as well as obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around ...
What was the Maginot line?
Built between 1930 and 1940, France 's Maginot Line was a massive system of defenses that became famous for failing to stop a German invasion. While an understanding of the Line's creation is vital to any study of World War I, World War II, and the period in between, this knowledge is also helpful when interpreting a number of modern references.
Why was the Maginot line important to France?
Discussions of the Maginot Line have to cover more than just the defenses because the project had other ramifications. It was costly and time-consuming, requiring billions of francs and a mass of raw materials; however, this expenditure was reinvested into the French economy, perhaps contributing as much as it removed. Equally, military spending and planning were focused on the Line, encouraging a defensive attitude that slowed the development of new weapons and tactics. Had the rest of Europe followed suit, the Maginot Line may have been vindicated, but countries like Germany followed very different paths, investing in tanks and planes. Commentators claim that this 'Maginot mentality' spread across the French nation as a whole, encouraging defensive, non-progressive thinking in government and elsewhere. Diplomacy also suffered—how can you ally with other nations if all you are planning to do is resist your own invasion? Ultimately, the Maginot Line probably did more to harm France than it ever did to aid it.
What was the name of the committee that Maginot and Painlevé established to build a new defense plan?
Progress was made in 1926 when Maginot and Painlevé obtained government funding for a new body, the Committee of Frontier Defense (Commission de Défense des Frontieres or CDF), to build three small experimental sections of a new defense plan, based largely on the Pétain espoused Line model. After returning to the war ministry in 1929, Maginot built ...
How many buildings were there in the Maginot line?
The Maginot Line was not a single continuous structure like the Great Wall of China or Hadrian's Wall. Instead, it was composed of over five hundred separate buildings, each arranged according to a detailed but inconsistent plan. The key units were the large forts or 'Ouvrages' which were located within 9 miles of each other; these vast bases held over 1000 troops and housed artillery. Other smaller forms of ouvrage were positioned between their larger brethren, holding either 500 or 200 men, with a proportional drop in firepower.
What was the Nazi plan to invade France?
The Nazi plan to invade France, the Sichelschnitt (cut of the sickle), involved three armies, one facing Belgium, one facing the Maginot Line, and another part-way between the two, opposite the Ardennes.
What countries built defensive lines?
France was not alone in its post-war (or, as it would later be considered, inter-war) building. Italy, Finland, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Belgium, and the USSR all built or improved defensive lines, although these varied hugely in their nature and design. When placed in the context of Western Europe's defensive development, the Maginot Line was a logical continuation, a planned distillation of everything people believed they had learned so far. Maginot, Pétain, and others thought they were learning from the recent past, and using state of the art engineering to create an ideal shield from attack. It is, therefore, perhaps unfortunate that warfare developed in a different direction.
What was the purpose of the Treaty of Versailles?
This dilemma grew in importance after the Treaty of Versailles, the famous document of 1919 that was supposed to prevent further conflict by crippling and punishing the defeated countries, but whose nature and severity is now recognized as having partly caused the Second World War.
What was the purpose of the Maginot Line?
The system is named after French Defense Minister André Maginot. The main purpose of the defense system was to deter German invasion. The individual bunkers of the Maginot Line were more than ordinary military bases.
What is the Maginot line?
The term “Maginot Line” is often associated with both cutting-edge military technology and one of the most serious misplanning incidents in the history of war. The French built a defense system consisting of a line of bunkers along the French border with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and Italy that was built between 1930 and 1940. ...
What was the Maginot line meant to do?
"The Maginot Line was meant to stop a World War I-style attack of infantry and artillery, and it did what it was supposed to do," says Kirchubel, who's written multiple books on World War II military campaigns.
What did the Nazis do to the Maginot line?
The Nazis knew that the heart of the Maginot Line was nearly impenetrable, so they feinted attacks along the heavily fortified border while they planned for their massive 1940 invasion of France through the Netherlands and Belgium.
How many troops did the Maginot line hold?
The last line of defense was the Maginot Line's massive ouvrages, each large enough to hold 500 to 1,000 permanent troops. These colossal concrete "works" packed heavy firepower and were connected to nearby stations by underground rail lines to shuttle men, weapons and supplies.
How deep was the Maginot line?
The Germany-facing section of the Maginot Line presented a string of obstacles, traps and artillery forts that ran 16 miles (25 kilometers) deep in places. An advancing German army would first be spotted by camouflaged observation points hugging the German border.
How long did it take to build the Maginot line?
The Maginot Line took 10 years to build, starting in 1929. By the eve of WWII, the French had constructed a string of fortifications stretching from the Swiss Alps to the English Channel, but the heaviest defenses were along the 280-mile (450-kilometer) border with Germany.
Why did Louis XIV build the citadels?
In the 17th century, from his luxurious palace at Versailles, Louis XIV oversaw the construction of citadels and fortresses meant to mark and protect the Sun King's territory.
Why were heavy fortifications built?
The heavy fortifications were designed to block the most direct line of attack into France and avoid repeating what happened in WWI, when the German forces occupied large swaths of the strategically important Alsace-Lorraine region . "Maginot and these other guys weren't dumb," says Kirchubel.
Geography of the Maginot Line
Andre Maginot, Minister of War between 1922 and 1924, mobilised a strong body of support behind the proposal by emphasising that the Line would impede any German attack long enough to fully mobilise the French army, fighting would be restricted to line (therefore minimising damage in France) and the Ardennes would act as a natural extension of the Line..
Did the Maginot Line fail?
Despite the fact that, today, the Maginot Line is often regarded as almost comical in its insufficiency, some historians have debated that the Maginot Line was not rendered as superfluous as it may initially seem.
Overview
History
The defences were first proposed by Marshal Joseph Joffre. He was opposed by modernists such as Paul Reynaud and Charles de Gaulle, who favoured investment in armour and aircraft. Joffre had support from Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain, and there were a number of reports and commissions organised by the government. It was André Maginot who finally convinced the governmen…
Purposes
The Maginot Line was built to fulfil several purposes:
• To prevent a German surprise attack.
• To deter a cross-border assault.
• To protect Alsace and Lorraine (returned to France in 1918) and their industrial basin.
Manning
Maginot Line fortifications were manned by specialist units of fortress infantry, artillery and engineers. The infantry manned the lighter weapons of the fortresses, and formed units with the mission of operating outside if necessary. Artillery troops operated the heavy guns and the engineers were responsible for maintaining and operating other specialist equipment, including all communications systems. All these troops wore distinctive uniform insignia and considered the…
Organisation
Although the name "Maginot Line" suggests a rather thin linear fortification, it was quite deep, varying (from the German border to the rear area) from 20–25 kilometres (12–16 miles). It was composed of an intricate system of strong points, fortifications and military facilities such as border guard posts, communications centres, infantry shelters, barricades, artillery, machine-gun a…
Inventory
There are 142 ouvrages, 352 casemates, 78 shelters, 17 observatories and around 5,000 blockhouses in the Maginot Line.
There are several kinds of armoured cloches. Cloches are non-retractable turrets. The word cloche is a French term meaning bell due to its shape. All cloches were made of alloy steel.
• The most widespread are the GFM cloches, where GFM means Guetteur fusil-mitrailleur (machi…
Postwar assessment
In analysing the Maginot Line, Ariel Ilan Roth summarised its main purpose: it was not "as popular myth would later have it, to make France invulnerable", but it was constructed "to make the appeal of flanking far outweigh the appeal of attacking them head on". J.E. Kaufmann and H.W. Kaufmann added that prior to construction in October 1927, the Superior Council of War adopted the final de…
Cultural impact
The term "Maginot Line" has become a part of the English language: "America's Maginot Line" was the title used for an Atlantic Magazine article about America's military bases in Asia. The article portrayed vulnerability by showing a rocket being transported through a marshy area atop an ox. New York Times headlined "Maginot Line in the Sky" in 2000 and "A New Maginot Line" in 2001. It was also frequently referenced in wartime films, notably Thunder Rock, The Major and the Minor (…
The Aftermath of World War I
The Question of National Defense
The 'Lesson' of Verdun
The Two Schools of Defense
André Maginot Takes The Lead
How The Maginot Line Was Supposed to Work
- The planned line had two purposes. It would halt an invasion long enough for the French to fully mobilize their own army, and then act as a solid base from which to repel the attack. Any battles would thus occur on the fringes of French territory, preventing internal damage and occupation. The Line would run along both the Franco-German and Franco-...
Funding and Organization
Problems During Construction
The Fortress Troops
Debate Over Costs