Skip to main content

What was the Maginot line and why did it fail ?



   
The Maginot line, named after the French Minister of War, André Maginot, was a chain of costly fortifications built along the Franco-German border. It was built by the French in the 1930's to prevent any German attack from the east such as the devastating German offensive during WWI.
The line consisted of about 5000 blockhouses, 78 shelters , around 350 casemates and approximately  142 ouvrages ( or defensive structures). The Maginot Line was designed to ensure that the French forces had enough time to mobilize, in case of a German attack. The French believed that the Maginot line was the 'work of genius' and was almost impenetrable.
Image result for maginot line
French troops along the line

Image result for maginot line
A plan for a fortification in the Maginot Line 
                                         
Image result for maginot line
The Question then arises why did such a strong chain of fortifications fail to stop the German advance into France in 1940?
The answer is actually quite simple. The Maginot line did not extended through the Belgian-German border and onto the English channel, this gave Hitler the opportunity to take advantage of the loophole and invade France through Belgium.
Image result for hitlers advance into france
Hitlers advance in France(1940)
                                       
But why did the Maginot Line not extend through the Belgian-German border ?
This is actually because the Belgians didn't want to anger Hitler's Reich by allowing France to construct the line through Belgian territory, also Belgium chose to become neutral when the second world war started in 1939.
However, inspite of their neutrality, Hitler invaded Belgium in 1940, killing 30,000 Allied troops in the process.

                                           Image result for belgium declaring neutrality

So should Belgium not have become neutral?
Well, there is no direct answer to this, considering that the German army was much more powerful than the comparatively tiny Belgian military.
Also, it can be said that the Belgians mistrusted Britain and France considering that they previously allowed Germany to take Czechoslovakia and other territories under their policy of Appeasement.



Comments

Post a Comment

Any suggestions/thoughts are welcome

Popular posts from this blog

The Story Of Hemu: A Grocer who became the King of India

 Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, or Hemu, was born in 1501 in the Alwar province of Rajputana(now Rajasthan) in a family of Dhusar Brahmins. Soon after his birth, his family shifted to the small town of Rewari(in present-day Haryana) in search of better prospects. Being a grocer's son, he was brought up to be a shopkeeper; but, of course, Hemu wasn't any ordinary tradesman--from a relatively young age, Hemu displayed remarkable intelligence and a fiery sense of ambition. During this time, following the death of the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri (the founder of the Suri dynasty in India), his son Islam Shah Suri took over the empire. However, Islam Shah's brother Adil Khan resisted his rise to power and rebelled against the empire. In the battle that followed, Adil Khan's army was routed by Islam Shah and he had to flee for his life. Giving notice to this political development, Hemu realized that the Imperial Army chasing the rebels would soon pass through Rewari, and would sure
1 comment
Read more

The Bombay Stock Exchange: How was it formed?

Little would a stranger looking at the subtle Phiroze Jeejeebhoy tower in the old part of Bombay know that the building houses about US$2.87 trillion in public wealth! The Bombay Stock exchange is one of the most reputed and renowned stock exchanges in the world and the oldest stock exchange in Asia. It has delivered sizeable returns to the investors in its products and has directly, or indirectly, employed hundreds of thousands of people over the years.   The Story:  In the 1850s British India, five stockbrokers decided to conduct daily sale meetings under a banyan tree in front of the Bombay town hall. Over the years many people were attracted by the profitability of the business and started joining the stockbrokers' group. Due to its increasing size, the group had to constantly keep shifting venues. Stockbrokers in downtown Bombay, c.a. 1865  Finally, in 1874, the group relocated to the place presently known as Dalal (Hindi for broker) street in South Bombay. A year later, the g
4 comments
Read more

A Brief Summary of Portuguese attempts to find a Sea Route to India (1450-1609)

Background For centuries, goods from the east were brought in by Arab merchants at Constantinople (now Istanbul), where they were sold off to European traders at profitable amounts. These traders, in turn, transported the goods, mostly spices and fabrics, across Europe.  But this well-established trading cycle collapsed in 1453 when the Turks captured Constantinople and stopped the free passage of goods from the Indian subcontinent and the Far East. The Turks demanded unreasonably high taxes and didn't guarantee safety against pirates, making it very difficult for the Europeans to trade peacefully. Out of desperation, the Europeans started to look for an alternate route to India and beyond. Map of Trade Routes around Turkey, ca.1028 European Merchants (15th Century AD) The Journey begins... During the 1450s, Prince Henry, "The Navigator" of Portugal was making significant attempts to find a different route to India. He believed that going southwards along the African coa
1 comment
Read more