Maginot Line

Maginot Line, defensive fortification built on France’s eastern frontier with Germany during the 1930s. It was named after French minister of war André Maginot. In 1914, at the start of World War I, Germany had invaded France from the northeast. Throughout the 1920s Maginot pressed for a defensive barrier to be built against Germany, and his concept was finally realized in the 1930s. The purpose of the Maginot Line was to deter a future German invasion, but its failure to do so during World War II (1939-1945) made it a symbol of a costly strategic blunder and of misguided military optimism.

With the lessons learned from World War I, France determined to build a deep line of defense against invasion. The Maginot Line stretched 720 km (450 mi) from the Swiss to the Belgian borders. Every few miles along the defense line were massive and heavily reinforced concrete fortresses, largely underground, which contained hospitals, troop quarters, and command posts. Heavy guns in turrets (gun towers) were designed for operation by troops underground, with instructions from observers in heavily reinforced chambers. The fortresses were interconnected by a continuous series of tunnels at seven different levels to a depth of 40 m (140 ft). An electric railroad in the tunnels transported troops and supplies and connected all points along the line of defense.

Smaller reinforced pillboxes (gun shelters) were installed in front of the defense line. The pillboxes contained machine guns, antitank weapons, and light artillery pieces. The placement of the pillboxes was intended to provide a band of continuous, mutually supporting firepower. The cost of the Maginot Line was enormous.

In building the Maginot Line, the French military prepared for a defensive war, much like World War I, in which armies fought from prepared positions. It was unprepared for the Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), or war of mobility, that Germany launched with its Panzer (tank) divisions and aerial bombing.

The Maginot Line also relied on natural obstacles, including the Ardennes in northeastern France and southeastern Belgium. The French believed that this thickly forested, mountainous area was impassable. In this they were mistaken. The German army outflanked the Maginot Line and entered France through the Ardennes from Belgium. France surrendered after little more than a month.