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They spend lots of time and money building these fortifications....only NO ONE happened to think "Hmm...This is a pretty good defense but what if someone were to, you know, GO AROUND IT? Then what?". Seems like one of the worst strategic failures in all of human history.
They spend lots of time and money building these fortifications....only NO ONE happened to think "Hmm...This is a pretty good defense but what if someone were to, you know, GO AROUND IT? Then what?". Seems like one of the worst strategic failures in all of human history.
They assumed that Hitler would honor another county's neutrality, which he didn't. That, and the fact that fixed fortifications were becoming rather obsolete with the development of mechanized warfare, led to it's failure.
It was an obstacle, the plan was to force the Germans to go around it. Only the French Army should have been ready in Belgium to cut off the flanking maneuver.
They assumed that Hitler would honor another county's neutrality, which he didn't. That, and the fact that fixed fortifications were becoming rather obsolete with the development of mechanized warfare, led to it's failure.
Don't you think it's a little naive to expect a mad man to honor any agreement, especially one with his kinds of views? Seems like if they had been smart they would have at least prepared for it.
Don't you think it's a little naive to expect a mad man to honor any agreement, especially one with his kinds of views? Seems like if they had been smart they would have at least prepared for it.
They did prepare against it. Only the cost was so high to build the obstacle that too many resources were assigned to maintain it.
Allies did expect Hitler to outflank it and they did go into Belgium.
The true problem was that Germans passed where tanks weren't supposed to be able to pass, i.e. through Ardennes.
if you read enough history of the period after WWI the you realize a lot of ball dropping was done as usual. The whole bombers will always get thru; to wars can be won by air power; to precision bombing ;to the belief by japan and others that in naval war will end decisive battle between Battle Ships. Even look at Germanys aircraft; their planning didn't go beyond French coast as that was thought of as having won the war. Perhaps one of outstanding that he had to fight for was Air Marshall Dowding's radar air attack warning system.
Then again, if Hitler was so smart he wouldn't have found himself caught in a two front War with the British Empire on one side and the Russians on the other.
Wars, it seems, are a series of calculated risks---that are called "Blunders" when they fail, and "Brilliant Strategy" when they work.
I believe the Belgians were supposed to pick up the Maginot line and extend it to the Albert Canal or Dial River? They ran out of money, though.
France didn't have enough young men in the 1930's and 40's to field an army capable of engaging Germany in the field. Too many potential fathers had been killed in WWI. Even though their army was bigger and better equiped it wasn't as good as the Germans. The country had no stomach for another war, while Germany appeared to. They (and England) lost more men in WWI than the did in WWII.
The line of forts from Belfort to Verdun had served France well in WWI so they naturally had hope it would work again.
And I don't think the potential of tanks was understood by many in 1939. Even Germany's original plan to invade France was largely an updated version of the Schliefen plan. It was only after the allies had captured this plan from an airplane crash that the tank assault through the Ardennes was considered.
The French people for the most part wanted nothing to do with a war against Germany.
It was only the alliance with Great Britian that forced them into it.
The vast majority of French would rather have lived in a Vichy north/independent south
situation - as long as they kept their property, could live ok, and the country wasn't destroyed
by war on its soil. German soldiers and French townspeople adapted well to the Vichy north
situation. They lived normally, for the most part. Nazis and French domestics went to church
together, went to shows together, in other words, they coexisted ok. It was nothing like Poland.
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