![]() ![]() The fact that it was never attacked proves it to have worked perfectly. Fort Monroe, for instance, was never a fortress, despite popular usage when I trained there as a 16-year-old artilleryman. It means a populated area ringed by forts - such as both Washington and Richmond during the Civil War, or Paris during the War of 1870. Incidentally, "fortress" is another abused word. Their failure was not the fault of the ancient Metz Fortress, which the French had incorporated into the Maginot line. On my unit's flank, in 1944, George Patton's infantry got a bloody nose at Metz, held up long enough so that the vastly outnumbered Germans could concentrate for their counterstroke through the Ardennes. What the plan neglected were the superior tactical skills, organization, leadership and morale of the German Army. Between outstanding architectures and the technical structures complexity, the Maginot lines buildings, shelters and Festen offer an incredible history. ![]() Army pickets were so arranged that the enemy approach could be blocked at multiple levels. Conceived as a defence-in-depth, it was a medley of subways, bunkers, munition hedges, soldier hideouts and shelters. The idea was to ensure that the Germans would attack through the low countries where the French Army (assisted by the British and the Belgians) - then the largest and best equipped in the world - could concentrate for a decisive battle of maneuver. The line was dotted with armoured infantry units By 1933, construction for the Maginot line was in full swing. It did precisely what it - like all permanent fortifications - was designed to do: it conserved forces by compelling the enemy to attack elsewhere under presumably less favorable conditions. The Maginot line (which I as an armored infantry captain helped to take from the rear in 1944) was a complete success in 1940. I commend Charles Krauthammer's column on metaphorical abuse of several terms, including the "Maginot line mentality" cliche'.
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