Alissandra

= The Maginot Line!! = = = = The Maginot Line was a series of defensive fortifications built by the French after WWI to guard against invasion by Germany or Italy. It is considered by many to be one of the great military mistakes of all time, since the Maginot Line ultimately made little difference in WWII, and was fairly easily bypassed by the Germans, who conquered France by 1942. The Line was named after the French Minister of Defence who proposed the idea, Andre Maginot.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 aproportional drop in firepower.The forts were solid builduings, capable of withstanding heavy fire. The surface areas were protected by steel reinforced concrete, which was up to 3.5 meters thick, a depth capable of withstanding multiple direct hits. The steel cupolas, elevating domes through which gunners could fire, were 30 - 35 centimeters deep. In total, the ouvrages numbered 58 on the eastern section and 50 on the Italian one, with most able to fire upon the two nearest positions of equal size, and everything in-between.Many people recognize the Maginot Line because of its failure.Unfortunately, the Maginot Line sections that were to protect France from invaders failed terribly. This is where France actually met its downfall. Germany had stationed a dummy army outside the strongest part of the Maginot Line and then used ground troops to invade through Belgium. They were able to cut off the rest of the Maginot Line from within France, and cut off France’s access to its own soldiers. This forced the French to sign an armistice and allow German occupation of their country. = = = = =