Notes
- Want Germans to be crippled
- Want reparation money
- Want a defensive position against Germany
- Build fortifications along French/German border
- Leads them into a false sense of security
Summary
Fearing another attack from Germany, the French decided to take action on a defensive front. In hopes to cripple their offences, the French built the Maginot Line, a solid line of concrete obstacles and barricades stretching along the border between France and Germany during the 1930s. This structure was essentially a wall, built to allow the French time to mobilize if they received word of an oncoming attack from Germany. The line was fully functional, containing housing and state of the art facilities for military members that were required to live in this defensive mechanism. There are 142 ouvrages, 352 casemates, 78 shelters, 17 observatories and around 5,000 blockhouses in the Maginot Line. However, this defence proved virtually useless. Believing that the Germans wouldn't be able to attack through the Ardennes forest, they did not construct anything to block this direct area of attack from the Germans. This failed, however, as the Germans proceeded to attack through this forest and would manage to conquer and take France in about six weeks.
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Political Cartoon
Quote
"We could hardly dream of building a kind of Great Wall of France, which would in any case be far too costly. Instead we have foreseen powerful but flexible means of organizing defense, based on the dual principle of taking full advantage of the terrain and establishing a continuous line of fire everywhere."
Subjunctive Question
Should France rather invested their money into a more mobile defence plan?