李三万
Abstract: During World War II, France built a famous Maginot line on the border with Germany. But under the German blitz attack, it basically didn't work. So the Maginot Line is really useless, is it a display?
[Headline number first issue]
During World War II, France built a famous Maginot Line on the border with Germany. But under the German blitz attack, it basically didn't work. So the Maginot Line is really useless, is it a display?
From military perspective alone, the Maginot Line is very useful. At least it forced the Germans to abandon the frontal attack and had to bypass the low countries in the north to attack. This is very worthwhile. The problem with the Maginot Line is that it itself did not completely close the French border. The northern section could not be built like the southern section directly facing the German border. The Dutch were reluctant. The Belgians opposed it directly and continued to fight until the war began. , The northern section has not been repaired.
But the French did not abandon the northern section. Instead, they used the troops saved from the southern section to strengthen the northern section. It was also very good, so the defeat of France has nothing to do with the Maginot Line itself. .
Before the war, the French were not fools. Basically, you don’t have to worry about the completed defense line in the south. They concentrate on the area where the defense line is not built in the north, and prepare to fight here. The Belgium direction is not conducive to the big The mountains where the forces were assembled for attack, that is, the Ardennes, if the Germans go from this direction, the artillery would be a big problem, given the mobility of the artillery at that time. So even if there is a German army here, France has enough time to react and deploy troops. Therefore, the main force of the coalition forces between the French and the British ally is concentrated in the Netherlands, which is most suitable for the German attack.
When the war started, the Germans came from the Ardennes, but they did not bring artillery at all. Instead, they used new armored assault tactics and used tanks to rush out of the Ardennes area. The direct assault passed the Maas River. What’s even more embarrassing is that the Anglo-French allied forces deployed in the Netherlands failed to withstand the German attack. They retreated and retreated all the way to Dunkirk...
If the French were before the war, they could be The eastern border completes the complete Maginot line of defense. At the beginning of the war, Germany, which relied on the tanks I and II, would have nothing to do with France.
The Maginot Line can be called the French version of the "Great Wall". France envisions that such a reinforced concrete line can save national defense expenses, deter the German army, prevent the German army from launching a surprise attack, provide the French army with several weeks of mobilization time, and force The Germans bypassed Belgium or Switzerland to avoid war in France. In actual combat, a large number of mechanized German troops blitzed Belgium, and after crossing the Ardennes area, they bypassed the Aquino Line and went straight to Paris.
War is a cruel struggle where you are my life. The French spend a lot of manpower and material resources to preserve their vitality with the help of fortifications. Don’t you see that in the 2003 Iraq War, the first task of the U.S. military, which had an absolute advantage in all aspects, was to dig fortifications. Many trenches were tall and large. But fortifications are only the basis, and there are more important military response capabilities.
The Maginot Line was named after the French Minister of War André Magino. Construction began in 1929 and was gradually completed in 1940. The cost is as high as 5 billion francs. It is mainly composed of concrete fortresses, barriers and defensive weapons. The entire main body of the defense stretched for hundreds of kilometers, and the entire project was very costly. At that time, only the French-German border was built. The French envisioned that the Maginot Line could withstand bombardment by a variety of weapons, while inside it was equipped with a variety of weapons, power generation equipment, field hospitals, kitchens, etc.
Just as the French expected the Maginot Line to withstand the German frontal attack, the Germans acted the other way. They lured the British and French forces to support the Netherlands, and the main force attacked the Ardennes. After crossing the Maas River, they directly sent the British and French troops. Forced to Dunkirk. If it were not for the success of the final retreat, it is conceivable that the power of the Normandy landing would be much weaker.
During the First World War, French participants suffered a lot of casualties. The Maginot Line was built to defend against opponents strategically. France was mainly used to defend the dotted battlefield. Therefore, the defense force must be strengthened. The Secretary of the Army Magino proposed to build an epidemic prevention company on the northeastern border of France. Finally, his proposal was approved and named after him.
From December 1929, Maginot proposed to build the defense line until it was completely completed in 1936. Later in 1937, at the northernmost part of the Maginot defense line, along the border between France and Belgium, the Da The Raday Line, this line of defense extended to the edge of the North Sea, and the Maginot Line was subsequently reinforced. The entire project was still under construction until the Germans attacked France.
The Maginot Line, which is 390 kilometers long, connects 5 places from the Metz Fortress and the Saar area to the Belfort Fortress. The Maginot Line consists of a defense zone with a depth of 6 to 8 kilometers. It consists of a 4-14 km guarantee zone. and. Ground and underground fortifications were built, as well as machine gun and artillery fortifications composed of armor and reinforced concrete.
And there are also equipment and rooms for command, rest, storage of ammunition, ambulance, ambulance, ventilation, etc. underground. In addition, tanks have been dug, and a lot of landmines have been buried. , Also pulled up the energized barbed wire. In order to prevent the poisonous gas attack encountered during the First World War, ventilation filtering equipment was also installed.
For such a powerful Maginot Line, if the Germans hadn’t bypassed this line, or the line of defense between Belgium and the English Channel had not been built, and most importantly, the Maginot Line was there. The border between France and Germany has only been repaired for more than 150 kilometers, from the keel to the Belgian border, which is not built, and this section of the unbuilt area is about the same length as the Maginot Line.
Facts have proved that the Maginot Line is not useless, at least from the front, it is not easy to break through the Maginot Line. There is artillery and machine gun fire cover, German vehicles and soldiers. It is very difficult to enter the range. Once in, it will only be eliminated. Facts have proved that the Germans really bypassed the Maginot line and launched an attack.
In fact, there were still some people who thought that the Maginot line should be repaired and passed through Belgium. However, because the Belgians wanted to remain neutral at the time, they did not agree, and there were not so many in France. Money to support the construction of the extension of the Maginot Line.
