The second article, published in 1938, states that launching a swift strategic knockout has great attractions for Germany but appears to accept that such a knockout will be very difficult to achieve by land attack under modern conditions ( especially in view of the existence of systems of fortification like the Maginot Line ) unless an exceptionally high degree of surprise is achieved.

The XV Panzer Corps attacked towards Brest, XIV Panzer Corps attacked east of Paris, towards Lyon, and Guderian's XIX Panzer Corps completed the encirclement of the Maginot Line.

The Wehrmacht bypassed the Maginot Line by marching through the Ardennes forest.

The Maginot Line (, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defenses, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I, and in the run-up to World War II.

Military experts extolled the Maginot Line as a work of genius, believing it would prevent any further invasions from the east ( notably, from Germany ).

It was strategically ineffective, as the Germans indeed invaded Belgium, defeated the French army, flanked the Maginot Line, through the Ardennes forest and via the Low countries, completely sweeping by the line and conquering France in about 6 weeks.

As such, reference to the Maginot Line is used to recall a strategy or object that people hope will prove effective but instead fails miserably.

The Maginot Line was impervious to most forms of attack, and had state-of-the-art living conditions for garrisoned troops, including air conditioning, comfortable eating areas and underground railways.

Part of the rationale for the Maginot Line stemmed from the severe French losses during the First World War, and their effects on French demographics.

In practice, France deployed about twice as many men, 36 divisions ( roughly one third of its force ), for defence of the Maginot Line in Alsace and Lorraine, whereas the opposing German Heeresgruppe C only contained 19 divisions, or less than one seventh of the total force committed in Fall Gelb.

The location of this attack, probably because of the Maginot Line, was through the Belgian Ardennes forest ( sector 4 ) which is off the map to the left of Maginot Line sector 6 ( as marked ).

The Maginot Line was built to fulfill several purposes:

Although the name " Maginot Line " suggests a rather thin linear fortification, the line was quite deep, varying in depth ( i. e., from the border to the rear area ) from between.

* Ouvrages ( 6 ): These fortresses were the most important fortifications on the Maginot Line, having the sturdiest construction and the heaviest artillery.

* Telephone Network ( 8 ): This system connected every fortification in the Maginot Line, including bunkers, infantry and artillery fortresses, observation posts, and shelters.

There are 142 ouvrages, 352 casemates, 78 shelters, 17 observatories and around blockhouses in the Maginot Line.

* The Maginot Line ( French / English / German / Italian )

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* Maginot Line at War, 1940

* Maginot Line today

The French-fortified Maginot Line and the Allied forces in Belgium were circumvented by a flanking movement through the thickly wooded Ardennes region, mistakenly perceived by French planners as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles.

The first stone was place by André Maginot, Minister of War on 29 October 1922.

Believing the central highlands were of strategic importance to the Việt Cộng or subject to a potential invasion by North Vietnam, Diệm decided to construct a Maginot Line of settlements.

As a reaction to her World War I experience, France entered World War II with a purely defensive doctrine, epitomized by the " impregnable " Maginot Line, but only to be completely circumvented by the German blitzkrieg.

German forces primarily led by Erich von Manstein carried out the plan, and managed to slip numerous divisions past the Maginot Line to attack France.

The plan, devised by Hitler, was essentially for a re-run of the invasion of 1914, with the main assault to come in the north, through Belgium and the Netherlands, then wheeling south to capture Paris, leaving the French Army anchored on the Maginot Line.

The stunning victories by the Germans early in World War II showed that fixed fortifications like the Maginot Line were worthless if there was room to circumvent them.

The obsolescence of large fortifications was displayed by the failure of the Maginot Line in the beginning of World War Two.

Schwerer Gustav was initially intended to be used for breaching the French Maginot Line of fortifications, but was not finished in time and ( as a sign of the times ) the Maginot Line was circumvented by rapid mechanized forces instead of breached in a head-on assault.

Due to the strength of the Maginot Line it was decided to avoid a direct attack and instead out flank it through the Low Countries utilizing the military doctrine of " blitzkrieg " ( Lightning war in English ) developed by Basil Liddell Hart, an English military theorist, and enhanced by Heinz Guderian, utilizing a combination of power and speed.

Unlike the French Maginot Line and other similar forts made with huge bunkers and lines of dragon's teeth, the Mannerheim Line was mostly built by utilizing the natural terrain.

Reynaud was a supporter of Charles de Gaulle's theories of mechanized warfare in contrast to the static defense doctrines that were in vogue among many of his countrymen, symbolized by the Maginot Line.

This line of military fortifications along France's Eastern border was largely designed by Painlevé, yet named for André Maginot, owing to Maginot's championing of public support and funding.

During this campaign, the French Army was responsible for the rest of the Western Front from Luxembourg to Switzerland, much of which was defended by the preprepared Maginot Line.

Fillonneau was assisted by the new management organization for the Maginot fortifications, the Commission d ' Organisation des Régions Fortifiés, or CORF.

As with the main Maginot Line of the northeast, positions took the form of concrete-encased strongpoints linked by underground tunnels, which housed living quarters, magazines and utilities for the ouvrage.

Prior to the Second World War they were incorporated by the French into the Maginot Line defenses, but again saw little action.

* Kaufmann, J. E., Kaufmann, H. W., Jancovič-Potočnik, A. and Lang, P. The Maginot Line: History and Guide, Pen and Sword, 2011.

It was André Maginot who finally convinced the government to invest in the scheme.

The Maginot Line would be the prime example of the failure of immobile, post – World War I fortifications.

Capra's description: " Hitler occupies Denmark and Norway, outflanks Maginot Line, drives British Army into North Sea, forces surrender of France.

The French began work on the Maginot line in this year, as a defense against a possible German attack, and on September 5 Briand presented a plan for the United States of Europe.

** WWII: German armies open a wide breach in the Maginot Line at Sedan, France.

* February 17 – André Maginot, French politician ( d. 1932 )

* January 7 – Andre Maginot, French soldier and politician ( b. 1877 )