Sunday, March 6, 2011

Schoenenburg Fort Maginot Line France

Matt was put in charge of a visit of the Maginot line. And the Schoenenburg Fort was going to be one of the stop. So we decided to go and check it out. We went with Larry and Mike (and his sons). It was interesting, but a little weird! Miles of underground tunnels with rooms for divers use. Dormitories, dining room, mechanical rooms, air system purification room… First when you arrive you get to see a huge sign that say “Nobody goes through” (the humor is that, nobody came through from the East, but…. From the North yep!! They came alright!!) Anyway, here is a little history about the Maginot Line: "it 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. Generally the term describes only the defenses facing Germany, while the term Alpine Line is used for the Franco-Italian defenses.
The French established the fortification to provide time for their army to mobilize in the event of attack, allowing French forces to move into Belgium for a decisive confrontation with German forces. The success of static, defensive combat in World War I was a key influence on French thinking. The fortification system successfully dissuaded a direct attack. However, it was strategically ineffective, as the Germans did indeed invade Belgium, defeated the French army, flanked the Maginot Line, and proceeded relatively unobstructed.
Military experts extolled the Maginot Line as a work of genius, believing it would prevent any further invasions from the east (notably, from Germany). However, the German army in World War II largely bypassed the Maginot Line by invading through the Ardennes forest and via the Low Countries, completely sweeping by the Line and conquering France in days. As such, the Maginot Line has come to mean a strategy or object that people put hope into but fails miserably. It is also the best known symbol of the adage that
"generals always fight the last war, especially if they have won it".
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