Political Crossfire Forums

pharaoh

I made this bet. Im like 99% sure that the maginot line was along the french and german frontiers but I saw this map on wiki that shows that the line extends to the low lands??!
So can anybody provide me with a detailed map of the maginot line JUST along the French and German frontiers?
Thanks

antonio62 · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:42 pm Post subject:

It was extended to cover the low country's after the French realised that they could be flanked. I don't believe it was ever finished completely though.

pharaoh · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:44 pm Post subject:

antonio62 wrote: It was extended to cover the low country's after the French realised that they could be flanked. I don't believe it was ever finished completely though.

Oupsy...but wasnt the purpose of the German attack on the low countries was to outflank the line?! This is really weird

thundertaker · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:47 pm Post subject:

I thought they didn't bother to fortify the area around the Ardennes forest properly because they thought it was impenetrable to tanks, but they turned out to be very very wrong.......

pharaoh · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject:

thundertaker wrote: I thought they didn't bother to fortify the area around the Ardennes forest properly because they thought it was impenetrable to tanks, but they turned out to be very very wrong.......

yes. So do you by chance have a map to help me out?! (we are talking about a 50$ bet!) :-|

antonio62 · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:02 pm Post subject:

pharaoh wrote: antonio62 wrote: It was extended to cover the low country's after the French realised that they could be flanked. I don't believe it was ever finished completely though.

Oupsy...but wasnt the purpose of the German attack on the low countries was to outflank the line?! This is really weird

Yeh it was they realised to late and never totally finished it.

Secondary Oak · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 3395 Location: Haifa

pharaoh wrote: I made this bet. Im like 99% sure that the maginot line was along the french and german frontiers but I saw this map on wiki that shows that the line extends to the low lands??!
So can anybody provide me with a detailed map of the maginot line JUST along the French and German frontiers?
Thanks

From that Wikipedia article:
"The fortifications did not extend through the Ardennes Forest (which was believed to be "impénétrable" and "impassable") or along the border with Belgium because the countries had signed an alliance in 1920, by which the French army would operate in Belgium if the German forces invaded. When Belgium abrogated the treaty in 1936 and declared neutrality, the Maginot Line was quickly extended along the Franco-Belgian border, but not to the standard of the rest of the Line."

I'd say you lost... unless the bet was about a specific date.

John Galt · Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 20982 Location: Minnesota

I wouldn't try to find out the answer to a bet from Wikipedia, even if it is correct in this case.

Secondary Oak · Joined: 02 Oct 2004 Posts: 3395 Location: Haifa

John Galt wrote: I wouldn't try to find out the answer to a bet from Wikipedia, even if it is correct in this case.
Since there's a bet involved you may be right... but Wikipedia is usually very accurate when it comes to non-contested facts such as this one.

pharaoh · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 5:30 am Post subject:

I found 4 maps on the net that shows that the line didnt extend to the Belgium frontiers.
Also most histoty books say it clearly that the point of attacking the low countries, by Germany, was to outflank the line. They didnt say because the line was weak there but to outflank it.

Seems this bet gonna end up in a tie... :-|

mathurin · Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2006 4:29 pm Post subject:

the line was not initially built along that border because france had alliances of some kind with belgium (or whetever other low countries are there, i dont care to dig up a map

so it would be like america building massive fortifications along the border with canada because we think they will be overrun by the soviets and attack from the north, not conducive to an alliance

after a time (i think somebody said 1936) the treaties kind of dissolved or something, and the line was extended, but nowhere near the strength of the line in the alsace region

they didnt fortify the ardennes because they though it was impossible to get through, they didnt count on cutting down the trees, a few listening posts in the forest and history might have changed a bit, if i recall it took the germans sometime to get through the forest, and the forest is a great place to engage a mechanized force with non-mech troops

bob.appleyard · Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 7596 Location: Manchestar, innit

mathurin wrote: the line was not initially built along that border because france had alliances of some kind with belgium (or whetever other low countries are there, i dont care to dig up a map

Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands.

Saracen · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 15867 Location: On Earth

pharaoh, why the heck did you make a bet? Don't you know that bets are a form of gambling? And you know what Islam says about gambling, right? ;)