The Maginot Line—an array of defenses that France built along its border with Germany in the 1930s to prevent an invasion—was a marvel of engineering. The huge forts, up to 80 meters underground, contained hospitals, modern kitchens, telephone exchanges, and even electric trains. Kilometers of underground galleries led to casements hidden in the terrain and turrets that rose from the ground to fire on the enemy. The fortifications were invulnerable to the heaviest artillery and to chemical warfare. Despite this extensive preparation, France fell to Germany in a little under six weeks. Eight decades on, the Maginot Line is still remembered as an expensively misguided response to obvious danger.
Kevin Passmore, professor of history at Cardiff University, reevaluates the Maginot Line by tracing the controversies surrounding construction, the lives of the soldiers who manned the forts, the impact on German-speaking inhabitants of the frontier, and the fight against espionage from within. Far from a backward step, Passmore argues, the Maginot Line was an ambitious project of modernization—one that was let down by strategic error and growing dissatisfaction with fortification.
Passmore’s new book, The Maginot Line: A New History (Yale University Press), is available for purchase.
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