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The Maginot Line (/ ˈ m æ ʒ ɪ n oʊ /; French: Ligne Maginot [liɲ maʒino]), [a] [1] named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Nazi Germany and force them to move around the fortifications.
The military town was constructed by a multinational detachment of engineers, and the costs were covered by France and Romania with construction materials acquired from Romania. [5] It was reported in November that the French soldiers were living in "deplorable" conditions with insufficient food, poor hygiene, and bad heating. [6]
The Redoubt positions and others in Switzerland were augmented by the Bison project, which involved the installation of anti-tank guns in new bunkers at key locations to provide a modernized pre-positioned force capable of defeating modern armor. A project to install automatic 120 mm mortars was completed in 2003. [42]
The maintenance of overseas military bases enable the French Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare, and often tend to be located in areas of strategic or diplomatic importance. In the French terminology, the "prepositioned forces" consist of the "sovereignty forces" based in the Overseas France and the "forces of presence" based abroad.
The Border Line bunkers were spaced between 500 metres (1,600 ft) and 750 metres (2,460 ft) along the northern border of Switzerland. [1] A number were integrated into bridge crossings of the Rhine and other rivers. [2] The large forts were armed with 75mm artillery and anti-tank weapons and were usually built into the forward slope of a hill.
French troops crossed the front lines starting November 17, following the German retreat at a distance of only ten kilometers, stopping at six successive lines. [179] In Alsace-Lorraine, assigned to Fayolle's army group (the former reserve army group), the 5th Cavalry Division advanced with the 10th Army , while the 3rd Cavalry Division was ...
Grenadier of the Swiss Guard in France, 1779. Two different units of Swiss mercenaries performed guard duties for the Kings of France: the Hundred Swiss (Cent Suisses) served in the Palace essentially as bodyguards and ceremonial troops, [2] and the Swiss Guards (Gardes Suisses), who guarded entrances and outer perimeter.
Enthused by this success, and despite strict orders to the contrary, the Swiss troops crossed the Birs to meet the bulk of the French army of some 30,000 men, [1] which was ready for battle. Immediately, the Swiss forces formed three pike squares of five hundred men each, and they fought well when Armagnac cavalry charged again and again and ...