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France quickly extended the Maginot Line along the Franco-Belgian border, but not to the standard of the rest of the line. As the water table in this region is high, there was the danger of underground passages getting flooded, which the line designers knew would be difficult and expensive to overcome.
The Little Maginot Line (click to enlarge). Numbers on the map correspond with the list below. This is the list of all ouvrages of the Alpine Line or Little Maginot Line along the Franco-Italian border, organized by sector and type of fortification.
Here is the list of all ouvrages of the Maginot Line, organized by sector and type of fortification. Ouvrage translates as "works" in English: published documents in both English and French refer to these fortifications in this manner, rather than as "forts".
A change in the design philosophy was noticeable in the "pillboxes" and larger blockhouses similar to the French Maginot line when the massive construction program began in 1936. The original plan was to have the first stage of construction finished in 1941–1942, whilst the full system should have been completed by the early 1950s.
Following World War II, the French military reclaimed the Maginot Line with the aim of renovating and improving it against a possible attack by Warsaw Pact forces. The strongest positions, Rochonvillers, Molvange and Bréhain of the neighbouring former SF Crusnes were designated the môle de Rochonvillers ("breakwater") in 1951 and were placed ...
The Haguenau sector was part of the larger Fortified Region of the Lauter, a strongly defended area between the Sarre to the west and the Rhine Valley to the east. The Lauter region was more important during the planning and construction phase of the Maginot Line than it was in the operational phase of the Line, when the sectors assumed prominence.
The sector roughly follows the valley of the Crusnes river. Crucially, the trace of the Maginot Line in the Crusnes sector is about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) behind the industrial city of Longwy which sits directly against the French borders with Belgium and Luxembourg. The Crusnes sector was one of the strongest Maginot Line sectors.
The Fortified Region of Metz comprised the central and most heavily fortified portion of the Maginot Line.The region was established in 1926 as a military organization for the French fortifications along the frontier with Luxembourg and Germany to the east of Longuyon in northeastern France, forming a shield to the north of the industrialized areas of Metz and Thionville.