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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 Alpine Line (French: Ligne Alpine) or Little Maginot Line (French: Petite Ligne Maginot) was the component of the Maginot Line that defended the southeastern portion of France. In contrast to the main line in the northeastern portion of France, the Alpine Line traversed a mountainous region of the Maritime Alps , the Cottian Alps and the ...
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 ...
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. Four-à-Chaux and Lembach were grouped with Hochwald and Schoenenbourg from the SF Haguenau.
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, Hochwald and Schoenenbourg were grouped with Four-à-Chaux and Lembach from the SF Vosges.
Prior to the Second World War they were incorporated by the French into the Maginot Line defenses, but again saw little action. In October 1944, while occupied by the Germans, the fortifications were assaulted and captured by the American 3rd Army in the Battle of Metz. The forts were in an offset ring from 8–10 km from the city, and were ...
The Maginot Rhine defenses employed three lines of defense, with blockhouses or casemates close to the Rhine (the first line), backed by infantry shelters (the second line). The third line was a strong series of casemates, built on the model of interval casemates in the northeastern sections of the Line, but without lower levels.
The Maginot Line, while obsolete in terms of its armament, was viewed as a series of useful deeply buried and self-sufficient shelters in an era of air power and nuclear weapons. A number of the larger ouvrages were selected to form defensive ensembles or môles around which a defence might be organised and controlled.