Maginot defensive positions. maginot line

In 1926, an extremely interesting and now completely forgotten event took place - the French Ministry of War created an expert commission that was supposed to prepare a plan for creating a powerful defensive line in the east of the country before the end of the year.

In 1928, France began the construction of the first fortification group in the Alps, and the next, in 1929, the French leadership decided to speed up the construction of the planned structures. Responsible for the construction of the "impassable line" is the energetic Minister of War Andre Maginot, after whom the line got its name. A full-scale construction of a complex of defensive structures of unprecedented power begins.

Photo 2.

It was an engineering miracle of that time - 5600 long-term firing points (14 bunkers per kilometer) with a wall thickness of 3.5-4 m of fortified concrete, connected by a single system of underground railways, galleries and communications. Underground casemates with power plants, warehouses, hospitals, headquarters and communication centers; special shelters, invulnerable to weapons of that time, located at a depth of up to 50 meters; pillboxes with artillery armored caps that could be raised to fire a shot and then lowered underground, avoiding enemy fire; fortified areas equipped with special dams that ensure the flooding of vast territories and underground structures in case they are captured by the enemy, and many other high-tech military engineering solutions of that time.

Vertical plan of the Maginot Line bunker

A monstrous sum of 3 billion francs (1 billion dollars in 1936 prices) was spent on the construction - almost half of the French military budget for the years of construction, and taking into account the completion of the structures by 1940 - 7 billion. Franks (a number of historians call 5 billion, but this does not change the essence). What did the French spend such money on? They had nowhere to put their money during the Great Depression?

With the air of innocent babies, Western historians are now declaring that the construction of the Maginot Line was necessary to repel the German attack and redirect, in case of anything, the direction of their main attack to Belgium, where they should have been waiting, according to the defense plan of the French General Staff.

We beg your pardon, but what kind of German attack? After all, the German army at that time did not actually exist - instead of the Wehrmacht, there were insignificant self-defense forces of 100 thousand people? Hitler was not even close to power, Germany, shackled by the Versailles Peace, was suffocating from the economic crisis, and the ruling circles of France already knew for sure that the Maginot Line would be needed very soon.

Photo 3.

The line went into operation surprisingly timely in 1936, as soon as the Germans entered their troops into the Rhine demilitarized zone, and the “construction of the second stage” (improvement and completion of the “Daladier line”, also according to the plans of the commission from 1926-1928) was mainly completed with astonishing insight exactly by 1940.

In the May 1928 elections, the Nazis won only 2.5% of the vote and were a bunch of political clowns with a total circulation of 23 thousand copies of Nazi newspapers, and the leadership of France (and, by the way, England) already knew for sure that by 1936 Germany would be powerful and an aggressive power, and therefore prudently spent astronomical funds on the construction of the most equipped defensive line in history. How interesting, right?

Pillbox of the Maginot line inside - a turret for an instant change of an anti-tank gun
on a machine gun. There is also a device that fires grenades that explode in the air above the advancing enemy.

The fact that Hitler was purposefully raised by the Western elite as a tool for the destruction of the USSR is not even disputed by any serious person - everything is so obvious. The Munich agreement alone, the Anschluss of Austria, the history of the rearmament of Germany and the Rhineland are worth something.

The purpose of this line was one - to force a strong Germany to go to war in the East, without even thinking about a strike in the West. This unequivocally proves that the Western elites planned the German attack on Soviet Russia 15 years before it actually happened.

Any more or less serious investigation unequivocally leads to conclusions about the role of France, England, Poland and the United States in organizing the Second World War. Therefore, an explanation will be invented in hindsight - this is not without reason, but because all of them were afraid of the terrible and aggressive USSR, which was striving to capture the whole world. That is why they created Hitler as a counterbalance to such a monster. Like "if there were no Stalin, there would be no Hitler."
Photo 4.

At the same time, the average person still has a picture of the post-war Soviet Army in his head - an armada of the most modern tanks and aircraft, well-trained brave soldiers armed with the most modern weapons - well, how could the poor imperialists not be afraid? It seems to the average person that it has always been that way. But this is far from being the case - in the years under review, everything was exactly the opposite, and the cause and effect of the insidious people without a twinge of conscience changed places.

The fact is that the USSR of those years was considered weak economically and militarily, in general, serious historians have never disputed this. Moreover, Poland was considered a more serious adversary than the USSR. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was regarded as easy prey - a country backward for at least half a century with a 600,000-strong (in 1928) army completely insufficient for such a colossal territory, armed with hopelessly outdated weapons.

The allegations that someone was especially afraid of the Soviet Army in Europe in the 20-30s are a blatant lie, even Poland was not afraid of it, whose army was only slightly smaller than the size of the Red Army and which, moreover, was under the protection of an allied pact with Romania, after which - with France and England.

Anyone who would say that the Soviet Union was going to conquer world domination would be considered a mentally ill person - they argued only about when it would be defeated and between which powers the territories of Red Russia would be divided.

Photo 5.

For example, at the end of 1929, no one in the West and in the East doubted that Manchuria (at that time a puppet pro-Japanese state in Northern China) would easily defeat the small troops of the USSR in the Far East and capture Primorye during the so-called. . The crushing defeat of the Chinese caused great astonishment.

Even in 1936, when the war was already on the threshold, and the Japanese army openly deployed strike groups and built military infrastructure on the border of the USSR in Northern China, even then only 1.2 million soldiers and officers guarded the entire vast Soviet territory. The economy of the Soviet Union simply could not support and equip a large army.

In the period under review - the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, no one in the West doubted that the USSR would be able to build a modern industry at best only by the 1950s, and before that it would be an easy victim. According to Western experts, the USSR could have launched the mass production of modern weapons only by the mid-1950s, and the countries of the West would not have stood still either. Yes, by the way, after all, "the socialist economy is inefficient", why are they so "scared"? There were no guarantees that Stalin would be in power even in the 30s. By the beginning of the 30s, Stalin himself had not yet shown himself as a figure of an international scale, and they looked at him through the eyes of Trotsky - "mediocrity, separated from the Kremlin wall."

Industrialization in the USSR was just beginning and no one in the world knew that it would be successfully completed by 1939 - it was considered impossible in principle. By the way, by the mid-1950s, Stalin would have been 77 years old.

Photo 8.

Here is such a "military monster" "threatened" the West. But there is nothing unusual in such impudent hypocrisy of the West - in Europe this is the norm of behavior, there are plenty of examples even from our times. It is clear that the Americans attacked Iraq, being afraid of Iraqi chemical weapons (which really did not turn out), Afghanistan was captured because the Americans were “very afraid” of Islamic terrorists, now an attack on North Korea is being prepared because the Americans are afraid of its nuclear missile power, and so Further. The thief himself shouts loudest of all “stop the thief”.

The Soviet Union was still a backward agrarian country with an army insignificant for its size, armed with obsolete weapons, there was still no final decision on industrialization, and the West had already planned a war with its complete destruction, and this plan was clearly implemented.

In the mid-20s, the top of the leading Western countries - the United States, England and France prepared a very beautiful geopolitical combination, after which they actually became the masters of the entire planet without much effort and huge sacrifices. Their plan was calculated to the smallest detail, its first part was a perfect success, it provided for all possible options except for one - they did not know what socialism was and they did not know what Stalin was. And that's why their plan was only partially successful.

Stalin already at least since 1928 knew what fate was in store for the USSR. How did he guess? Of course, there were data from diplomats, intelligence, and so on. But it's even simpler - in 1928, France began the construction of the first fortification group in the Alps. For an intelligent person, it is obvious that when they finish building the second stage of the Maginot Line, there will be a war.

On February 4, 1931, Stalin openly said at a conference of economic workers what many already knew: “We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it or we will be crushed.” This meant the following - in 10 years - the war, if we are not ready - we are finished. He was wrong by only 5 months. Many wonder how the Soviet leader could have predicted the War with such accuracy. Impressive people even talk about his magical abilities. Everything is incomparably simpler - Stalin knew when the Maginot Line would be built - the press openly wrote about this.
Photo 9.

Germany was a gun hanging on the wall, which you just had to load at the right time and shoot at the USSR. True, Stalin outplayed the Western masters of geopolitical games and France got the first shot. Poland does not count - Germany "ate" it in almost any real scenario.

Germany was preparing for this role immediately after the First World War - the powerful production potential of Germany remained untouched, although mothballed. Therefore, it was enough at the right time to “pour” raw materials and finance into German industry, as Germany quickly became a powerful military power again. What was and was done at the right time - now they hardly remember that England and America provided Hitler with huge loans and investments, primarily in heavy industry. Now in the West they pretend that the American business elite had no idea what heavy industry was used for and what Hitler was going to do. Not even funny. This is to the question of "historical guilt."

Moreover, the British handed over to Hitler all the Czech gold after they had torn to pieces Czechoslovakia - 130 million Reichsmarks in gold directly from the British banks, where the Czechoslovak state gold reserves were kept. Czech money turned out to be surprisingly handy, because at that time there were only 70 million Reichsmarks in the accounts of Germany.

The forces of the Nazis increase sharply from the end of 1929 - finances pour into the NSDAP, and in September 1930 an extremely strange event occurs - the parliamentary triumph of the Nazis, when they receive a quarter of the votes in parliament. “All the leading German politicians were, as it were, struck by total blindness. As if by agreement, they dug a hole for themselves and arranged a green street for Adolf Hitler. One might think that the cunning and dexterous statesmen of Germany found an obsession.

Photo 13.

Why the obsession? Everything just happened according to a well-defined scenario. The criminal often tries to impersonate a naive fool who "everything happened by chance" - hardened politicians were struck by an "obsession" in politics and conducted "strange politics", businessmen - in business and conducted with Hitler, respectively, "strange business", well and the military, as we will see later, also did not stand aside - these waged a "strange war." And all played only one goal. Naturally, "accidentally".

Then, the strengthening of the still weak Nazis was systematically carried out - at the beginning of 1937, England received official consent to include Austria in the Reich (Anschluss). The following year, the Munich Agreement took place, when England and France forced Czechoslovakia to capitulate to the Nazis, and in fact to the ultimatums of Germany and its allies - Poland and Hungary.

January 5, 1939 Hitler declares to Polish Foreign Minister Beck about the unity of interests of Germany and Poland in relation to the USSR. After consultations at the end of January 1939, German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop arrived in Warsaw, where Beck openly told him that Poland would join the anti-Komitern bloc if Germany supported Poland's desire to take over Ukraine and gain access to the Black Sea.

Polish Foreign Minister Beck arrived at Hitler's.
Oberhof, 1938

However, the fate of Poland in any case was a foregone conclusion. It is enough just to imagine that Germany will bear the brunt of the war with the USSR, and what will she get from this, because the Poles demanded Ukraine for themselves? How to manage the occupied Soviet territory through the territory of Poland if it is even impossible to agree with them on the construction of an extraterritorial road to Konigsberg?

It was obvious to all sane people who had information about the situation on the Polish borders - the Polish state was living its last days. But having signed a military pact of alliance with the British Empire, the Polish leadership finally lost its adequacy, being absolutely sure that England and France would protect it. But this is not what Hitler was raised for so long to defeat him in Poland. Until the very last days, the Soviet Union tried to conclude a non-aggression pact and joint defense against the aggressor with Poland. Poland, in principle, was not going to do this for a very simple reason - she herself was going to attack the USSR with any suitable ally and dreamed of possessions "from sea to sea." In the end, desperate to find an ally against the Nazi machine, the USSR concludes a non-aggression pact with Germany. A week later, on September 1, 1939, units of the Wehrmacht dealt a mortal blow to Poland.

The result was predictable, exactly as it was expected in the USSR: Poland's allies, who guaranteed its immunity - England and France, simply "threw" the Poles, they formally declared war on the Nazis. But it was not a war, but its imitation, called the "strange war." There was nothing particularly strange in this "war" - there was just an unpretentious deception of an ally, completely ordinary for the Western elite.

A couple of typical examples. For example, the Minister of Aviation of England, when parliamentarians turned to him with a request to strike at industrial facilities of the Nazis, brazenly declared: “What are you talking about, this is impossible. This is private property. You still ask me to bomb the Ruhr!”

Photo 12.

An eyewitness to the events, the famous French writer Roland Dorzheles, by the way, the author of the name “strange war” wrote: “The gunners located near the Rhine calmly looked at the German trains with ammunition on the other side, our pilots flew over the pipes of the Saar factories without bombing them. Obviously, the main task of the high command was not to disturb the enemy.

The USSR sent troops into Poland (into Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, captured by Poland in 2020) on September 17, 1939, when the Polish state actually no longer existed, and state power did not actually exist either. If the Soviet troops had not occupied this territory, the German troops would no doubt have occupied it. A cocked pistol would have been at the temple of the capital of Soviet Belarus - the Polish border was 35 km (!) From Minsk. The situation was so serious that the capital of Belarus was planned to be moved to Mogilev. The move was scheduled for November 1939, but the decisive actions of the Red Army eliminated this need.

There was simply no other option. The USSR did not "share Poland with Hitler", no secret protocols and agreements about this have ever been found. An approximate analogue of the throw of Russian paratroopers on Pristina in Yugoslavia, memorable to many from recent history, is also to get ahead of NATO troops. All agreements with Germany regarding new borders were already concluded after these events and fixed the current state of affairs. In those years, there was not even a question of "joint aggression" in the world.

It must be emphasized that if the USSR were the aggressor, then England and France were obliged to declare war on the USSR, even formally, as they did with Germany.

But this not only did not happen, but moreover, W. Churchill said on October 1 on the radio: "The Russian armies had to stand on this line, which was absolutely necessary for the security of Russia against the Nazi threat."

The screech raised in the media in recent years around the alleged “division of Europe between two tyrants” was raised for two reasons - the true accomplices of the Nazis and the organizers of the Second World War are trying to disguise their complicity in crimes against humanity in this way, and the second - in this way they are trying to create an ideological basis for the division "Russian Federation" - the largest fragment of the USSR. From the category of "well, how can you fulfill the signed agreements when the USSR was such a monster." All this has nothing to do with historical truth and justice.

The ruling elites of France, England, Poland and the USA, along with Nazi Germany, are direct organizers of the Second World War and direct accomplices of the Nazis. In fairness, their place is among the defendants of the Nuremberg Tribunal, tried at least for complicity, however, a mitigating circumstance is that they later opposed the Nazis. But nevertheless, England and the United States committed crimes against humanity, no better than those of the Nazis - the targeted extermination of the civilian population of German cities - Hamburg, Dresden, and so on.

Photo 11.

World powers have their own interests. So the war was in those years categorically not in the interests of the USSR, and he tried with all his might to avoid it. But the desire to redistribute the world among a few strong powers was too serious, and plans to avoid war were doomed to failure.

Now about why Germany did not attack the USSR in the spring of 1940, as England, France and America expected. After all, this is what the Maginot Line was built for.

Everything is very simple - Hitler understood what was to happen in the autumn-winter of 1940, if he then attacked the Soviet Union: 90% of all German forces are fighting fiercely in the East, especially stubborn battles unfolded for Moscow - everything is very similar to 1941, the Soviet capital is about to fall. The Kwantung Army launched an offensive in the Far East - Mongolia was captured, the Soviet defenses in Transbaikalia were broken through, and soon the Japanese occupied Primorye and quickly advanced in Siberia.

At this time, the British army will be transported in several stages to the allied French ports, if necessary, an American group will soon join them. In principle, Germany has no forces capable of preventing the landing. Under the threat of crushing air strikes is the entire territory of Germany.
The territory of France is securely covered by the Maginot Line. France and England do not even need to declare war - it has been formally going on since 1939.

Germany receives an ultimatum with something like this: "Completely cease hostilities, disband most of its divisions, transfer the fleet and weapons of the disbanded units to the Anglo-French troops." If the Germans refuse, after crushing air strikes, the industrial regions of West Germany are rapidly occupied by the Allied forces, which have overwhelming superiority. Either way, Germany's fate would have been sealed.

All goals have been achieved - the “Russian question”, which for several centuries caused fits of rage in the West, has been finally resolved. The Russians show a complete inability to defend their vast territory unfairly inherited by them. This should be done by "civilized countries", so part of the Far East goes to Japan, part - to the United States. The Baltic states and the Crimea become a protectorate of England, the English fleet will now be based there, and so on.

What would be the fate of Germany? In any case - not particularly enviable, there are plenty of cases in history when Western elites "thank" those who turned out to be their tool - "the Moor did his job" and stuff like that. In the best case, she would have got the role of "junior partner".

It is quite obvious that Hitler did not want to play the role of such a Moor and at the decisive moment the Third Reich began its game. By concluding a non-aggression pact with the USSR for three years, Germany secured itself against a blow to the rear at the moment when its troops dealt a crushing blow to France. The elites of the "allies" outwitted themselves, fatally underestimating the retired corporal, who was considered a puppet. They also underestimated Stalin. As a result, after 40 days, France was finished, her best defensive line in the world did not help.

The armored cap of the Maginot Line, hit by German artillery - the world's best optics and military radio communications gave the Germans the opportunity to effectively control fire.

German flamethrowers of the assault group, burning out the Maginot Line pillboxes, 1940

The fact that the Wehrmacht was strong was known to all and for this it was grown by the joint efforts of the West, but very few people imagined how strong it was. The German army of the 1940 model was a military machine of crushing power, created on fundamentally new conditions, capable of almost instantly completely defeating almost any enemy. Nearly. Except the USSR.

Simply put, due to the development of technology, the First World War is a crisis of means of attack, and the Second World War is a crisis of means of defense, a war of a fundamentally new type. The Maginot Line did not help the French, just as the Mannerheim Line did not help the Finns in 1940;

The Soviet Army was defeated in 1941 by the best army in the world, which proved on the battlefield that it was head and shoulders above not only the Soviet, but also the French and English - first-class armies of that time, based on a powerful industrial economy.

The Third Reich inherited the entire industry of Czechoslovakia, Belgium, the powerful industry of France, and the developed industrial regions of Western Poland. As a result, by 1941 the industrial potential of the Reich was 2.5-3 times higher than the industrial potential of the USSR (according to the most conservative estimates, 1.5 times). In fact, the USSR waged war not with Germany, but with the united forces of continental Europe.

By the beginning of the war, the lag in the quality of the USSR's weapons in relation to the German ones was huge, so the quality of the fighters was equal only in 1944. Germany's superiority in radio communications was almost absolute, the same was with optical instruments. The Germans then were ahead of us in technology for a whole era, which had to be made up in the war. Stalin was well aware of this report, and in 1941 the rearmament of the Soviet Army began, which was supposed to end in 1942-early 1943.

Now it has become fashionable to talk about the contribution of Lend-Lease to the Victory. There is even nothing to discuss here - all the decisive victories of the Soviet Army, which fundamentally turned the tide of the War, were accomplished practically without the influence of Lend-Lease: the victory near Moscow, Stalingrad, the Kursk Bulge and even the crossing of the Dnieper. The bulk of the Allied aid came during the War, when Germany was already doomed.

According to the plans of the Nazi command, Germany was supposed to attack the USSR in 1943 without violating the non-aggression pact, which was already expiring by that time. What forces threw Hitler against the USSR in 1941, without waiting for 1943, and what exactly influenced his decision is still unclear.

Photo 6.

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Photo 10.

Photo 14.

Photo 15.

Photo 16.

MAGINO LINE - sys-te-ma of French long-time-men-nyh uk-re-p-le-ny and beyond-gra-zh-de-ny on the gra-ni-tse with Ger-ma-ni- her, Luc-sem-burg-gom and an hour-tic-but with Bel-gi-her.

It has been rising since 1926 (according to other sources, since 1928) on the proposal of the Commission on the near-border uk-re-p-le-ni- pits under the leadership of the Minister of War of France (vna-cha-le P. Pen-le-ve, and since 1929 A. Ma-zhi-no, in honor of someone-ro-go-name ). It went into operation in 1936, until 1940 it was completed.

The main lo-sa ob-ro-ny, pro-ho-div-shay from Long-gui-o-na to Belle-fo-ra, had pro-female-ness along the front about 400 km and deep bi-well 10-22 km (including tea in lo-su obes-pe-che-niya deep bi-noy 4-14 km). The "Maginot Line" consisted of 3 UK-re-p-linen districts: Metz-ko-go (Lo-ta-ring-sko-go), Lau-ter-sko-go (El -zas-sko-go) and Bel-for-sko-go, as well as 2 uk-re-p-lyon-nyh sec-to-ditch with sis-te-ma-mi for-to-p-le -niya me-st-no-sti. The defensive path from Stras-bou-ra to Belle-for-ra op-ra-lased on natural obstacles (Rhine river and Rhine canal - Rhine ) and did not have powerful uk-re-p-le-ny. Builder of military constructions along the border with Bel-gui-she to the se-ve-ro-for-pa-du from the Maginot Line on- cha-moose only in 1936 and by the beginning of the 2nd world war, in 1939-1941, for-the-end-but it wasn’t.

All in all, about 5.6 thousand long-time fires were built (including 520 artillery and 3.2 thousand bullets -nyh). On the most dangerous on-the-rights-le-ni-yah, would you have created 22 large groups (en-samb-la) of long-term -nitelnye facilities. They united between me-f-fights under-earth-us-mi ha-le-rey-mi and had gun turrets retracting inside with 135-mm push-ka-mi, as well as artillery and pu-le-meth-ka-ze-ma-you, in-place for personal co-hundred-va, warehouses with a 3-month-for-pa-som of pro-to-vol-st-via and bo-e-pri-pa-owls, us-ta-nov-ki for air filtering -du-ha, auto-nom-nye power stations, water-to-wire-water, ka-on-li-za-tion and so on. Concrete re-covering (up to 3 m) you-de-zh-va-lo direct-my pa-da-nie of two 420-mm sleep-rows.

Gar-ni-zones of the most-bo-largest co-wields, counting-you-shaft up to 1.2 thousand people. For the service of the Maginot Line, would it be possible to create special cre-on-st-troops (by May 1940 - 224 thousand people). At the beginning of the 2nd world war, on the Maginot Line, 2 groups of armies (50 divisions) were on the way.

Not-before-the stats of the "Maginot Line" you-appeared even before the war-na-cha-la. The line had not-dos-that-accurate depth-be-well, weak pro-ti-vo-tan-ko-vou and pro-ti-vo-air-soul-ob-ro -well, it wouldn’t be under-go-tov-le-na for pro-ve-de-niya in its pre-de-lah ma-nev-ra in-le-you-mi howl-ska-mi.

In May - June-June 1940, the German troops bypassed the Maginot Line from the north through Ar-den-na and went to the rear of the French army, which was before -lo outcome of the entire French campaign of 1940. On-study of the German group of armies "C", pre-pri-nya-toe on the "Maginot Line" from the front in the lo-se me-du Saint-Avol -house and Sa-ar-bruk-ke-nom, us-pe-ha did not have-lo. Only after the left-wing troops from the Maginot Line did the Germans manage to overcome the lo-su on a narrow learning path. Many gar-ni-zo-ns of long-term defense structures continue to-do-it-against-against-le-tion and complex-living whether the weapon is only after the ka-pi-tu-la-tion of France.

In the after-in-n-ny period, more-shin-st-in the construction of the "Maginot Line" was-lo re-re-yes-but under the warehouses of the military imu-shche-st-va and for other purposes.

Bypassed "Maginot Line"

One of the actions by which the Allies were routed in the 1940 campaign is often presented as bypassing the line of fortifications on the Franco-German border. They were known as the "Maginot Line" and closed the southern section of the border. It is believed that the line was built with a fatal mistake - the northern section of the border was not covered, through which, in fact, the Germans broke through. There was no fatal error, of course. The task of the "Maginot Line" was ... to direct the German offensive into France along the route of the Schlieffen Plan of 1914, that is, through the Benelux countries. The Maginot Line can be called built under the motto of Clausewitz's statement: "Behind strong fortifications, we force the enemy to look for a solution elsewhere." The need to break through strong fortifications was, according to the idea of the builders of the line, to force the Germans to choose a bypass route. This would allow the Allies to accurately calculate the actions of the enemy and impose a battle on him in Belgium.

However, in reality, the Germans broke through the "continuation" of the "Maginot Line" in the Ardennes. On May 17, 1940, two 210 mm guns opened fire on the small fortification of La Fère. On May 18, two casemates with 75-mm guns were abandoned by their garrisons. German assault groups began to make their way into the depths of the fortifications. The nearby fortification of Le Chen attempted to support the defenders of La Fère with 75 mm guns, but the casemates were too far away for the fire to be any effective. By the end of the day on May 19, the entire fortification of La Fère was captured, and the road to the interior of France was opened to the Germans. Between May 20 and 23, four Maubeuge fortifications were destroyed one by one. The last blow to the Maginot Line was inflicted in June 1940 during Operations Tiger and Bear. 420-mm artillery, dive bomber strikes, assault groups were used against the fortifications. In general, it can be said that the Maginot Line was, albeit with difficulty, broken through by the Germans in several places. No less dramatic events unfolded in Belgium. Many people are well aware of the capture of Fort Eben-Emael by paratroopers. Indeed, on May 10, 1940, paratroopers in 40 gliders landed on the roof of Fort Eben-Emael and forced the garrison to capitulate by blowing up shaped charges on the domes and turrets of the fort. However, this action diverted public attention from much more important events. From May 10 to May 15, 1940, there was a battle between assault groups of infantrymen and the garrison of Fort Aubin-Nefchâteau. With the help of 305-mm and 355-mm, Fort Battis was destroyed, which capitulated on May 22. Verdun's experience was not in vain. During the Second World War, forts were no longer an insurmountable obstacle for the army, which gained experience in positional combat on the Western Front in 1914–1918.

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author

The Curzon-Huntington Line as the Line of Russia's Destiny The West (through Byzantium) is a cousin enemy. Civilizationally, Byzantium was a sister to the Western world. Nevertheless, the crusaders took pleasure in robbing the Orthodox brothers in Constantinople. Here we are ours

From the book Putin against the liberal swamp. How to save Russia author Kirpichev Vadim Vladimirovich

The Chubais Line, or the Death Line Now we will analyze the formation, the line of life, if expressed in general, but in fact, the line of death, if we talk specifically about the mode of production imposed on us. Civilizations have clashed, sorted out relationships and have always fought. But to understand

From the book Putin against the liberal swamp. How to save Russia author Kirpichev Vadim Vladimirovich

The line of Genghis Khan the Terrible, or the line of the heart There is a third line in the palm of Russia, the most important feature is the line of the Russian heart, Byzantium, the Third Rome. It is she who shows why Russia is not Germany, and you will not read this in either Toynbee or Huntington. Inescapable

The Maginot Line (fr. la Ligne Maginot) is a system of French fortifications on the border with Germany from Belfort to Longuyon. It was built in 1929-1934 (then improved until 1940). The length is about 400 km. Named after Minister of War André Maginot. It consisted of 5600 long-term defensive fortifications, 70 bunkers, 500 artillery and infantry units, 500 casemates, as well as dugouts and observation posts.

The French generals believed that the Germans would act in the same way as in the 1914 campaign. They will try to make a breakthrough from the northeast through the territory of Belgium. The French defense plan provided for repulsing the German offensive on the Dil River, with passive defense on the fortifications of the Maginot Line. The construction of this line began in 1928 and by 1936 the main construction work was completed. Responsible for the construction of the "irresistible line" of defense was the French Minister of War Andre Maginot, after whom the system of fortifications was named.

In the eastern part of France, the 10 richest provinces were located, in which in the 30-40s of the last century about 60% of steel and steel products were produced, 76.5% of zinc and 94% of copper were mined. In any development of the war, the army had to do everything possible to keep the Germans out of these important economic areas. First of all, from the northern and northeastern directions.

In military science, there are 2 main types of defense - rigid (positional) and maneuverable.. In positional defense, troops stubbornly defend the chosen line and try to keep the enemy out of the front line. At the same time, mobile defense is based on the fact that positions are not held rigidly and can be surrendered, but when the enemy exhausts his reserves and offensive capabilities, the defenders try to regain the lost position by counterattacks. Mobile defense fully allows for the temporary loss of individual territories.

The maneuverable type of defense is especially loved by the military, and in most cases statesmen and politicians do not tolerate it. The military loves it because this method does not make the defending troops passive, does not allow the advancing enemy to impose their will, and allows them to seize the initiative at the right moment and go on the offensive. While positional defense puts the defenders in a deliberately losing position, because sooner or later the enemy will find a gap in the defense, which will be fraught with the encirclement of the entire defending group.

Politicians, on the other hand, maneuverable defense makes them nervous, it can be very difficult for them to explain to the population of the country the loss of this or that territory, leaving it under the rule of the occupiers and the human and material losses associated with this. The population of the country often sees this as an unfortunate move in the war. Morale, as well as trust in politicians, is falling, which can be fraught with defeat.

The task of the French army in the war was to prevent the Germans from entering the richest industrial regions of France, which would put the country in a difficult situation and deprive the army of the opportunity to replenish resources. Paris saw a way out of the situation in building an impenetrable defense along the German border, which required the construction of powerful fortifications capable of withstanding the shelling of large-caliber artillery and for a long time holding back the attacks of large masses of infantry.

The French were well aware that the Wehrmacht would try to break into France through Belgium, as in the First World War, and the Maginot Line simply would not allow them to strike elsewhere. In Paris, it was believed that, holding most of the northern and northeastern borders, they would not let the Germans into the industrial regions of the country, imposing field battles on the Germans in northern France with the transfer of battles to Belgium. At the same time, the French generals believed that at any moment they could launch a counterattack on the enemy from behind the Maginot line in the direction to the north, cutting off the entire German army and intercepting all its supply lines.

The French spent a very impressive amount for those times on the construction of the Maginot Line - about 3 billion francs or 1 billion dollars. The total number of troops located on the line reached 300,000 people.. The underground multi-level forts housed quarters for personnel, powerful ventilation systems, power plants, laid narrow-gauge roads, rest rooms, hospitals, telephone exchanges, which were inaccessible to bombs and shells. In the upper ground floors were located gun and machine-gun casemates, equipped with elevators for supplying ammunition.

The forts were concrete "boxes" dug deep into the ground, the thickness of the walls of which reached 3-4 meters. At the top, only armored turrets were usually located. In front of the first line of defense, if possible, anti-tank ditches were dug and barrages of anti-tank hedgehogs were put up. Behind the first line of defense was a whole network of reference points - concrete platforms designed to accommodate infantry, artillery, searchlights.

Warehouses of ammunition and equipment were located at a depth of up to 50 meters. In the depths of the defense there were positions of long-range artillery on the railway track. Even further away was the old modernized defensive line, which included the forts of Belfort, Verdun, Epinal and a number of others. The depth of the Maginot line in some sections reached 90-100 km, the French generals considered it impregnable.

The floor structure of the forts looked approximately as follows. Only concreted machine-gun nests and artillery blockhouses, anti-tank pits and barriers were located on the surface. Below the ground went a number of floors of the fort, the connection between which was carried out by stairs and elevators, the maximum depth of fortifications could reach 100 meters. The thickness of the reinforced concrete roof of any fort reached 3.5 m, which made it possible to withstand shelling with shells of up to 420 mm caliber.

On the first two floors of the fort garrison quarters were located. A number of diesel engines were also installed here, which set in motion ventilation units that supply air to all rooms of the fort, as well as dynamos that provide electricity. Similar engines were located on other floors, acting as insurance in case of failure of any of them.

On the third floor of the fort ammunition for current ammunition and supplies of water and food were placed. On the fourth floor there was a telephone exchange and the office of the fort.

On the fifth floor stockpiles of medicines and hospital premises were located, below at the sixth level passed the tunnel of an electrified underground narrow-gauge railway, through which the rapid transfer of ammunition and troops to the desired direction was carried out. The main track of this underground metro was double-track, auxiliary sidings were single-track.

At the level of the seventh floor was the headquarters of the fort, even lower were reserve ammunition depots and reserve diesel engines. At a sufficiently large depth, the fort was protected by solid concrete walls, which eliminated the possibility of penetration into the fort or undermining it using a tunnel.

The Maginot Line was a marvel of the fortification thought of its time.:
– 5600 long-term defensive fortifications,
- 70 bunkers,
- 500 artillery and infantry units,
- about 500 casemates,
- Numerous dugouts and observation posts.

The length of the line is about 400 km. The average density was at the level of 7.7 structures per 1 km of the front(in some areas this number reached 14). Nowhere between the bunkers there were gaps exceeding 8 km in length. Part of the pillboxes was equipped with artillery and machine-gun armored caps, which could be raised to fire and then lowered underground, avoiding enemy return fire.

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The fortified sectors were based on large forts, between which there were small forts and separate pillboxes, as well as tank towers. All US military installations were united by a single command, and their location on the ground ensured mutual visibility and communication. The fire system was organized in such a way that neighboring structures could always support the attacked fort or pillbox with fire or close the gap with fire if the fortification was captured or destroyed by the enemy.

Part of the fortified areas was equipped with special dams, which ensured the flooding of vast territories and underground structures in case they were captured by the enemy. During the construction of the line, many advanced military engineering solutions for that time were involved.

Many historians believe that the Maginot line did not fully justify itself, which is only partly true. The line fulfilled its main purpose - it greatly limited the scale of attacks on those areas that were protected by it. The tragedy lay elsewhere - the numerous miscalculations of the French command and leadership of the country nullified all the advantages that this most powerful defensive line in the world provided them.

The main and most tragic mistake of the French generals was that they could not predict the new tactics that the Wehrmacht imposed on them. The Germans made their trump card the swift blows of large mechanized formations, the main striking force of which were tanks.

The field defenses of the French army and the English expeditionary force simply could not withstand the onslaught of mechanized formations. Contrary to the plans of the French command, they failed to impose positional battles on the Germans either on the territory of Belgium or on the territory of northern France, letting the German units into the rear of the Maginot Line.

/Based on materials popmech.ru, rusproject.org and azbukivedi-istoria.ru /

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The Maginot Line is considered to be a system of French military fortifications on the border with Germany, which began to be built in 1929 and later played a significant role during the Second World War. I suggest you get acquainted with the history of this miracle of engineering and learn about its secrets.

For example, at the end of 1929, no one in the West and in the East doubted that Manchuria (at that time a puppet pro-Japanese state in Northern China) would easily defeat the small troops of the USSR in the Far East and capture Primorye during the so-called. "conflict over the Chinese Eastern Railway". The crushing defeat of the Chinese caused great astonishment.

It must be emphasized that if the USSR were the aggressor, then England and France were obliged to declare war on the USSR, even formally, as they did with Germany.

But this not only did not happen, but moreover, W. Churchill announced on the radio on October 1: “The Russian armies had to stand on this line, which was absolutely necessary for the security of Russia against the Nazi threat.”

Now about why Germany did not attack the USSR in the spring of 1940, as England, France and America expected. After all, this is what the Maginot Line was built for.