Last Trip of 2012 – Stumbling on the Maginot Line
After dinner Lars and I decided to go for a drive and went to the southeast of Metz. We had no particular destination in mind and hoped that we could see and photograph something interesting. If you have been following us for some time, you know by now that we usually do find something interesting. And this time was no exception!
To the greatest delight of Lars we found some traces of the Maginot Line. I had never heard of this before, so I was very eager to explore these places! According to Wikipedia,
The Maginot Line (French: Ligne Maginot, IPA: [liɲ maʒino]), named after the French Minister of WarAndré Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defenses, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I, and in the run-up to World War II. Generally the term describes only the defenses facing Germany, while the term Alpine Line is used for the Franco-Italian defenses.
The French established the fortification to provide time for their army to mobilise in the event of attack, allowing French forces to move into Belgium for a decisive confrontation with German forces. The success of static, defensive combat in World War I was a key influence on French thinking. Military experts extolled the Maginot Line as a work of genius, believing it would prevent any further invasions from the east (notably, from Germany).
The Maginot Line. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the first bunker that we visited it was so dark that I actually had to use the flash of my camera in order to be able to see something. In the second bunker where there was more than enough light I managed to fall on my knee. And yes, it hurt. In general, these bunkers didn’t look very comfortable and we were impressed by the thickness of their walls. By the way, there are lot of road-signs for these fortifications; just follow “La Ligne Maginot”.
I will only publish pictures of the exterior of these bunkers. Our partner in crime, Vanessa Morgan, liked the interior shots so much that we decided to use them for our Creepy Travels project.
There is also a Maginot Aquatic Line, but I will tell you more about that tomorrow. It’s also something that we discovered by coincidence.
10 Comments on “Last Trip of 2012 – Stumbling on the Maginot Line”
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Ingrid is a Worldette!
The mistake they made was not extending it to their border with Belgian. The German Schleiiffen plan took advantage of the false French sense of security to invade Belgium and then advance into France. The fact that it almost worked in WW1 did not mean that the French learned anything from it, instead the Germans did it again in WW2
Thanks for the comment! You do seem to know a lot about history!
I am studying it, so have become a bit of an anorak.
I want to see the inside photos… again a nice post…
Then you have to wait until our book is published
So interesting. Sorry about your fall.
I have survived it
Actually it was a stunning failure because the French deployed equal troops all along the line, rather than fortify the places where the Germans would likely come through. And once the Germans realized this. . . ;o(
You would have thought that the French would have learned a lesson after World War I!
Read up on deGaulle and you’ll see that the most common trait in French military leaders is arrogance. ;o)