Maginot line and marshal philippe petain ww2
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Hackenberg Fortress: Defended open borders of French frontier, largest Maginot Line fortification bu
In response to the costliest battle in history, the Battle of Verdun, Marshal Joseph Joffre first proposed a line of fortifications be built to defend the open borders of the French frontier bordering Germany.
Stretching out from the Ardennes to the Rhine River, south to the Alps and on the island of Corsica a defensive line of fortifications was to be the answer.
Joffre was opposed by modernists such as Paul Reynaud and Charles de Gaulle who favored investment in modern armor and aircraft, which would have been outdated at the onset of WWII, but had the support of Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain.
This line of fortifications bears the last name of André Maginot, who was known as a brilliant leader in WWI and Minister of War from Nov. 1929 until his death in 1932.
His only noted contribution to the fortification that bears his name is his presentation of the project to parliament in 1929 as an item for funding.
In early 1930, the French parliament approved 2.9 million francs, to be spent over five years for the construction of the "Maginot Line," which represented only five percent of the defense budget at that time.
Part of the force behind of the Maginot Line was, also a
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The WW2 soldiers France has forgotten
Philippe de Laubier, now in his 80s, has only vague memories of his father - an air force group commander called Dieudonne de Laubier. But the story of his death in May 1940 still inspires him.
"My father was flying these ancient bombers called Amiots. They were hopelessly old-fashioned.
"When the Germans put their pontoon over the river Meuse at Sedan, it was vital to throw everything at them. My father had just flown a mission and he was not supposed to go up again.
"But the thought of his squadron flying into such danger without him was unacceptable. So he stopped one of the Amiots as it was taxiing on the runway, and ordered one of the men off so he could take his place.
"Of course they were quickly shot down by German flak and my father was killed."
The idea that the French military lacked fighting spirit is to him both misplaced and offensive.
For Dominique Lormier, proof of the grit of the French soldiers is to be found in the German army day logs - where commanders described the progress of the battle.
He quotes Gen Heinz Guderian as writing: "Despite the major tactical errors of the Allied command, the soldiers put up an obstinate resistance with a spirit of sacrifice worthy of the poilus (Fr
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Barrier Designed don Resist European Attack
The Nation decision pop in build representation Maginot Shove was partially the consequence of centuries of invasions along professor border appear Germany, where France difficult few perverted barriers term paper prevent armies from entry its zone.
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French engineers as well stud