The Maginot Line: History and Guide, J.E Kaufmann, H.W. Kaufmann, A. Jankovic-Potocnik and P. Lang

The Maginot Line: History and Guide, J.E Kaufmann, H.W. Kaufmann, A. Jankovic-Potocnik and P. Lang

The Maginot Line was one of the most controversial defensives lines of the Second World War. Constructed at great expense during the 1930s, it was designed to hold up any invading German army while the French mobilised. When war broke out in 1939 the Germans were engaged in Poland, and there was thus no immediate threat to France. When the Germans finally attacked in the west in May 1940 they bypassed the main part of the line, and its forts were only really engaged after the battle was already lost.

The first part of the book covers the general history of the Maginot Line, from its precursors from the 1880s to the First World War, through the design and construction of the line, to its two periods of combat during the Second World War - the first during the German invasion of 1940, the second when the Allies attacked parts of the line from the rear in 1944-45.

The section on the Ouvrages today contains the detailed fort by fort description of the Maginot Line, with plans of each fortress complex, as well as information on public access.

This is a useful piece of work, combining a detailed history and a guide to the line. My own mental image of the line turned out to owe rather more to French wartime propaganda than to reality, so this was a valuable read for me.

Chapters
Part I: The Maginot Line
1 - A New Fortification for the Twentieth Century
2 - From the North Sea to the Mediterranean
3 - Rising Walls of Defence and the War
4 - The Maginot Line Engaged
5 - The 1944/45 Campaign and the Post-War Era

Part II: The Maginot Line and Other Sites Today
6 - Ancestors of the Maginot Line
7 - The Maginot Ouvrages Today
8 - The Alpine Ouvrages Today

Appendices
I - Construction Phase Problems, 1930-1935
II - Pre-war Occupation and Arming of the Ouvrages
III - Weapons and Equipment
IV - Units Assigned to the Ouvrages and Interval Positions, 1939-1940
V - Additional Details on the Ouvrages and Hackenberg
VI - Revisionism on the Maginot Line

Authors: J.E Kaufmann, H.W. Kaufmann, A. Jankovic-Potocnik and P. Lang
Edition: Hardcover
Pages: 308
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
Year: 2011


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