André Maginot was a French politician from Lorraine. A member of the Chamber of Deputies, he had been seriously wounded early in the First World War, and thereafter worked tirelessly in his position as Minister of Pensions to provide adequate rehabilitations for injured servicemen. Maginot's home Province of Lorraine had been reunited with France as a result of the Treaty of Versaille, and consequently he was a keen advocat for the construction of adequate defences for his home region. In the Chamber he fought for the necessary finance to construct the defensive system that has forever since borne his name. Technally however, he was not actually resonsible for the construction of the Maginot Line. This was built mainly after his death, and went officially by the title of Fronts C.O.R.F. (Commission d'Organisation des Régions Fortifées). It seems a great injustice to the man that his name should be associated with a man-made structure that has been so maligned and misconstrued since the fall of France in 1940. Even the label 'Maginot Line' seems to have been an invention of the French Press, and should really have been called the Belhague line-After the Inspector-General of Engineers who was the President of the Commission responsible for the design of the border fortifications.
Thanks for setting a few points straight in my mind regarding the (in)famous Maginot Line, you seem to be a very knowledgeable source of information. My own credo on fixed fortifications is similar to that of the late General Patton; that it is generally a misappropriation of resources available. Resources that were put into use better as a flexible defence. To my humble knowledge no historic evidence exists that the castle-strategy has been successful in the long run, not even at Masada (although they came close), but at the same time, building fortifications seem to be a human urge with roots as deep as humanity itself. That goes in real life as well as in our minds. I have never visited the remains of the Maginot Line, but hope to do so this fall or perhaps the spring of 2009. I am sure that I will be awed by the magnitude of the constructions themselves, but I will almost certainly also whisper a silent “so much effort, so little gain” to myself. I am certainly no admirer of Hitler, but must acknowledge his alleged statement that fortifications should serve to protect troops and material only to preserve their combating strength, not as a hideout for complaisant and battle-unwilling men. I have sent you a friendship request and hope for a benign answer. Also looking forward to see more posts from your hand. Br Dan
