the virtually unprotected area where german armies avoided the maginot line was the ardennes forest.
the virtually unprotected area where german armies avoided the maginot line was the ardennes forest.
where was the virtually unprotected area where german armies avoided the maginot line?
the ardennes forest
in the decade leading up to world war ii, the french built the maginot line, based on their experience with trench warfare in world war i. the maginot line was an extensive state-of-the-art defensive system far superior to any previous trench system: a chain of massive constructions of concrete, iron, and steel fortresses, bunkers, retractable turrets, outposts, obstacles, and sunken artillery emplacements, linked by tunnel networks. it covered the length of the franco-german border and was wide. it was supported by numerous underground barracks, shelters, ammo dumps and depots, with its own telephone network and narrow gauge railways with armoured locomotives, backed up with heavy rail artillery. french military experts placed high value on the line, saying it would curb german aggression, as any invasion force would be halted long enough for french forces to mobilize and counterattack through belgium. it was only partially successful; in the battle of france, the main german ""blitzkrieg"" attack struck through the weakly held ardennes forest, the gap between the end of the maginot line and the advancing anglo-french mobile forces heading into belgium. small secondary german attacks concentrated at a few points in the line had moderate success. the bulk of the maginot line was untouched, and survives today.
trench warfare
the second and ninth armies were dug in on the west bank of the meuse on ground that was easily defended and behind the ardennes, giving plenty of warning of a german attack. after the transfer of the seventh army, seven divisions remained behind the second and ninth armies and other divisions could be moved from behind the maginot line. all but one division were either side of the junction of the two armies, gqg being more concerned about a german attack past the north end of the maginot line and then south-east through the stenay gap, for which the divisions behind the second army were well placed. on 8 november, gamelin added the seventh army, containing some of the best and most mobile french divisions, to the left flank of the 1st army group to move into holland and protect the scheldt estuary. in march, gamelin ordered that the seventh army would advance to breda to link with the dutch. the seventh army, on the left flank of the dyle manoeuvre, would be linked to it and if the seventh army crossed into the netherlands, the left flank of the 1st army group was to advance to tilburg if possible and certainly to breda. the seventh army was to take post between the belgian and dutch armies turning east, a distance of , against german armies only distant from breda.
british expeditionary force (world war ii)