My Account Wish List
Advanced Search
Print - Close Window
www.greenwood.com/catalog/C8345.aspx
All Greenwood Products
Fortress France The Maginot Line and French Defenses in World War II
J. E. Kaufmann, H. W. Kaufmann, Tomasz Idzikowski
ISBN: 0-275-98345-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-275-98345-1
220 pages
Praeger Publishers
Publication: 11/30/2005
List Price: $51.95 (UK Sterling Price: £35.95)
Discount Price: $25.98 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.
Availability:
Media Type: Hardcover
Also Available: Ebook
Trim Size: 7 x 10
Subjects: Reviews:
  • [T]his is an excellent and well-researched book and the fullest account in English so far.
    —The Bulletin of the Military Historical Society     May 2006
  • [D]escribes the background and development both of the Maginot Line between the world wars to protect France from a German ground assault, and of coastal defenses France developed to provide additional security.
    —Reference & Research Book News     February 2006
  • "Fortress France is an excellent guide to all aspects of French military doctrine and policy in the decade before the German invasion. Full of details, it would make an excellent addition to the collection of any historian interested in the other side of the 1940 campaign or the minutiae of fortification construction. Service school libraries would certainly benefit by adding this book to their collections."
    —Army History     Summer 2009
Description: The Maginot Line was the last great gun-bearing line of subterranean forts built before World War II. Although it acquired an unjustified reputation as a white elephant, the Maginot Line fulfilled the role for which it was built, allowing the French High Command the opportunity to mass its forces and counter the German invasion. Unfortunately, the French leadership failed to make the most of its assets, with the resulting disastrous outcome.

During the 1920s, the French High Command formulated a number of offensive plans to strike at Germany, but by the end of the decade, it switched to defensive plans because of a lack of manpower. Work thus began on the Maginot Line and on other fortifications such as the French Mareth Line in North Africa and the heavy naval coastal defense batteries in Bizerte (Tunisia) and Toulon (France). The authors conclude that the Maginot Line offered the French High Command many opportunities from September 1939 until May 1940. They blame a failed French military doctrine for taking the initiative away from subordinates, laying the groundwork for the disastrous events of 1940 that left the French High Command paralyzed while German forces broke through the weakly held Ardennes.
Table of Contents:
  • Introduction
    Marching to the Wrong Tune
    The Maginot Line
    Closing the Gaps from the North Sea to the Mediterranean
    Coastal and Air Defenses
    The March to Defeat--The French Army and the Maginot Line at War
    Conclusion
    Glossary
    Bibliography
About the Author: J. E. Kaufmann is a freelance researcher and a retired public school teacher. He has published several books on fortifications and is the founder of Site O, an international group devoted to the study of fortifications. His numerous articles have appeared in Military Affairs, Fort: the International Journal of Fortification and Military Architecture, and Strategy and Tactics.

H. W. Kaufmann is an instructor in the Romance Language Department at San Antonio College. She has a Ph.D. in Medieval Spanish, and is fluent in French, Spanish, Italian, Polish, and Amharic. She is the co-author of numerous books on fortifications and has translated articles on fortifications for foreign-language magazines.

Tomasz Idzikowski is a professional artist.
LCC Class: UG429
All rights reserved. Copyright © 1999-2009 ABC-CLIO
130 Cremona Dr., Santa Barbara, CA 93117 805-968-1911