Maginot Line

The Maginot Line was a line of defenses built on the eastern border of France to defend against an attack from Germany between World War I and World War II. It was an archaic design based upon the trench warfare of World War I. The plan failed when World War II started and Germany easily overran France because the Germans merely went around the line from the north. Indeed, the line greatly hindered France's war effort because so much heavy equipment was cemented into the "line" and could not be used when it was bypassed.