The French government During World War I 

The French government During World War I

During World War I France felt insecure due to the Germany invasion that had happened in the eastern region of France. However, this meant there was the need of coming up with a great way of handling the weakness in the future, and this was one of the reasons why the Maginot line was developed. During this discussion, I will highlight few changes the Maginot Line brought to the French government during the World War II and determine whether it was the best idea the French government took after the World War I to keep their country safe. Again the concept of Maginot Line introduced the idea of international relation skills between France and its neighbors Germany being one of them. The Maginot Line is named after a famous French minister of War Andre Maginot, which was a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installation that was built by the French government in the 1930s. The aim of constructing the concrete fortification by France was to avoid the invasion by Germany. The objective of this paper will be examining the role of the Maginot Line played in international relations during the interwar period.

The French government had the feeling that they had suffered a lot during the World War I and they needed a strategy of surviving the World War II and this was where the idea of building the Maginot Line came from. During World War I Germany invaded most of the eastern part of France, and this was one of the reasons why making the Maginot fortification during World War II was inevitable. France had been exposed during World War I, and this meant if they were not going to come up with a great way of defending the boundaries they would have faced it rough in World War II. Germany was getting more aggressive in World War II, and this was after it had been profoundly affected by World War II. After World War I the French government felt insecure, and the only way of surviving in the future was by improvising a mechanism like the building of Maginot concrete fortification.

However, even though the French government wanted a plan that would make them a bit more secure during World War II the Maginot Line had some weaknesses. The Maginot Line was impervious to different types of attacks like aerial bombings and tank fire. The Maginot Line had a beneath railway line that could be used as a back plan once France was under an attack. The Maginot Line had a state-of-the-art living condition of a garrisoned troop, that would be used in supplying air conditioning and eating areas for soldiers in case there was war. All these specifications about the Maginot Line were done to make sure the French government would be safe shortly but at some point, during the World War II, a lot of things happened that proofed that the building of the Maginot Line was not as successful as anticipated.

Before deciding on the weaknesses or strengths of the Maginot Line, it is advisable to explore the reasons why the security line was constructed in the first place. During World War I France suffered from a surprise attack by Germany. However, the French government never wanted another surprise attack from the Germans in the future, and this was one of the primary reasons that led to the construction of the Maginot Line. Again during World War II, the French government had a cross border-assault from both Germany and British, and the only way to deter such a thing in the future was by building the Maginot Line. In 1918 French got back Alsace and Lorraine and their industrial basin. Lorraine and Alsace had been taken away by Germany and now that France had recovered the two towns in the World War I it was clear that Germany would stop at nothing to get back the two cities and the industrial basin and the best way of protecting the two cities was coming up with an excellent method of keeping the borders safe. After World War I France had a population of 39 million people while Germany had 79 million people. Now that Germany and British had shown the interest of attacking France during the World War I, it was the role of France to come up with a way of protecting their civilians and the only way of achieving all this was through the building of the Maginot Line. After World War I the French government needed to restructure its army and this could only happen secretly and building the Maginot Line would provide the privacy the French military required. The Maginot Line was the only significant way of the French government would push the Germanys away was through building a wall that circumvents Germany through Switzerland or Belgium. Circumventing the Germanys through Switzerland or Belgium would allow the French army to fight the next war off French soil and avoid a repeat of what had happened in 1914-1918.

Planning and Construction

The first person to propose a defense system was by Marshall Joseph Joffre. After suggesting for the construction of a defense system the modernists were against the idea who wanted the French government to invest in armor and aircraft. However, some individuals saw the need for coming up with a defense system that would be used by the French army in case of a war in the future. However, the French government came up with several commissions that were to help in coming up with a well-established defense system that would facilitate the process of coming up with a defense system that will make safe French from any attack in the future. Maginot was a veteran in World War I, and he was well informed on the challenges they had faced during the World War as a country. After World War I Maginot was appointed as the French Minister of Veteran Affairs and at the same time the in charge of War. In January 1923, Germany defaulted reparations, and this forced the French Prime Minister Raymond Poincare to send French troops to occupy a Germany’s region space called Ruhr. After French had held the Ruhr region, the struggle forced the British to come in the rescue of Germany. Britain condemned French for occupying the Ruhr region, and this saw the French Prime being viewed as a bully leader for al he was doing to the Germany government. The British government argued that the French government was punishing Germany for unreasonable reparations demands. In 1924 the British government organized a conference that was aimed in solving the French-Germany conflict that had been caused by the Ruhrkampf, a situation that led the British Prime Minister to press the French Premier to make several concessions to the Germany government. After the London conference in 1924, it was declared that France could not make unilateral military movements to counter the versatile as the hostility of the British was on the rise. By this time the French government knew how Britain had a strong army that had triumphed in the 1918 war. After some research, it was decided that French had no chance of winning the war against Germany and this was one of the reasons why the French government wanted to partner with the British government for this would of great help in the case there was a war.

The Maginot Line extended from La Ferte the other side of Rhine River. However, the fortifications stretched again to the other side of that was along the Italian frontier. The northeast border comprised of a twenty-two huge basement fortress and over thirty smaller forts as well as a significant number of blockhouses and bunkers. After completing the security line, it was realized that the most massive fortress was found on the northeast of the Maginot Linea and this was happening because the greatest desire of the French government was to protect the large population that was found in the northeast region. Again in the northeastern region, there were key industries and natural resources that were located in the Moselle valley. Before the building of the Maginot Line, the Germany government was finding it hard to cope with the French demands, and they were ready to go into war with the French government. After constructing the Maginot Line, the French government thought they were safe from any external attack but after the war broke out things were different. After World War I the French government was not happy with how they had been treated during World War I by Germany, and this was why they were not ready to surrender on the Germany case. After building the defensive line, the French government was misguided, and they failed to explore any loophole that could be used by the enemy during an attack or war. The structure and planning of the Maginot Line were well guided and timely, but the people who designed the entire structure did not learn more on how to guard the structure against aerial bombing, and this was why things were tight after the war broke out.

After the Maginot Line was completed it had little importance to the French military and the biggest test of the security was to be tested during World War II. After the Maginot was finished, the German government turned to its attention in 1940. Germany studied the Maginot Line very, and this was why Germany was always willing to attack France even after it had been declared that the French government had come up with a strong fortification. A lot of information has been provided on how the Maginot Line failed to meet its desired plan by the French government. Although some scholars have argued that the Maginot theory did not protect French from Germany invasion the project did some good job to the French government, however, even though the Maginot Line gave Hitler a hard time on deciding on the strategy, they would use in conquering France. The Maginot Line was compared to a disjointed, moss-covered, concrete serpent and it was described in such away y because it was not easy for any military to break it quickly if they were not well organized. The whole idea of the Maginot Line was to create a nation that could not be penetrated by army invasion. However, the creation of the Line was expensive and this was one of the reasons why it was not easy for the French government to construct the line as it had been planned for in the beginning. When Germany was preparing for the French attack they knew invading the Maginot Line was suicidal. Instead, Germany tried using the scientific method as they had done during World War I. However, during World War II it was not easy for the Germany troops to attack France using scientific methods. The use of air force troops, airborne troops and tanks made the Germany invasion successful even amid the Maginot Line. Again the Germany troops attacked France using the Benelux countries.

The Germany troops bypassed the Maginot and attacked the neutral land in the northern part of France. However, somehow the Maginot Line was the one that made it difficult for the Germany troops from any side. Again the French and British troops had an easy time of countering the actions of the Germany troops. During the war, France did not experience any attack from the eastern region, and this was the greatest achievement of the Maginot Line, and one can say that it worked as it was planned to by the people who had prepared the security system. The Maginot Line gave the British and French easy time of countering the Germany troops during World War II.

Britain condemned French for occupying the Ruhr region, and this saw the French Prime being viewed as a bully leader for al he was doing to the Germany government. The British government argued that the French government was punishing Germany for unreasonable reparations demands. In 1924 the British government organized a conference that was aimed in solving the French-Germany conflict that had been caused by the Ruhrkampf, a situation that led the British Prime Minister to press the French Premier to make several concessions to the Germany government. After the London conference in 1924, it was declared that France could not make unilateral military movements to counter the versatile as the hostility of the British was on the rise. By this time the French government knew how Britain had a strong army that had triumphed in the 1918 war. After some research, it was decided that French had no chance of winning the war against Germany and this was one of the reasons why the French government wanted to partner with the British government for this would of great help in the case there was a war.

The Maginot Line extended from La Ferte the other side of Rhine River. However, the fortifications stretched again to the other side of that was along the Italian frontier. The northeast border comprised of a twenty-two huge basement fortress and over thirty smaller forts as well as a significant number of blockhouses and bunkers. After completing the security line, it was realized that the most massive fortress was found on the northeast of the Maginot Linea and this was happening because the greatest desire of the French government was to protect the large population that was found in the northeast region. Again in the northeastern part, there were vital industries and natural resources that were located in the Moselle valley. Before the building of the Maginot Line, the Germany government was finding it hard to cope with the French demands, and they were ready to go into war with the French government. After constructing the Maginot Line, the French government thought they were safe from any external attack but after the war broke out things were different. After World War I the French government was not happy with how they had been treated during World War I by Germany, and this was why they were not ready to surrender on the Germany case. After building the defensive line, the French government was misguided, and they failed to explore any loophole that could be used by the enemy during an attack or war. The structure and planning of the Maginot Line were well guided and timely, but the people who designed the entire structure did not learn more on how to guard the structure against aerial bombing, and this was why things were tight after the war broke out.

Again in the northeast region, there were vital industries and natural resources that were located in the Moselle valley. Before the building of the Maginot Line, the Germany government was finding it hard to cope with the French demands, and they were ready to go into war with the French government. After constructing the Maginot Line, the French government thought they were safe from any external attack but after the war broke out things were different. After World War I the French government was not happy with how they had been treated during World War I by Germany, and this was why they were not ready to surrender on the Germany case. After building the defensive line, the French government was misguided, and they failed to explore any loophole that could be used by the enemy during an attack or war. The structure and planning of the Maginot Line were well guided and timely but the people who designed the entire structure did not learn more on how to guard the structure against aerial bombing, and this was why things were tight after the war broke out.

After the Maginot Line was completed it had little importance to the French military and the biggest test of the security was to be tested during World War II. After the Maginot was completed, the German government turned to its attention in 1940. Germany studied the Maginot Line very, and this was why Germany was always willing to attack France even after it had been declared that the French government had come up with a strong fortification. A lot of information has been provided on how the Maginot Line failed to meet its desired plan by the French government. Although some scholars have argued that the Maginot theory did not protect French from Germany invasion the project did some good to the French government, however, even though the Maginot Line gave Hitler a hard time on deciding on the strategy, they would use in conquering France. The Maginot Line was compared to a disjointed, moss-covered, concrete serpent and it was described in such away y because it was not easy for any military to break it quickly if they were not well organized. The whole idea of the Maginot Line was to create a nation that could not be penetrated by an army invasion. However, the creation of the Line was expensive, and this was one of the reasons why it was not easy for the French government to construct the line as it had been planned for in the beginning.

Conclusion

The Maginot Line was one of the old security facilities that were created by France after World War I. During World War I France as a nation lost some cities and industrial regions to Germany. Again during World War I, Germany attacked France from the eastern part and this weakened the French troops during the war. The idea of building a defense system had been proposed by various individuals after the analyzed the losses France had incurred during the World War I. According, to individuals who introduced the idea of building a security Line, the eastern region was the region France could be attacked through by an enemy. However, the plan of making the east region impassable by troops of an enemy was the reasons why the Maginot Line was constructed. The northern region of France was known to be covered by mountains and thick forest, and this meant after handling the eastern region it would be easy for France to handle enemies from one side another region.

After World War I, France had a grudge with Germany after Germany had acquired two cities from France. During World War I Germany invaded most of the eastern part of France, and this was one of the reasons why building the Maginot fortification during World War II was inevitable. France had been exposed during World War I, and this meant if they were not going to come up with a great way of defending the boundaries they would have faced it rough in World War II. Germany was getting more aggressive in World War II, and this was after it had been profoundly affected by World War II. After World War I the French government felt insecure, and the only way of surviving in the future was by improvising a mechanism like the building of Maginot concrete fortification. The Maginot Line was impervious to different types of attacks like aerial bombings and tank fire. The Maginot Line had a beneath railway line that could be used as a back plan once France was under an attack. The Maginot Line had a state-of-the-art living condition of a garrisoned troop, that would be used in supplying air conditioning and eating areas for soldiers in case there was war. All these specifications about the Maginot Line were done to make sure the French government would be safe shortly but at some point, during the World War II, a lot of things happened that proofed that the building of the Maginot Line was not as successful as anticipated.