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Originally Posted by pwd72s
Ever heard of World War one????
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Erhm, two things(I'm not googling this, I could be wrong.)
The Maginot line was constructed post WWI, there was a lot of fighting over policy between fixed and mobile forces. Maginot was a WWI era war leader that went into politics, and his fixed defensive line idea ended up being implemented due to shortages of man power for a mobile army.(Caused in part by unwillingness of the French to be in the army)
So if it wasn't built until after WWI, the Germans couldn't of invaded right through it.
Secondly, although I know less of WWI than perhaps I should, it doesn't seem like the Germans had as easy time of cutting through France like they did in WWII in which only a few French Commanders actually resisted like it was a war, and the politicians caved and handed things over to Germany.
In WWI, forces built on the spot defenses, they both held eachother from advanding, more advanced defenses were then built behind the lines in case of a break out from the front lines. Offensives rarely broke all the way through the lines on either side, and whatever advance was gained, new lines were built ahead of the taken lines. This went both ways, with neither side really able to make headway. Eventually, resources stacked up against Germany, and the Germans were hit in very difficult terrain. The terrain made advance difficult, but it also meant there were less fixed defenses. Once broken through, the Germans were put on the defensive until they surrendered.
I'm trying to be old fashioned and not just look these things up on "wikipedia" today.
The cool thing about Pelican is there is pretty much always some one very well versed in anything, and they can have some very interesting stories to tell outside of what you'd find in a casual internet search.