Maginot Line
Interwar French defenses
The Maginot Line was a system of fortifications France built along its border with Germany after World War I, intended to prevent another German invasion.
Because German forces simply went around it through Belgium in 1940, the term now refers to any defensive strategy that fails by being too rigid or narrow in focus: Their firewall was a Maginot Line—hackers just called employees directly.
Fast, overwhelming military campaign
- WehrmachtNazi Germany's armed forces
- ArdennesHilly woodland across Belgium
- Dunkirk1940 Allied evacuation site
- occupationOne's regular paid work
Vichy · German invasion · 1940 · bypass · Belgium · Panzer · armistice · Third Reich
Reinforced subterranean stronghold
- casemateFortified gun enclosure
- turretProtruding fortified structure
- blockhouseFortified defensive structure
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
concrete · steel · underground · garrison · emplacement · gun turret · observation post · ammunition depot
Of or from Paris's nation
- Alsace-LorraineContested Franco-German territory
- VerdunWWI battleground city
- borderOuter edge or limit
- RhineMajor Central European waterway
Germany · interwar · French Army · military budget · national defense · trauma · Great War · territorial
Gradual reduction through loss
- deterrencePrevention via threatened consequences
- border securityMonitoring national entry points
- flankingAt the sides of
- mobile warfareCombat emphasizing movement over position
strategic failure · military planning · defensive line · containment · stalemate
No longer in use
- bypassedWent around an obstacle
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- backward-lookingOriented toward the past
- irrelevantNot pertinent
blitzkrieg
Fast, overwhelming military campaign
- WehrmachtNazi Germany's armed forces
- ArdennesHilly woodland across Belgium
- Dunkirk1940 Allied evacuation site
occupation · Vichy · German invasion · 1940 · bypass · Belgium · Panzer · armistice · Third Reich · mobilization
bunker
Reinforced subterranean stronghold
- casemateFortified gun enclosure
- turretProtruding fortified structure
- blockhouseFortified defensive structure
artillery · concrete · steel · underground · garrison · emplacement · gun turret · observation post · ammunition depot · barracks
French
Of or from Paris's nation
- Alsace-LorraineContested Franco-German territory
- VerdunWWI battleground city
- borderOuter edge or limit
Rhine · Germany · interwar · French Army · military budget · national defense · trauma · Great War · territorial · northeastern
attrition
Gradual reduction through loss
- deterrencePrevention via threatened consequences
- border securityMonitoring national entry points
- flankingAt the sides of
mobile warfare · strategic failure · military planning · defensive line · containment · stalemate
outdated
No longer in use
- bypassedWent around an obstacle
- inflexibleUnable to bend
- backward-lookingOriented toward the past
- French HistoryNapoleon Bonaparte, French Revolution, Napoleon, Bastille, Reign of Terror
- WWII EuropeNormandy, Operation Overlord, Battle of Britain, D-Day, Utah Beach
- Alsace-LorraineAlsace, Lorraine, Strasbourg, Colmar, Nancy
- Battlefrontsfront line, front lines, frontline, Eastern Front, Western Front
- France 1940Dunkirk, Ardennes, panzer, Luftwaffe, German invasion
- Franco-GermanAlsace, Alsace-Lorraine, Alsatian, Franco-Prussian War, Rhine
Maginot Lineblitzkrieg
Fast, overwhelming military campaign
defense in depth · guerrilla warfare · fighting retreat · naval supremacy · shock and awe
Maginot LineHadrian's Wall
Roman frontier in Britain
Atlantic Wall · Great Wall of China · Iron Dome · Israeli Defense Forces · D-Day invasion
Maginot Lineadaptability
Ability to adjust readily
preemptive strike · forward thinking · shock and awe · asymmetric warfare · unconventional warfare