Maginot Line 1940: Battles on the French Frontier

by Marc Romanych, Martin Rupp, John White (Illustrator)

Overview

The failure of the Maginot Line shocked the world and lead to the sudden collapse of organized French resistance against Germany.

Constructed throughout the 1930s, the Maginot Line was supposed to form the ultimate defence against a German invasion of France. However, different sections of the line were built at different times and the strength of various sections varied widely. During their Blitzkrieg invasion, the Germans were able to identify these weak points and focus their attacks against them.

This book uses maps and period photographs to tell the story of the five German operations launched against the Maginot Line. While the Germans were able to smash through the lightly defended section of the line along the Meuse River, at other points the line held. Although ultimately the Maginot Line was to prove a failure, the stiff resistance put up by some of the fortresses confirms the fighting ability of the French army during the invasion.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782008743
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	12/20/2012
Series:	Campaign , #218
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	63 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Marc Romanych is a retired US Army combat arms officer. He has a BA in History from the University of Maryland and an MA in International Relations from St Mary's University. Interested in the Maginot Line since 1995, Marc has extensively explored its fortifications. He is a member of Association du P.O. de Sentzich, a Maginot Line preservation group. Marc lives near Baltimore, Maryland.

Martin Rupp has a BA from the University of Applied Sciences, Saarbrücken. Since 1987, he has researched German records concerning combat operations against the Maginot Line and surveyed the battlefields upon which the battles occurred. From his findings, Martin produced an in-depth study of the German 95th and 167th Infantry Divisions' battle for Fortified Sector Faulquemont in June 1940. Martin lives in Saarbrücken, Germany.
Marc Romanych is a retired US Army combat arms officer. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Maryland and a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from St. Mary's University. He has co-authored several books on World War I and II artillery and fortifications for Osprey Publishing.
Martin Rupp has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Applied Sciences, Saarbrücken. He specializes in fortification and artillery topics and has co-authored books about the battles for the Maginot Line in 1940 and World War I German siege artillery for Osprey Publishing.
John White was born in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, in 1941. After school in NW London he achieved a scholarship to Harrow Collage of Art. He then took up an apprenticeship with the Forestry Commission in Lincolnshire, before qualifying for a place at the FC Forester Training School at Benmore in Argyllshire to study botany and dendrology. He remained with the Forestry Commission, joining their research division in 1962 and following the late Alan Mitchell as Research Dendrologist. He retired in 1996. He has contributed to many publications on the subject of northern hemisphere trees, and illustrated his own Forest and Woodland Trees for OUP in 1995.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chronology

Origins of the campaign
Opposing commanders
Opposing armies
Orders of battle
Opposing plans
The campaign

Aftermath
The battlefield today
Further reading
Index

Editorial Reviews

“This valuable and eminently readable book fills an important historiographical niche, and deserves a place on the bookshelves of every student of the Second World War.” —Andrew Hind, World at War (February 2010)

“This is the only relatively complete accounts in English of German operations against the Magniot Line and other defended sectors of the French northeastern front. The authors rely heavily on German sources concerning these operations presenting some details not seen in other accounts. There are a number of new photos not used in other books and a few of the special Osprey maps.” —J.E. Kauffman, Site O, siteo.net (February 2010)

“At their best, Osprey titles can be original works of research in their own right.” —Mark Stille, Global War Studies (2010)

“...this book is a must-read for any student of WWII as well as toy soldier and model figure enthusiasts seeking inspirations for dioramas.” —Toy Soldier & Model Figure (April 2011)

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