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The Maginot Line was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other defences which France constructed along her borders with Germany and with Italy in the wake of World War I. Generally the Maginot Line refers to either the entire system or just the defences facing Germany while the Alpine Line is used for the Franco-Italian defences. The French believed the fortification would provide time for their army to mobilise in the event of attack and also compensate for numerical weakness. The success of static, defensive combat in World War I was a key influence on French thinking.
The term "Maginot Line" has been used as a metaphor for something that is confidently relied upon despite being ineffectual. In fact, it did exactly what it was intended to do, sealing off a section of France, and forcing an aggressor around it. As originally envisioned, the Maginot Line was part of a larger defense plan, in which the attackers would meet with resistance from the French Army, but the French did not implement the latter part, leading to the loss of effectiveness of the Line.
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