The inpenetrable Maginot line

[Jusas]

I was just wondering, what has been modified so much that the Maginot line has become such a fortress? I mean, Germans attack with a force of 30+ divisions (armored, motorized, infantry) and the only defending force is like 2 or 3 infantry divisions and they can't even hurt them. It really can't work that way! They attack from 3 directions with such a force, 3 divisions of infantry/garrison can't possibly hold them out.

The year is now '42 and Germany is still trying to invade that Maginot line, the rest of France has been occupied long time ago. Something's definitely wrong...

Oh and this is my first HSR game, don't really know how things "normally" go but this has definitely disappointed me.

 

[|AXiN|]

That was the entire point of the line, you realise. iirc they're the most formidable fortifications constructed.

 

[Jusas]

Sure, I understand that but it seems to kill the game completely. The Germans bypassed the line and conquered all of France EXCEPT those three provinces with the fortifications which again prevented them from being victorious in the west. The line isn't protecting the whole provinces anyway, just the border between France and Germany so it seems a bit stupid that it prevents Germany's victory over France.

 

[mrsund]

They are working on a maginotevent, but I do like this, encircle and save, then reload and the maginot have no open supplyline to there capital.

 

[Sir Humphrey]

Thats because they are so strong, but the supply line is the real problem.

 

[Hallsten]

That was the entire point of the line, you realise. iirc they're the most formidable fortifications constructed.

That's true, but it wasn't nearly as good when the Germans came at it from behind.
I made an event a while ago which reduces Metz to a size three fortress and the other ones to size two fortresses when a foreign nation controls Paris and Reims which is, IMHO, pretty historical.

What would be nice, though, would be a "fantasy" set of events where France expands the line to the Atlantic. I did that playing France once, it's a pretty boring game but it's sure to be a challenge for a human player...

 

[Sir Humphrey]

Well I know for a fact that in HoI the CORE modification gave that as an option in the response to the reoccupation of the Rhineland.

 

[Hallsten]

Well I know for a fact that in HoI the CORE modification gave that as an option in the response to the reoccupation of the Rhineland.

aaaaahm, that's very possible. I never played as France, so I wouldn't know...
Seems like a good idea, though.

 

[Sir Humphrey]

I thought it was good as well.

 

[unmerged(39925)]

What you people probably don't know is when the invasion of France began, there were three Army Groups, A, B, C. While(I don't know the letter....I forget) A was moving through Netherlands/Belgium, and B was moving through Ardennes, C attacked the Maginot line head on, trying to peirce it, well of course it didn't work because of the sheer fortification to number ratio. But when you attack any fortress with over 30 divisions from multiple sides with that 30-3 ratio, plus the armor bonus, plus the multiple direction bonus, no matter the fortification( as long as not 30...hehe) its gonna fall...

 

[mrsund]

What you people probably don't know is when the invasion of France began, there were three Army Groups, A, B, C. While(I don't know the letter....I forget) A was moving through Netherlands/Belgium, and B was moving through Ardennes, C attacked the Maginot line head on, trying to peirce it, well of course it didn't work because of the sheer fortification to number ratio. But when you attack any fortress with over 30 divisions from multiple sides with that 30-3 ratio, plus the armor bonus, plus the multiple direction bonus, no matter the fortification( as long as not 30...hehe) its gonna fall...

Well I think most of us know pretty well what happen, but there should and must be an event for this cause, its not realistic that they would keep on fighting forever when the rest of france is overun.

 

[Rey]

Hello Stony Road people!
The Maginot Line had supplies for 3 months. After the fall of Paris and the vichy peace, the soldiers in the line still fought for a month, until ~July, when their commanders accepted the fact France had lost. So it is somewhat realistic when you manage to take the whole France except for those 3 provinces.

 

[unmerged(49101)]

What you people probably don't know is when the invasion of France began, there were three Army Groups, A, B, C. While(I don't know the letter....I forget) A was moving through Netherlands/Belgium, and B was moving through Ardennes, C attacked the Maginot line head on, trying to peirce it, well of course it didn't work because of the sheer fortification to number ratio. But when you attack any fortress with over 30 divisions from multiple sides with that 30-3 ratio, plus the armor bonus, plus the multiple direction bonus, no matter the fortification( as long as not 30...hehe) its gonna fall...

IIRC, it did in fact work, and a regular infantry attack supported by direct-fire weapons such as 88mm FlaK went through the line like a hot knife through butter. But I can try to check that information.

 

[unmerged(19080)]

IIRC, it did in fact work, and a regular infantry attack supported by direct-fire weapons such as 88mm FlaK went through the line like a hot knife through butter. But I can try to check that information.

Not one of the main fortress of the line fell in battle.

 

[unmerged(49273)]

"Not one has fallen", I remember, it is false; in fact the first German paratrooper battallion took one of the key fortress of the line, before the end of the war.

 

[Lurken]

"Not one has fallen", I remember, it is false; in fact the first German paratrooper battallion took one of the key fortress of the line, before the end of the war.

Wasn't it Eben Ameal? Or how you spell it, the belgium fortress you hav in mind?

 

[Dercius]

Eben Emael fort was situated in Belgium. German paras occupied the fort on 10th May 1940

 

[Nogrentain]

Indeed. An event represents it, although I have no clue what it is. For the longest time I had no clue where this supposed fortress was and what I did to trigger it.

Generally the guns on the Maginot line weren't designed to turn 180 degrees, it wans't expected at all that it could be outflanked. While it is true that they would hold out for a few months, I have playe done game where Vichy never triggered for some stupid reason and I had to annex France. This took until late 1949 and with 60 divisions surrounding Maginot, and a dozen tactical and strategic bomber sqns, I could not take it out until I made paratroopers in 1949(I waited until 1945 to DoW the allies) and used them in conjunction and each province fell within 3-6 hours. I found that interesting!

My first time playing France I also expanded the Maginot Line. I only got bored in 1940 so I launched an amphibious invasion of Germany via Northern Germany just before they DoW'd Belgium and I punched my way through to the Maginot line and annexed Germany (since they refused to accept becoming puppets even though I completely ran over Germany, most of annexed Polad, Slovakia, and Hungary) None of those nations were willing to even surrender. I found that extremely weird.