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To: fredhead; r9etb; PzLdr; dfwgator; Paisan; From many - one.; rockinqsranch; GRRRRR; 2banana; ...
The military mind of Europe – particularly in the west – is preoccupied with the problem of piercing these solid barriers – of “cracking” the Maginot Line of France; the Limes Line of the Reich, of outflanking the forts, of avoiding the World War stalemate of the trenches.

Check out the picture of General von Brauchitsch on the third image. What a happy looking guy!

2 posted on 05/21/2009 5:10:17 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson ("Every nation has the government that it deserves." - Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821))
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To: Homer_J_Simpson
What a happy looking guy!

I believe the Wehrmacht opted for the high-benefit dental plan. Your teeth...or somebody else's.

Ah, the Maginot line. The Germans didn't really outflank it, at least at first, they busted through at one of its strongest points. They could do that because of diplomacy - the Belgians had declared neutrality, and so the French promise to hold the war in Belgium (they used other terms but that's about it) was no longer valid and the Line had to be hastily lengthened. And second, the French had given the Czechs the plans for the structures because for some reason those silly Czechs thought the Germans might have designs on their property. Well, OK, there was that Sudetenland thing... After the Munich agreement the Germans had a nice close look at those structures and a chance to rehearse.

The lesson is that the stripey-pants boys will give away the house for a piece of paper, "peace in our time." And then blame the guys in green pants when the shooting starts. That wasn't a lot of consolation to the poor poilu sitting safe in his bunker and hearing the enemy artillery fire...to his rear.

Then, of course, there was the impenetrable Ardennes forest, which the Germans penetrated not only once, but twice. The second time it was the guys at Bastogne who were hearing enemy artillery fire to the rear. Not a good feeling.

8 posted on 05/21/2009 8:57:06 AM PDT by Billthedrill
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