I like the map of the where the French expect the German blow to fall. Note that the Ardennes are not part of their expectations.
Baldwin metions the Ardennes only once in the whle article. Part of one sentence, “the most difficult...”
Guess the Germans didn’t read the TIMES.
further proof that hitler was a NYT subscriber. wouldnt you attack exactly where it wasnt expectd? also, not an expert, but the apparant reliance on machine guns as defense was to prove fatal. i dont think machine guns do a whole lot to a tank division on the move. in any event all the forts and fixed guns were run over in about a week if i recall.
The routes of invasion look a lot like the old Schlieffen Plan. Incidently, if you disregard the routes through the Maginot Line opposite Germany, the map shows the very routes the Germans were actually planning at this time.
The article, with just a brief passage, dismisses the Ardennes as being “studded with Belgian pillboxes.” Hah! Some pillboxes!
But what nobody is considering is not just the thrust through the Ardennes, but the idea that instead of Paris, the objective will be the Channel and the amputation of the northern half of the allied front.