The Maginot Line: An Impervious Line of Defence (Sort of)

[@megaprojects9649]

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[@KazuhiraMiller46]

Damn it's early lol

[@jandammrasmussen3699]

@@KazuhiraMiller46 yes

[@marcbeebee6969]

Wow such a great video before 11 wow this is a good day

[@monkeydank7842]

Why not folding@home as a topic? It just set world records for biggest and fastest computer of the world. And it helps decoding Corona and other diseases. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folding@home?wprov=sfti1

[@Thrakus]

make a new channel about revisionist history

[@Wustenfuchs109]

That line was actually a very good idea - it was not there to stop the Germans altogether, it was there to stop the Germans from going through THAT part. It was a force multiplier, meaning a smaller number of troops could face a much larger number and win if it came to a battle - and that was important as France had a much bigger manpower problem than Germany. Also, it forces the enemy to go to the area where you want him and where your smaller force can be more effective - like in the Battle of Thermopylae. But just like in that battle 2500 years ago, the enemy found a lightly guarded path around it all. The idea itself was good, and it worked just as it was planned. The problem is, that other part of the plan did not work so well. But Maginot Line? It was one of those rare examples when the military plan was 100% on point. Also, one small bonus advantage - it forced Germany to plan breaching the line which lead to very expensive and almost useless array of siege mortars and railway guns, that culminated with Gustav/Dora. Sure, it was not a decisive advantage or anything, but it one that chipped away the resources from the country to which resource availability was a major issue from the start.

[@benjamintracey6145]

I encourage all viewers of this channel to visit the Ardennes region if the opportunity presents itself. The area is beautiful and quaint with fantastic food and friendly locals. This said, as a historian, going to the Ardennes was interesting to me because I think I can finally understand the mindset of the French commanders in 1940 and later the Western Allied command in 1944. The Ardennes consists of rolling hills, thick forests, steep ravines and narrow, winding roads. The idea of rapidly moving a mechanized army through this labyrinthine maze struck me as militarily impossible...yet it happened. I too once thought the commanders of the day to be foolhardy to overlook defense in the Ardennes but actually seeing it caused me to realize the process behind their thinking.

[@darrenwalley91]

Great comment Benjamin. 👍

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

Even as a German I can say it worked fine. A wall off fortifications, designed for the enemy to attack somewhere else. It did exactly as intended!

[@wheelman1324]

Here’s how basic training in the German Army starts. The recruits are taken to an obstacle course and told to get to the end. After they make it through the course, the drill instructor admonishes them. They were told to get to the end of the obstacle course. Not to go through it. Germans have a tendency to efficiently get where they need to go by walking around the hard parts.

[@Chrischi3TutorialLPs]

@@wheelman1324 I honestly hate this misconception that the french thought Germany would just bash it's head against the wall with the Maginot line. They knew perfectly well Germany would invade Belgium, in fact, they'd prepared for precisely that. The Maginot line did it's job perfectly, in that it forced the germans to go through Belgium (Mind you, the fortifications did not stop at the belgian border, they extended, though to a lesser degree, all the way to the coast. The reason it didn't work, frankly, is threefold. For one, the german army was a lot faster than the french had planned for. This meant that, by the time the french reached their prepared positions in Belgium (that they would have already been in had Britain not sabotaged the alliance that the french had going on with Belgium), the germans had already overrun them. This is also related to a second mistake the french made, which is that they didn't understand tanks. Things like the Char B would have been deadly in WW1, but when your enemy can go several times faster than you, it doesn't matter that your front plate is impenetrable to their guns, since they can just outmaneuver you and attack from the sides. Plus, their tanks were planned to be used in a similar way to how we would use an IFV nowadays, except that this makes them easy pickings for anyone with a cannon large enough to penetrate it. The british also had to learn that one the hard way, when they had a numerical advantage, but rather than attacking Rommel in a frontal assault in Africa, instead decided to attack him in piecemeal formations that made their tanks easy pickings. Third, the french command structure was extremely stiff. When Rommel started the breakthrough that eventually encircled everything between Calais and Belgium, by the time anyone tried to move to intercept him, the corridor had already been reinforced, and an opportunity to wipe out an entire divison blown. The reason for this is that the french commanded by order, whereas the germans commanded by task. The difference is pretty simple. The french, having learned in WW1 that successful attacks needed coordination, gave each unit a clear set of orders on what they were to do, how, and when to do it. The germans, however, took a completely different lesson from WW1, namely that some general sitting in Berlin simply lacks the information to ever know what is going on on the battlefield, and hence, the style of command in the Wehrmacht was more akin to "Capture this position, here's the material you can use, we don't care how you do it as long as you don't waste material and get the job done." In fact, the system was so flexible, that it was, to a degree, expected of officers to violate direct orders if they saw a better way of approaching a situation, or a chance to do even greater harm to the enemy than what their orders stated. This is also why Rommel got away with the encirclement (which is not to say disobeying orders wasn't punished, but taking independent action was tolerated as long as the results justified it, safe to say anything short of encircling half the french army would have gotten Rommel court marshalled) Thus, the french army failed in 1940 because their command structure didn't allow for officers to take independent action when necessary, whereas the germans did. Granted, the attack through the Ardennes took them by surprise, but this, too, could have been avoided, had the french given their officers more flexibility. Had Rommel been attacked as he came out of the Ardennes, chances are he would have been blunted.

[@wheelman1324]

@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs I know. It’s called a joke.

[@tomhenry897]

The few places Germany attacked they went right through

[@williamembly3635]

@@Chrischi3TutorialLPs that was a well welcome info dump, I'm gonna learn more about this

[@The_Viscount]

There's a phenomenon in history where the most technologically advanced weapon of a type ever built always fails. This isn’t because the weapon is a bad design, but rather, because the nature of warfare has seen it made obsolete. World War II saw several of these. The Maginot and Siegfried Lines, the Schwer Gustav gun, and the superbattleships Yamato and Musashi. All of these were the pinnacle of their type. The reason they were never surpassed was because they were all the right weapon for the last war. When a technology is improved as much as it can be, your only option is to think outside the box and do something else.

[@vonfaustien3957]

It arguable if the Yamato class was actually better than the Bismarck or Iowa. It was the biggest and had the largest guns but its fire control was inferior to both germany and America's making the guns less accurate. The armor well being thicker was also of a lower quality steel than what Germany and the USA were using. Not that this disproves your main point. the Bismarck being crippled by a swordfish and tirpitz having a squadron of Lancasters flatten it with tallboys still shows the obsolescence of battleships in the face of air power.

[@abbofun9022]

Cpt_Kodai , good analysis. Fully agree

[@rembrandt972ify]

@@vonfaustien3957 Not only was the Japanese fire control worse, but their damage control was third rate at best.

[@TheRocco96]

Cpt_Kodai Another reason why technologically advanced weapons didn't live up to expectations, is that they are expensive, and so you can't built them in the large numbers that you need. For example, the German Tiger tank was superior to the American Sherman tank. But the Sherman was cheap and mass-produced. The shermans suffered great losses when fighting against the Tigers but they won because of their larger number. Another example is the V2 rocket. They were very expensive, not many were built and launched. The amount of explosives that the V2 rockets dropped on allied cities is insignificant compared to the the millions of bombs that the allies dropped on German cities using traditional bomber planes.

[@herosstratos]

One of the problems is to evaluate, if this is now the “most advanced“ system already, or just another step of development. In hindsight it might be easy to realize, but at the moment of the beginnig of the planning of a projekt it might be very difficult.

[@MistahFox]

What people never talk about is how much of a gamble the German Ardennes offensive was. It seems like an obvious move today, but in the moment it seemed impossible to get any large group of tanks through the forest. The Germans knew this, but bet everything on it working in an insane gamble that ended up paying off. That kind of balls to the wall strategy is something Germany adhered to the entire war, and going all in on risky strategic moves was responsible for its greatest successes and failures, and was ultimately its downfall.

[@DiomedesStrosMkai]

I think it worth noting that the gamble was one general's idea, and was roundly condemned by much of the German general's staff.

[@DiomedesStrosMkai]

I wanted to add that this general was Manstein, and he was helped in making the plan by Guderian. But nonetheless its interesting that the lead german generals were so insistent upon basically reusing the Schlieffen plan from WW1

[@Mirokuofnite]

Had the French mounted a counter attack they could've cut the German spearhead off and stopped them. But their leadership was such a huge mess at the time that they couldn't square away their issues and mount a proper counter attack

[@MistahFox]

@@Mirokuofnite True. What also hurt them was that they distrusted the radio and didn't use it, so the flow of information was slow and easy to cut off.

[@julianmarsh8384]

It was assumed no large tank formations could get through the Ardennes but Manstein thought otherwise, He was relieved when Guderian, Germany's tank ace, agreed with him. So it was not an 'insane gamble'.

[@paulquine6728]

I have travelled along the Maginot Line on several occasions, and even spent a night sleeping in one of its former pillboxes. It will never cease to fascinate me. Brilliant description, thanks.

[@therammsteinboys]

Maginot line exist Erich von Manstein: I'm gonna do whats called a pro gamer move

[@hsuanhunglin5385]

or rather a pro German move

[@BiOhAzZaRDqqggbb]

*France has initiated a team vote surrender* again... *Allegedly*

[@cookingonthecheapcheap6921]

Funny, but the reasons for overcoming the maginot line are just a little more complicated.

[@cookingonthecheapcheap6921]

@@BiOhAzZaRDqqggbb so tired of this trope being spouted be uneducated commentors.

[@sherlocksinha2435]

7th panzer divison - light speed!

[@rickespanish1945]

Can't mess with dudes on drugs that crossed a mountain range in 5 days no sleep.

[@keineangabe1804]

You do not need sleep when you have Panzerschocklade.

[@tongpoo8985]

@@keineangabe1804 all you need is more panzerschoklade

[@nunyabidness674]

Lol, I poke at them all the time. Occasionally with a bat when they are trying to break into my truck/house... Blitzkrieg is just the effect of heavily armed tweakers.

[@andyboyd7511]

I’ve never been early enough to say how much I love Simon as a host and I love every one of his shows! I hope you see this, Simon, and know that your hard work is deeply appreciated by millions,

[@N-Collective]

Agreed man hes one of the handful of people on youtube i seriously want to congratulate and thank in person.

[@marcbeebee6969]

I would argue that I have problems finding good presenters like him on real TV. Did you see what they did with top gear cast.... And don't get me started on german TV 🤮 I can't belive that Thomas Gottschalk made that much money on a government owned TV station. For that money they could have Simon 12 hours a day.

[@wardahwordah3737]

I agree,....... but how could we communicate with him in person,..........???🙄🙂

[@ProfTydrim]

@@wardahwordah3737 Go to Prague, find his Basement and free Danny while you're there

[@petehornsby5516]

@@ProfTydrim sounds like a special set of skills would come in handy

[@aldore6220]

The Hagia Sophia would be an interesting topic

[@dakotahrussell3375]

Or even the taj Mahal

[@patrickmcglonejr8163]

I'd love to know more of its history in a quick video by Simon. ^_^

[@lostbutfreesoul]

@@dakotahrussell3375 , Agreed... I don't think one can display their love in any greater a way.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Ahhh the comments section would be sensation 😁😁

[@DonnaSnyder]

Another great topic would be Chaco Canyon in Northwest New Mexico. And the pyramids in Georgia.

[@stevenpeeterskoradin476]

I have been here with our Scouting group roughly 20 years ago. We visited one of the main bunkers and I remember how bloody big it was. It stretches for miles and miles underground, with trains transporting everything inside. Everything was so clever, that it doesn't surprise me the forts were never taken. We also visited one of the smaller bunkers nearby, even if we shouldn't, because they were left abandoned. We descended into the darkness with our flashlights and followed a tunnel which apparently connected a bunker up the road. The whole area was full of these. We also visited Sedan and other forts from the French master builder, Vauban. Brilliant man!

[@jantschierschky3461]

Number of forts were taken. Ferte for example, whole garrison got killed. The biggest fort in the world was taken out garrison surrendered eben emael

[@RobinsonRDavid]

My father crossed the Maginot Line in reverse, into Germany with the 42nd Rainbow Div. Thanks for this!

[@guvyygvuhh298]

Maginot line in a nutshell: the right defence for the wrong war

[@Solnoric]

Ehhh, it would have been brutally effective, had the germans gone head on against it. Even coming from the back they had a very difficult time capturing the fortresses.

[@tongpoo8985]

Well it did its job, but they shouldve extended it along the Belgium border or helped Belgium and maybe Netherlands put one along their borders with germany

[@wyomingptt]

Yeah it would have great during the Crimean War. 😂😂

[@spiffywolf2850]

It was more they didnt expect Germany to go through other countries to flank i think

[@bigbangrafa8435]

@@spiffywolf2850 They didn't counted that Belgium's leader was allegedly simpathetic to Hitler's National Sozialist party and might or not have made a dirty deal behind the curtains to preserve his nation at the cost of It's independence. But even them, Belgium never had a chance against the might of the Nazi Forces, and would have been taken out with minimal difficulty by them. The French thought that the Germans would be dumb enough to go right into a giant wall, which is insane when you study their tactics during WWI. French arrogance at It's best: my enemy is dumb and my allies will never dare to deceive me.

[@ignas3921]

Suggestion: Germans also had a simillar line in the east called "Regenwurmlager". It was planed to be 110 km long. However, it was never fully completed. Would be interesting if you make a video about it. In addition, there is another huge project named "Riese". It was started in 1943. And would have been, if completed, Hitler's new headquarters and also underground factories. The complex is huge and would make an interesting video.

[@PoloDavey]

That's really cool. Definitely going to do some research on these myself

[@mynameismaxdowis]

" aren't we getting a little... too interested in the Nazis. Nothing wrong with nationalism, nothing at all.. but we really need to consider some of the benefits of incorporation socialist policies as well. Now we just need a name. I was thinking NAtional SCocialists Are Rad. A simpler, and much less of a forced pun, alternative of NaSco would be pretty dope tho. Or maybe we just call them *insertpoliticalpartyhere* " - Your uncle no one is gonna want to get stuck talking to during Thanksgiving. It's been a long year. Get ready.

[@FrankyPi]

French: No way Germans can get through the Ardennes. Rommel: *_I am speed_*

[@criggie]

Rommel was Lightning Mcqueen ?

[@FrankyPi]

@@criggie Hell yea, his ghost division wasn't given that nickname for nothing. They went so fast and deep into France, destroyed the surprised French troops on the way, Rommel decided to stop and redirect part of the division to come back to remaining non-motorized troops who were still entering France.

[@laurencefraser]

@@FrankyPi I vaguely recall that they got that name because of how much of a pain the fact that they were never where they were supposed to be was for their support and logistics units.

[@FrankyPi]

@@laurencefraser Yea, that wasn't the plan lol. Hitler later scoffed at Rommel but congratulated him, because it was a mad success.

[@robc6391]

@@FrankyPi I think you wanted to say Erich von Manstein 😉 if you want to attach someone to Fall Gelb it is probably him

[@rebasack21]

Simon : Do I sound like I speak french? Me: No, you actually pronounce consonants.

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

And you don't tack a consonant on the end when the word ends in a vowel.

[@brandontanis388]

I nominate the Dutch "Water Line" and the Cold War Early warning radar lines as future topics.

[@LeePorte]

Duga would be really interesting

[@weirdshibainu]

It's the old cynical joke. Q: "Where was Hitler born?" A:" Versailles."

[@hightechredneck8587]

Never heard that one before. I will will tell that joke now.

[@timandshannon03]

My grandfather who was in WWII used to tell this joke all the time, as a sarcastic lesson.

[@BigAl2-u7e]

He was born in Munich you idiot.

[@timandshannon03]

@@BigAl2-u7e you're an idiot. Read a book. Learn what the Treaty of Versailles is.

[@BigAl2-u7e]

@@timandshannon03 Treaty of Versailles? Isn't that the thing that one guy, Ottoman Von Enterprise or whatever, unified Germany.

[@animeyahallo3887]

French : let's build a defensive line in our border with the germans. Germans : how about we move here into Belgium. That's brilliant isn't it? Britain : yes ..... but actually no.

[@microb8169]

Do forget Hans we can just alway sail around it

[@NM-wd7kx]

The Belgian invasion was literally the allied plan, Belgium kind of screwed that one up. Oh, and the French command's insistence that the Ardennes was impassable.

[@naphackDT]

@@NM-wd7kx Well, in theory it was. Any columns crossing in that area would be very vulnerable to bombers. They just never got spotted.

[@NM-wd7kx]

@@naphackDT I believe they were spotted by a pilot and he was told he must be mistaken. Also at least one British general(?) mentioned the vulnerability of it

[@choughed3072]

@@NM-wd7kx if I'm not mistaken that was WW1 pilot, there is an episode of the great war where a pilot speaks of flying out to spot where the Germans where and what he saw was a sea of them crashing over the border, he flew back and informed his superior sir John French who insisted that the pilot must of been suffering altitude sickness and refused to believe him which led to the retreat from Mons. Edit: it was from a video called 'voices of WW1' Here Is the clip. Play from 1:55 👍 kzbin.info/www/bejne/a33aiX-Pd5yXq6s

[@sikckaputten]

France: "WE HAVE AN IMPENETRABLE LINE OF DEFENCE" Germany: "Ok, we'll just walk around it." France: _surprised pikachu face_

[@mickrussom]

not funny,

[@calguy3838]

The French and British fully expected the Germans to "walk around" the Maginot Line, which is actually why the Manstein plan was so effective. The BEF and a good chunk of the French army were in Belgium and/or moving in that direction, when the Germans launched their strong armored assault through the Ardennes, enabling them to cut off the Allied forces.

[@slooeverysunday7065]

@weird internet person /r woosh

[@tongpoo8985]

@@slooeverysunday7065 stop

[@dillonsnyder1172]

French cheeks got clapped in a hurry

[@cookingonthecheapcheap6921]

Maginot was never planned as impervious, it was only designed to allow time for the bulk of the French Army to be mobilized. The mess called the french high command after the start of the invasion is another matter.

[@romaliop]

More importantly it was meant to funnel the Germans to attack through Belgium so that the war wouldn't be fought on French soil like the first world war.

[@MistaTofMaine]

@@romaliop Also believe going through Belgium caused Britain to declare war on Germany.

[@nah-y4e]

instead the French used that time to run the other way then surrender when they hit he ocean. FFS

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

French High Command was led by three generals with the names Moe, Larry, & Curly.

[@vonfaustien3957]

I wonder how france would have faired if de gaulle had been running things his small force seemed to be the only component part of the French army and he was pushing to modernize French military doctrine

[@NickDeGraeve]

Suggestions: Atlantikwall, WW 1 Western Front trench system

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:30 - Chapter 1 - Europe emerges from the ashes 4:55 - Chapter 2 - Reasons for the line 6:40 - Chapter 3 - Construction of the line 8:55 - Mid roll ads 10:30 - Chapter 4 - The maginot line 10:35 - Chapter 4.1 - Border post 10:50 - Chapter 4.2 - Out post 11:05 - Chapter 4.3 - Principal line of resistance 11:30 - Chapter 4.4 - Infantry casemates 11:55 - Chapter 4.5 - Petits ouvrages 12:10 - Chapter 4.6 - Gros ouvrages 12:40 - Chapter 4.7 - Telephone network 12:55 - Chapter 4.8 - Observation posts 13:05 - Chapter 4.9 - Infantry reserve shelters 13:40 - Chapter 4.10 - Flood zones 13:55 - Chapter 4.11 - Safety quarters 14:25 - Chapter 4.12 - Narrow gauge railway system 15:05 - Chapter 5 - A (false) sense of security 16:00 - Chapter 6 - War begins 18:20 - Chapter 7 - Allied use 18:50 - Chapter 8 - Today

[@hebijirik]

Czechoslovakia had a similar defense line around it with the intent of slowing down an invasion to allow the whole army to mobilise and allies to respond. It proved very much useless after the main allies (France and Britain) decided insted to feed us to Hitler in the hope of sating him for a while. I heard that when the Germans were alowed to come here without resistance and saw the line they were passing they considered it well designed and estimated that fighting against it would have cost some 10:1 losses invaders:defenders or worse.

[@justtypical8604]

Love what you do Megaprojects! Keep it up!

[@jayray2761]

Walt Disney World in Orlando Florida was a mega project with an interesting history I think

[@silenttoxic707]

Do The Hubble Space Telescope!

[@MsAnyOneANDavryone]

Yaass plz

[@SkywalkerSamadhi]

I'll add my vote to this idea

[@BA-gn3qb]

And why they never aim it at the moon to prove the lunar landings. Or why we only get to see artists renditions instead of actual photos from it. (Could have saved millions just by buying paintings)

[@MsAnyOneANDavryone]

@@BA-gn3qb well, that is because it can't focus on the moon, is far too close to focus, it's a telescope after all. And the second, it's not quite true, it's a mono camera, so you need to use what is known as "Hubble pallet color" to make it look like a colored photo, but the fact is that is that makes you able to tell, for instance, how much matter there is in that galaxy it's observing for instance (O2, H2 for instance), so no, it could never in a lifetime be substitute for a painting. Go do some research before embarrassing yourself.

[@BA-gn3qb]

@@MsAnyOneANDavryone - Do you always believe what the government and MSM tell you? Watch this: Kubrick admits that moon landings were fake. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qICbd6aBf66ajrs

[@relativityboy]

"A last hurrah!" - always good when said by you, Simon. Now we just need to get you a great hall in which to say it.

[@kayjay2139]

" no matter how mighty The Fortress, there will always be a back door" I see what you're trying to say here Simon...

[@christophergruenwald5054]

That’s what I told her🤣

[@BoostedAkatsukiRiffs]

If history is not studied, it is doomed to repeat. I love these videos Simon thank you

[@woodchild2093]

Unfortunately that statement is not true. We repeat history over and over even when we know the outcome. As a species we are not as smart as we think we are.

[@timothyhouse1622]

The French had petitioned Belgium to extend the Maginot Line INTO Belgium but was rejected. Belgium didn't want to "provoke" Germany. How did that work out for them? Of course, it is the French that get blamed for not preparing well enough.

[@jimdeboer84]

EXCELLENT! Well written and narrated. Simon certainly has a knack for story telling.

[@Gotalanes789]

You could do the famous czech fort defenses that were never used, theres a lot of them and for their time they were one of the best in the world, for example artillery fort Hurka.

[@iatsechannel5255]

Excellent piece! Great job everyone. Simon, and your editor, make this subject live and fly thru the facts and history of WWII.

[@AcidUsagi]

The Maginot line sounds like what happened here in Finland when we talk about our fortification called "Suomenlinna" just off the coast of Helsinki

[@duncanmcgee13]

How often is "Suo" used in your language? Genuinely curious.

[@OldieBugger]

@@duncanmcgee13 It's used only when we talk about bogs ("suo" = "bog"), or sometimes when we talk about forests, which are often boggy Please don't start talking about Suomi (Finland) meaning Bogland... that is soo old it's not even a joke anymore. Nobody knows what the name Suomi is based of.

[@duncanmcgee13]

@@OldieBugger i was honestly thinking of a different use of Suomi lmao

[@AcidUsagi]

@@duncanmcgee13 not to be confused with "Suoni" which means "vein"

[@OldieBugger]

@@AcidUsagi Lemme guess, he was confused all right. And more on the same vein (for our readers who don't know Finnish) : Finnish is *not* a language where you can take one syllable and think it has a meaning by itself.

[@Hvitserk67]

A suggested theme in the extension of The Maginot Line: The German Atlantic Wall. I like this channel. Neat and very well presented themes :)

[@duncanmcgee13]

Similarly "impervious" defense lines: Siegfried Line, Atlantic Wall, Panther-Wotan Line

[@onebritishboi9892]

But the americans really did struggle to take the siegfried line, and very nearly lost against the Atlantic wall if not for a diversion

[@jantschierschky3461]

Westwall was actually pretty effective, hold allies off for 6 weeks. Was also in comparison a low cost construction. Key was that each fortifications had no link to others. The ost wall was a stupid concept

[@canadianbacon9819]

The gothic line!!!

[@sjoormen1]

@@canadianbacon9819 Czech had it, Finns, Germans, Yugoslaws... none was useful.

[@canadianbacon9819]

@@sjoormen1 never claimed they were useful lol all I said was gothic line is another large fortification that could be made on this channel. And of course they don't work almost every impenetrable line in history has been breached including the Great Wall of China, the Siegfried line or even the Soviet Belts of defense around and in between the pripyat marshes. It's all been breached.

[@thingsnexttome]

This is the best Mega Projects yet and that’s not that easy to do. It seems by far the most interesting project covered so far - also it has amazing documentation, photography, and cinematography Really enjoyed this one Simon & CO. So topics and ideas for projects like this But also much older like castles to Ancient Roman forts. Is it Dover Castle that is that beautiful but also supremely designed super castle fortress I think it’s Dover Castle. Either way easy to find And it’s so huge with its external wall system similar to Constantinople - which is another spectacular idea. Many would enjoy these as they are so rich in history many times over.

[@guyds9287]

Please do one on the National Redoubt in Switzerland!

[@12345.......]

Good one!

[@bennygarcia7786]

This is my favorite history channel, keep up the good work

[@theowinters6314]

The Atlantic Wall might be an interesting follow up to this one, including how the allies got important via the Japanese diplomatic ciphers they had broken earlier in the war. The construction of the Pentagon could also be fairly interesting.

[@johndominicamabile]

The Presdient of France at the time, Leon Blum, was very anti-military. He thought that the maginot line, being defensive, would protect france and he opposed more modern mobile warfare styles that relied on tanks, aircraft and maneuver. He wanted a great defense (he even thought french civilians would somehow fight the german army) but wanted France to have a weak or non-existent offensive capability. Ultimately the French never thought they'd have to conduct offensive operations, inside of France.

[@N-Collective]

Give use the buran/space shuttle episodes! We demand it! Space exploration is fun and its been awhile since youve talked about a cool machine on here.

[@N-Collective]

@jimrayner100 no but hes talked about doing it like they already wrote a scripted

[@charlesfreitag8338]

Always enjoy your videos. Thanks, Simon! This is one I was hoping you would do.

[@jantschierschky3461]

People keep forgetting the Belgium forts and extensive rings of fortifications around number of cities like Namur, liege etc. Eben emael was the largest fort ever constructed. Those fortifications were planted in by the french military. Besides those there are many older citadels, fortifications that were used for defence. The french fortifications were breached in number of areas as well, especially in the Alsace. The German attack main target was to draw french and British troops into the low country and surrounding them. The use of the 8.8, shape charges, directional charges etc shown that even modern fortifications could be breached and garrison be eliminated. Ferte, eben emael and batice is proof.Also the line hat contrary to believe a 360 defence.

[@SelfProclaimedEmperor]

The main part of the maginot line was never breached. Germany took zero gros ouvrages in 1940. They all had to surrender after paris fell, but none were taken by force.

[@jantschierschky3461]

@Essence of Order again do your research, smartarse

[@Icriedtoday]

My father fought in World War II but prior to the blitzkrieg, he saw a newspaper in France that said “Maginot line, 4 million Frenchmen say they shall not pass“

[@darkninja2004]

French: We have impenetrable fortifications on the French/German border. Germans: Go around it. French: You weren’t supposed to do that.

[@OneMouseGaming]

You forgot Belgium deciding to roll over instead of being the first line of defense, of which the french and british would push into pre-prepared positions in belgium. Instead belgium claimed neutrality, the germans ran in and the french had to dash forward to try and stop them, then were on the back foot the whole way across france. So its the belgians not the french to blame. The line did its job

[@steeljawX]

1214: Genghis Khan breaches the impregnable Great Wall of China. 1940: The Wehrmacht blitzkrieg around the formidable Maginot Line (wall). 1945: The Siegfried Line (wall) is busted by Allied and Soviet forces. 1989: The Berlin Wall is taken down. 2016: A repeated business failure brags about how his proposed wall to divide the USA and Mexico will work. . . . . . . I'll agree. Walls work as great historic memorials.

[@DMS-pq8]

@@OneMouseGaming The Belgians were depending on Fort Eben Emael to be the cornerstone of their defense never dreaming the Germans would simple land gliders on top of it

[@OneMouseGaming]

@@DMS-pq8 that's true. That is a great story that i have heard about on youtube. It was ballsy.

[@steeljawX]

@@OneMouseGaming I also love that they had the idea that, "If Germany attacks on the north, then Britain will surely notice and act." Like one day a Britishman is going to look across the channel and see the smoke from the tanks and camps (troop camps) and just be like, "Well bugger, the Belgians are partying again." While some French bureaucrat runs along the beach being chased by some Wehrmacht with a sign, "Le notice moi, Sempai!" . . . I'm sure some creative liberties were in that statement somewhere, but I'm 70% sure that 80% of that statement is complete BS.

[@peterfrancis2330]

Battle of the Maginot Sphere was the final naval engagement during the Forerunner-Flood war. The sole direction of Flood efforts was dedicated to piercing the Maginot Line and reaching the lesser Ark in order to stop the IsoDidact from firing the Halo Array and thus shattering the Forerunners' last hope of defense. Wait... wrong book.

[@vexile1239]

Yea I remember that war

[@heckinmemes6430]

"Noooonn!!! You cannot just, le, go AROUND ze line!" "How about I do, anyway~"

[@jonlitch52]

Another fantastic documetery from you Simon! Thanks, keep 'em commin'!

[@JoffesThoughts]

Suggestion - The New York City Subway

[@bethbrown8997]

Wow Simon, you sure are busy! Thanks for the awesome content. I visited a portion of the southern line and it's quite impressive.

[@f-2mitsubishi975]

If you like big, fast, and ridiculous Cold War era aircraft, the XB-70 would be an interesting topic...

[@Harshhaze]

My mom's sandal is also a great topic

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

Oooh the Valkyrie

[@reconx86]

Sandals are alien tech, they're still trying to figure out how it achieves hypersonic speeds with virtually no propulsion.

[@felforge9306]

I swear I find a new one of your channels every day and the video always has a sponsor.

[@benjamincarr9233]

Great video as ever, Simon. Have you considered covering the German counterpart of the Maginot Line, The Siegfried Line? I don't know much about it tbh, but I seem to recall that the Allied just flew over it in the end 😂

[@spooky9433]

Thank you so much for all of the information people nowadays need , I hope more people will start to understand the dynamics of war and the atrocities that follow with it. What I used to tell my soldiers in Afghanistan is "War is Hell and the Devil hands out trophies"

[@Ynhockey]

19:50 Except the later Bar-Lev line which was an equally ineffective idea, though one of its fortresses survived the war despite relentless attacks.

[@erichouser7756]

I started tuning in to these programs with top 10s net. Amazing the evaluation that has transpired since then. Kudos Simon and crew

[@iamjacksyoutube5375]

Evolution* I'm not trolling or being critical just offering clarification =)

[@erichouser7756]

@@iamjacksyoutube5375 lol. Auto correct. I missed that one. Thanx

[@iamjacksyoutube5375]

@@erichouser7756 incorrect auto correct was my guess lol

[@OddNumber1524]

"Now let's break down the line" how very german of you Simon

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

Ironically, the Germans didn't, which you'd know if you'd bothered to actually watch the documentary or, yanno, have even a passing knowledge of history. They went around the Maginot Line, but never broke it down. Which was its intended purpose. They just miscalculated the ease with which the new Panzer tanks could traverse rough terrain such as the Ardenne. Fun fact: The true danger of the Panzer tanks wasn't their armor nor their main armament, it was their speed, maneuverability, and ability to traverse terrain that no previous tank was capable of that was their decisive factor. That was what let them punch through the Ardenne and bugger the French and British troops from behind. Which the French were warned about, and ignored as 'silly'.

[@OddNumber1524]

@@ShneekeyTheLost ... r/ woooosh

[@ShneekeyTheLost]

@@OddNumber1524 Ohh, sorry, wrong. A whooosh would be appropriate if there was a joke that was missed. In this case, your attempt at a joke simply fails.

[@OddNumber1524]

@@ShneekeyTheLost I really hate explaining Jokes but it seems like you need it, if you get of your High horse, I may be willing to explain it

[@sahhull]

@@OddNumber1524 it was a joke? I thought jokes were supposed to be funny. I guess it's German humour.

[@Michael_Lorenson]

A fresh perspective on the Maginot Line, for me. I did not know the main line had held until the armistice. I also agree that, overall, the French (and the British) were both thoroughly unprepared for Blitzkrieg. Another example of fighting the last war. The opportunity to observe how the Germans conducted the early part of the war, gave the U.S. a chance to adapt before engaging them. I think that's crucial to the outcome.

[@gilbertponder5307]

Fun fact about the Battle of France: at the outset of the invasion, the Germans had two-way radio communications in every tank; the French did NOT have radio communications in their headquarters in Paris.

[@magzire]

Love fun facts

[@Assassinus2]

Arguably the radio was the most potent weapon of the Wehrmacht in 1940.

[@IIAndersII]

Jesus that's just sad

[@DubhghlasMacDubhghlas]

@@Assassinus2 Communication is always key in war.

[@JohnnyWishbone85]

I don't know about the French part, but the bit about the German tanks all having radios is completely wrong.

[@geitemans]

This channel is awesome! What Discovery channel used to be, this is why I am addicted to KZbin :) Love your way of presenting, keep the videos coming mate

[@davidbarthel5664]

The last time I was this early, the Germans just entered Belgium.

[@iamjacksyoutube5375]

lol

[@JayVal90]

Woops, now they’re in Paris.

[@nah-y4e]

Your GF says you're early every time

[@dustinhuddleston2653]

When I visited France I did some urban exploration and came across several of these forts in the overgrown forest and it was AWESOME. Seeing the pop out turrets and battle scars and underground passageways was surreal and amazing!!!

[@ArmchairDeity]

From the Czech Republic to Arizona, USA, in the blink of an eye... it’s a good time to be alive. Allegedly... 👀

[@PhoenyxAshe]

I don't know if they are still doing so, but in the early '80s you could actually tour a few of the fortifications. At the time I was a teenager and not nearly as interested (or obsessed) with WWII as my companions, but it was still an interesting experience. There was an odd sense of the compactness of the interior, and the sheer immensity of both the individual structure, and the the Line as a whole. And because my companions (US servicemen stationed in Germany) were both enthusiastic and courteous in their interest, we were also treated to a private tour of another smaller outpost that was still being cleaned up and prepped for the tourists. Same sensations, but with a bit more grit, a bit more closed in, loose bits of "What the hell is that?" (from me, but in politer terminology), and a few sprung booby-traps. All in all an interesting day for a 15-year-old military brat. It gave the beginning hints of why my paternal grandfather never wanted to visit while Dad was stationed there.

[@kremesauce]

Would love to see a video on the building of the titanic

[@--enyo--]

I think he hinted he had a video on the Olympic class liners coming up. If so that would be great.

[@Bekjeris21]

Hi Simon. I think you should consider making Megawar topic where you go through 10 biggest wars starting with the smallest. It's all very interesting indeed. Love the work of you and your colleagues, big fan. Cheers

[@paradox7358]

What does 'Maginot Line' mean in German? 'Speed bump ahead'.

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

"detour this way, via Belgium"

[@Arltratlo]

i was at Eben Emael in Belgium, strongest fortress in Europe, it took 78 German engineers and 5 hours to sack it, against 1200 Belgians...!

[@wizard3z868]

Lol I got detention for a tht answer I gave when asked what was the Maginot line in class lesson

[@dr.lyleevans6915]

Detour, take next right

[@rizkaarifiandi5670]

damn, ahahahaah

[@_Makanko_]

This was great. Had me interested throughout. Cheers!

[@matthewdemarey4762]

Simon: "So, what happened?" Me: "The French High Command."

[@Altrantis]

It's not even them. France was short on tanks and specially planes and only had a conscript army because politicians were afraid of a fascist coup by their own army.

[@MuZeSiCk77]

YEAH SIMON!!! YOU MADE SOME EFFORT FOR THE PRONOUNCIATIONS!!! WHOOOOO!!!! Fantastic upload mate... This is great work... keep up this good work.... Defenetly thumbs up for this mate. While I made some comments compaining about some kinds of things, like pronounciations, this is top-work!! Well done!!! GreeetZzzz....ZZzzz.....zz...z....

[@philippschwartzerdt3431]

History: the Roman Limes to keep Germanic tribes out did not hold. French: we don't care and do it anyway! History: I hate when I have to go through re-runs!

[@averygibson3280]

Man i love the amount of mega project videos

[@bladudemovies]

Does Simon ever sleep? He presents for like 30 channels each with multiple video uploads per week.

[@nah-y4e]

I don't think he's a real person. Probably a CGI AI creation to save money on hiring talent. The comment below mine is from my fans. I'm popular.

[@justsomeguywithasurprisede4059]

The comment above me is probably a hater

[@jyostsnadalvi4796]

@@justsomeguywithasurprisede4059 do you get joke buddy

[@DubhghlasMacDubhghlas]

Well he does love his coke.

[@christophergruenwald5054]

Maybe he’s just efficient and does waste his time like most other people.

[@larsn97]

A Megaprojects suggestion: Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom) It would be a perfect fit for a video. Some reasons why: -The construction took 632 years -It is one of the most famous structures in Germany -It was the world's tallest structures for a short time.

[@praetorian65]

The Duga radar arrays / Russian Woodpecker would make an interesting video.

[@-Garviel_Loken-]

I was gonna suggest that

[@TomTeater]

Ive been told Wichita Kansas has made more aircraft made then all other makers in the world combined. Cessna, Beach,Lear jet,Boing,Stearman, Funk and others are there.

[@irontusk341]

WW2 as a text message... Germany: Time to show the world whos boss. French: Builds Impenetrable line. Germany: Invades belgium Belgium: Oh Come on!!! French: Stop, Stop that! Britain: Oh FFS, not again!! Germany: Fooled you Twice France!! French: Britain HELP US PLEASE! Britain: Lets help you by invading Norway! Norway: Wait What??? Germany: Are you Serious? *France Falls*: Thanks.... Thanks for all your help. Britain: Let me help save your army! France: YEEEEEEEE Germany: I am The State.... US: Im watching you Germany. Japan: Aloha! US: REE!!! Japan: Oh Shit......... Germany: You dont scare me Allies: Invades normandy Russia: Invades Europe Germany: Im a dead man, Guten Nacht. Russia: East Germany is mine. Allies: We got West! Both Sides: Pointing Guns at each other for the next 45 years.

[@Assassinus2]

And, to address some of the smaller participants: Poland at various times: Oh no, not again. Also Poland: Come and take me if you think you’re hard enough! USA to Nationalist and Communist China: Um, could you please stop punching yourself in the head? Soviet Union: Please stop mentioning the Winter War.

[@AerikVon]

Simon is literally all of good youtube on everything I search 😂

[@Tarotb]

Kind of unfair to say that the French were unprepared for the weakness of the low countries; they did know, they just thought that no competent General would go through somewhere like the Ardennes Forest because if they got caught, they'd be slaughtered. As mentioned in the video, the low countries were a dream fighting area, and the advantage would have been on the French side. But victory goes to the side that makes the least mistakes; the Germans decoyed the French with one army group, and moved a second faster than the planners believed possible.

[@blackace7782]

That's part of war prepare for everything and hope for nothing

[@Tarotb]

@@blackace7782 I think the plan was to hope that if the Germans were 'foolish' enough to traverse through such rough terrain, they'd catch them. My original point was just that it wasn't an oversight on the French part; they knew of the danger. They just made the, in hindsight, incorrect assumption that if the Germans did try to go through the forest, they could catch them. If they had caught them, we'd be sitting here talking about stupid the Germans were to try and move an entire army through rough narrow terrain.

[@counterfit5]

The French defense plan initially relied on Belgium allowing them in before an invasion to set up a defensive line across a river. Belgium decided to announce their neutrality and back out of the agreement, making the French army have to race into Belgium only after the Germans invaded.

[@srenkoch6127]

​@@Tarotb But the general (Hunziger) responsible for the Sedan part of the Maginot line refused aerial reconnaissance and bombing of the Ardennes and when the Germans showed up at the Meuse he decided to evacuate the Maginot line defenses in his sector, even though the forts did their job pretty well and stalled the Germans just fine (yes he ordered the troops to destroy the guns and out of the bunkers where they had held up the Germans just fine). So yes, the Maginot line worked fine just as designed. The only problem was that the french high command F*** Up...

[@Tarotb]

@@srenkoch6127 ...I didn't say they made no mistakes when the invasion came? Obviously they did; I was just pointing out that the planners didn't miss the low country, they made a strategic decision that would have worked if, as you said, someone hadn't messed up on the day.

[@filmdesigner]

I work in the film industry. Some of the sets and props that are built are extraordinary and worthy of mention. Something that also makes this interesting is the bizarre increase in the value of these items as time goes by....

[@kendallodonnell7820]

As a french person, the pronunciation almost has as much entertainment value as the words themselves.

[@Sublimeoo]

@Michael Jones XD

[@TheMendesLira]

Big ooof guess he didn't see that joke coming...just like, well you know

[@juancana5726]

As a West coast American, I'm glad our dialect, of English, allows for flat, nonnuanced and without multiple and differing inflections. Viva la English.

[@zacharyboswell8530]

@Michael Jones seem to remember a significant force of Brits involved in the Battle of France. Who was bravely fighting the rearguard as those Brits ran away? How did the Battle of Singapore turn out? Or the Norwegian Campaign? Do you think it would have been harder for the Germans to annihilate the French forces if they had stuck around? Pretty offensive dude.

[@eliegeorges]

So does when french ppl speak english 😉

[@sjoerddz]

the Germans literally created the largest traffic jam in history when they wanted to enter the Ardennes, French Arial reconnaissance even spotted them and they would have been easy prey for bomber runs but the French high command did not believe the footage. the war could have literally gone the other way if they had acted.

[@jacoboconnell7518]

13:03 it seems the Line isnt great at repelling goats either...

[@steeljawX]

I feel kind of cheap suggesting this since it's something kinda close to me, but the Bingham Canyon Mine aka Rio Tinto Kennecott Copper Mine in Utah. It's been one of the largest copper producing mines for awhile now and is big enough to be seen from orbit. It's no longer the largest copper mine in the world, nor is the the most productive anymore, but it's been one of the biggest, if not the only, providers of copper ore for the USA. You don't make an orbit-distant-visible scar in the earth by taking your sandbox trowel and flipping some dirt and pebbles over a few times. The thing is pretty big. To give you a small idea of the size of it, there used to be a city near the mine called Bingham City (yes, very original) that disappeared in 1972. It wasn't any accident per say or catastrophe that struck. The mine literally grew to the point that it expanded over where the old city used to be. There is no Bingham City, UT any more because the mine "ate" it.

[@fore8564]

**Maginot Line exists** Germans: I'm going to pretend I didn't see nor know that

[@nah-y4e]

and it worked, hahahahahahha

[@Olli-ma]

There is another huge yet little known defense line in Finland called the Salpa line. It was so formidable that it succeeded in its purpose. It was built to be so formidable that there would be no reason to invade and therefore it succeeded in its purpose. It used 200km of stone tank barriers using more than 1,000,000 tons of stone, and 43,000,000 tons of cement for the main machine gun and bunker emplacements alone. it is truly a mega project and I really hope that there would be more English content on it.

[@HingerlAlois]

It really doesn’t seem to have been all that impressive. From the informations I can find it seems to have only comparably few bunkers etc. to cover such a long distance.

[@Olli-ma]

​@@HingerlAlois Well, I would definitely disagree there. The north was naturally secure in that its mostly just impenetrable forest with a few roads that one could use and therefore it was possible to defend it just via trenches, so the southern part was the one that was needed. And the southern part between the sea and lake Saimaa was incredibly well defended with continuous overlapping fields of fire for nearly the entire span, with multiple cast iron machine gun nests, tank turrets embedded into the ground and a vast amount of bunkers, making sure that every place was well fortified. I can definitely understand how you would come to that conclusion but I recommend that you would google translate the Finnish information about it to get a clearer picture.

[@HingerlAlois]

@@Olli-ma Relying on the forest for defense already didn’t work out for the French with the Ardennes. The Westwall was about half the length of the defensive line you mentioned but had pretty much twenty times more concrete bunkers and more extensive tank obstacles etc.

[@rurone]

I'd love to hear more about the "iron harvest" of Flanders, where they're still finding shells from WWI and the area is still dangerous.

[@maxlawson6383]

Another fantastic videos, thoroughly enjoyed :)

[@_winston_smith_]

Suggestion: Aswan Dam, including the relocation of nearby temples.

[@blingbling574]

Keep up the good quality Simon👍🏻

[@Prototheria]

It just blows me away at how fast the world ramped up production of material, infrastructure, skilled labor and engineering, and scientific knowledge. I mean, at the peak of production, the US alone was producing an aircraft every six minutes, and the time it took to design and fly one of the most legendary fighters of the era- the P-51 Mustang- was just 102 days... Now, it takes them 10 years just to make the gun on the airplane work. I'm lookin' at you, F-35...

[@ksanbahlyngwa1998]

It comes down to urgency basically

[@phodon129]

Necessity is the mother of hurrying the fuck up

[@jantschierschky3461]

@@phodon129 extending development is good for the bottom line. Money for nothing

[@rabbi120348]

That's why they sold the F35 to the Israelis first.

[@howlingdin9332]

If there was a major war against a significant military threat the F-35 would be ready for production in a month.

[@larrymccandless8723]

'It's unlikely we'll ever see something like the Maginot Line again...' Until the Zombie uprising Simon, until the zombie uprising...

[@peten2956]

Great video as usual, Simon! Now it's time for the Siegfried line!

[@Christopher-hy5pu]

I've been waiting on this video... This always fascinated me in history class.

[@workhardism]

I kept hearing 'imaginary line', not Maginot Line throughout the video. LoL. Maybe because "Imaginary Line" is prob a better name for it anyway. Imagined sense of security.

[@arranchace1306]

Same i heared it too on several occations, i thought it was just me :D, and i agree in hindsight, it would be a more fitting name :P

[@dimitriosmakropoulos8641]

The Imaginary Line is the Trump Southern Border Wall Line which attackers don't have to go around, they just have to wait for a big wind. * * Not a big Windbag.

[@mostlymessingabout]

Imaginary line, made of dashes, and dots, and gaps... such big gaps

[@mostlymessingabout]

@Russ Gallagher sums up the french during WW2

[@zacharyboswell8530]

The Ardennes section was reinforced by a significant French force to guard the Southern flank. There where also significant reserves positioned between Paris and the Belgian border that could have counterattacked. However the ferocity and speed with which the main German force was rolling back the Belgian army meant that these two groups were commited to the main line right before the Ardenne offensive. The Germans were extraordinarily lucky in this case.

[@sigmar2331]

French:*"You shall not pass!"* Entire German Panzer division goes around the Maginot line French: Wait that's illegal you can't do that