The French military spent a decade - and three billion francs - building the perfect defense against another German invasion. The Maginot Line stretched hundreds of kilometers along the Franco-German border, a marvel of engineering with underground railways, air-conditioned barracks, and heavy artillery that could pivot to strike attackers from any angle.
Military experts called it impenetrable.
The French public slept soundly behind their concrete shield.
And when Hitler's forces invaded France in 1940, they…went around it.
Literally.
The Germans bypassed the Maginot Line by cutting through the Ardennes Forest - terrain the French high command had deemed "impassable" for modern armies. Six weeks later, the Nazis were goose-stepping down the Champs-Élysées. The most expensive defensive system in history had become useless almost overnight. Its failure was such a seismic, cultural shock to the French military and elite psyche that it made France’s surrender almost inevitable. Philippe Pétain, a hero of WW1 and France’s leader, was reduced to tears.
The Maginot Illusion - the false sense of security that comes from heavily fortifying against the last threat while remaining blind to the next one - brought an empire to its knees. But 80 years later, the institutions, companies, and nations that feel most secure behind their defenses are still the ones most vulnerable to collapse...
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