La ligne Maginot des Alpes : un « mur de défense contre une invasion armée » en 1940

Résumé 0

Less known than its big brother, the Maginot Line of the Alps nevertheless constituted a decisive element in the fighting of 1940 in the Alps. Its study, certainly in historical perspective, but also political and geopolitical, permits a better understanding of the phenomenon that has grown tremendously since 1945, that of the “walls”. It clarifies the definition, the typology, the effectiveness of these structures, to place them in their local, national, international contexts. The Maginot Line of the Alps, besides its enabling the halting of the Italian offensive in June 1940, demonstrated the importance of technology in territorial defense, but also the quality of specialized troops and their training, justifying the existence of mountain troops. Its study also shows the difficulty of policy making, especially on matters of defense, caught between sometimes conflicting institutional forces and various imperatives of which the financial imperative is not the least.