Alan Brooke, the Future Field Horse Slave the Deputy-Companion Alanbrooke, Liveblogs World War II: December 20, 1939
Thanks to a nudge...
Left Metz at 7:45 Am... to call on the Div Comd of the 42nd Div.... From there motored to Keplich why I met Johnson and Barker, and we went round one of the Maginot forts at Welshtenberg. The fort reminded me of a battleship built on land, a masterpiece in its way, and there is no doubt that the whole conception of the Maginot line is a stroke of genius. And yet! It gave me but little feeling of security, and I consider that the French would have done better to invest the money in the shape of mobile defences such as more and better aircraft and more heavy armoured divisions than to sink all this money into the ground....
After visiting the fort I went up with Hawkesworth..., We went first to the Black Watch.... Practically no activity on either side, a certain amount of shelling was going on..., and an air battle in the afternoon, otherwise absolute peace. The defence does not inspire me with confidence...
