What are some of the best strategic decisions in war?

It is a common misconception that the French expected a repeat of the Schlieffen Plan. The French built the Maginot line to force the Germans north, in which case the French could move to intercept them in Belgium, allowing the Germans to be defeated without needing to fight on French soil.

What the French did not anticipate is that German tanks would be able to move through the Ardennes, which the French believed was too heavily forested for tank warfare. The French correctly anticipated that the German attack would go through Belgium, but they had expected it to take much longer and come further west. As a result, their interception force was not yet fully mobilized when the Germans crossed the border into France and were quickly defeated.

/r/history Thread Parent