KC-45A Maginoter

Maginoter - hyphenation of the word Maginot (see below) and refueler.

Maginot Line - 1929-1940 - World War II

The Maginot Line was erected by the French along their Eastern--and most vulnerable--frontier, with the intent of protecting France from invasion by Hitler's Germany. A line of staggered defensive forts, anti-tank measures, and lookout posts, the Maginot Line was well-constructed and physically very difficult to traverse. Unfortunately, the Line was not complete: two major holes existed, the first along the Belgian border extending to the English Channel, and the second across the wide swath of forested land, the Ardennes, considered too thick for forces to pass through. At the start of World War II, anticipating an affront from the Germans, the French banked on Hitler's army attacking from the north, through the unprotected Belgian border. The majority of French forces were stationed in and around Belgium, with a paltry few stationed at the seemingly invulnerable Ardennes. Hitler split his army into two parts, sending some troops to Belgium, but the majority to the Ardennes. German forces broke through weak French defensives at Ardennes, and in a matter of days cut across France to trap the rest of the French troops near Belgium. The supposedly impenetrable Maginot Line had failed, and France fell to the Germans.