Why does the Maginot Line get such a bad rep? It did exactly what it was intended to do - force the Germans to attack France through a narrow funnel from the north where French forces could be concentrated to stop them. It was a sound use of France's limited manpower, allowing a long front to be held with relatively few men and buying time for full mobilisation to be achieved. As it happened the Germans attacked through the Ardennes instead, which was believed to be too difficult for large scale troop movements but that did not invalidate the Maginot line.