The Fortified Sector of Boulay (Secteur Fortifiée de Boulay) was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line to the north and east of Metz in northeastern France. The left (western) wing of the Boulay sector was among the earliest and strongest portions of the Maginot Line. The right wing, started after 1931, was progressively scaled back in order to save money during the Great Depression. It was attacked in 1940 by German forces in the Battle of France. Despite the withdrawal of the mobile forces that supported the fixed fortifications, the sector successfully fended off German assaults before the Second Armistice at Compiègne. The positions and their garrisons finally surrendered on 27 June 1940. Following the war many positions were reactivat