French are coward, really ?

Question

I'm fed up with our stupid complex of superiority.

Do you know why USA is the most hated country in the world ? Because we are ignorants and arrogants ...

Shame on us

I found this on www.militaryfactory.com (http://www.militaryfactory.com/battles/french_military_victories.asp ) :

"...and a certain unconscious brutality of hurry and gesture in the men is related to their inexhaustible and extraordinary military courage. (…) Let a fool hate France."

- G.K. Chesterton, French and English

"The French soldiers are grand. They are grand.

There is no other word to express it."

- Arthur Conan Doyle, A visit to three fronts (1916)

"Their business is war, and they do their business."

- R. Kipling, France at war (1915)

VICTORY 387 B.C. Battle of Allia - 387 B.C.

The Gauls led by Brennus defeat the army of the Roman Republic led by Quintus Sulpicius and go on to sack Rome itself.

DEFEAT 295 B.C. Battle of Sentinum - 295 B.C.

The Gauls and Samniums under Egnatius are defeated by Decius Mus and Fabius Maximus Rullianus of the Roman Republic.

DEFEAT 224 B.C. Battle of Telamon - 224 B.C.

The out-numbered Gauls led by Concolitanus and Aneorestus are defeated by Atiliua Regulus and Aemilius Papus of the Roman Republic.

VICTORY 52 B.C. Battle of Gergovia - 52 B.C.

The Gallic Tribes led by Vercingetorix defeat the Roman Republic army of Julius Caesar.

VICTORY 486 A.D. Battle of Soissons - 486 A.D.

The Franks led by King Clovis I defeat Syagrius and the remains of the Western Roman Empire.

VICTORY 496 Battle of Tolbaic - 496

The Franks led by Clovis I are victorious over the Alamanni.

VICTORY 507 Battle of Vouille - 507

The Franks led by Clovis I defeat Alaric II (the conqueror of Spain) and his Visigoths in a decisive victory.

VICTORY 732 Battle of Tours - 732

The Franks, led by Charles Martel, decidedly defeat a large invading Muslim force

VICTORY 773 Battle of Pavia - 773

Charlemagne and his Frankish forces utterly defeat King Desiderius of the Lombards.

VICTORY 885-886 Battle for Paris - 885-886

The Franks are victorious over the invading barbarian hordes, which had lay seige to the city.

VICTORY 1047 Battle of Val-es-Dunes - 1047

William, the Duke of Normandy and King Henry I of France are victorious against the rebel Normans led by Guy of Burgundy.

VICTORY 1066 Battle of Hastings - October 14, 1066

The Normans led by William the Conquerer defeat King Harold II and his Anglo-Saxon army. William would go on to conquer all of England.

VICTORY 1097 Battle of Dorylaeum - 1097

Unified Christian Crusaders defeat the Seljuk Turks.

VICTORY 1099 Battle of Ascalon - 1099

Godfrey de Bouillon and his Crusader army defeat the Fatimids.

DEFEAT 1119 Battle of Bremule - 1119

Louis VI of France and his invasion force is defeated by Henry I of England.

VICTORY 1177 Battle of Montgisard (1177)

King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald de Chatillon gain a major victory over Saladin.

DEFEAT 1198 Battle of Gisors - September 27, 1198

Richard I of England is victorious over Philip Augustus of France.

DEFEAT 1213 Battle of Damme - May 30-31, 1213

In a preemptive strike, King John of England sends William de Longespee to attack the harbor of Damme, finding only light resistance, whilst King Philip II of France and his army is away in Flanders.

VICTORY 1214 Battle of Bouvines - July 27, 1214

Philip Augustus of France overwhelmingly defeat Germany's Otto IV and Count Ferrand of Flanders.

DEFEAT 1217 Battle of Lincoln - May 20, 1217

Louis VIII of France is beaten by King Henry III of England.

DEFEAT 1340 Battle of Sluys - June 24, 1340

The English, led by Edward III of England, are victorious over the French, led by Hugues Quieret and Nicolas Behuchet.

VICTORY 1342 Battle of Morlaix - 1342

French forces beat back the attacking English and force a retreat.

DEFEAT 1345 Battle of Auberoche - October 21, 1345

The French led by Louis of Poiters are defeated by the English led by Henry, the Earl of Derby.

DEFEAT 1346 Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Leon - June 9, 1346

The House of Blois allied with France (Charles of Blois) are defeated by the House of Montfort allied with England (Sir Thomas Dagworth).

DEFEAT 1346 Battle of Caen - July 26, 1346

The French and Raoul II of Brienne lose Caen to the British and Edward III of England.

DEFEAT 1346 Battle of Blanchetaque - August 24, 1346

The French and Gudemar du Foy fail to stop the English river crossing of the Somme led by Edward III.

DEFEAT 1346 Battle of Crecy - August 26, 1346

Philip VI of France falls to Edward III of England.

DEFEAT 1347 The Siege of Calais - September 4, 1346 - August 3, 1347

The French and Jean de Fosseu

Answer 1

Quote - "I'm fed up with our stupid complex of superiority.

Do you know why USA is the most hated country in the world ? Because we are ignorants and arrogants ...

Shame on us"

You got it perfectly right! Good for you for not falling under the spell of your own governments and citizens propaganda and jingoism.

Answer 2

Indeed France's military record is indeed as mixed as anyone elses. The American predudice might be slightly different if they, like trhe French shared a land border with a more populous & effectively industrialised rival power.  

Be careful with your examples; neither Hastings nor battles before 900 are adissable, the former being fought primarily by a Norman & Flemish forces the later being fought by the Frankish nobility, a group more ethnically germanic than gallic.

Answer 3

The French are a lovely people, there is much more to a country than its history of wars.  We still thank them for the Statute of Liberty

and we display it proudly for the world to see.  I don't see any arrogance or ignorance for the American side nor the French side of

this equation, we are both freedom loving countries.

Answer 4

you have got a great big hole between- 52 B.C.  and 486 A.D. when the french were annihilated and for about 530 years it was only romans everywhere who interbread with everyone...

Because of that time they were not really french anymore but a big mixture of roman blood and the native french population..and the boss was Rome during the whole 500 years..it basically was NOT France any more.

So it might have become France again but the people were never the same after those 500 years. The continuitivity had broken.

Answer 5

Its stereotype.  I've taken quite some time studying up on French military forces and they have just as illustrious if not more military history than our own.  I think too many Americans have forgotten that much of the reason we're free from Brittish rule is because of the French.

Answer 6

"Going to war without France is like going hunting without an accordian."

-Jed Babbin

Answer 7

France has it's fair share of defeats and victories.

But this whole concept of classifying them as complete cowards is nothing short of stupidity - Poland fell faster than France did, the British Commonwealth lost at Crete, Norway, Burma, Malaya and Singapore... and the Americans surrendered masses of men the Philippines and Wake Island, then lost their first major battle against the Germans at the Kasserine Pass.

Of all the allied nations in WW1, France was the most dominant force. Their armies suffered horrendous casualties - most French men mobilized for the war ended up dead or wounded. By the end of the war, all allied forces were under overall French command.

Answer 8

the french, like a lot of old europe, have indeed done much fighting and much dying for country.....in the past. after WWI and WWII old europe, except for the U.K., seems to have taken the approach of no large conflicts under any circumstances. why should they? the U.S. will take the lead. sometimes i think we should just let them defend themselves, they would be calling us soon enough.