Why are the French so bad at wars?

You might want to rethink that The colors or different flags were "Situational" and could mean many different action to meet many different orders for many different strategies, but hey I like arguing with easy opponents ¯\_(º¸º)_/¯

 

War is a disaster but there are worse things.

1. Korea. We won then the Chinese invaded

2. Vietnam We won then Congress made us leave

3. First gulf war we won hands down

4. Kosovo just a distraction from Clinton's open zipper

5 Gulf war 2. We spanked Saddam and Isis

6. Afganistan. Sucky place to fight and we never sent the number of people needed.


Korea is much better off for our intervention

Vietnam would have bern better off except for congress

Iraq/ Syria. Saddam/ Isis are gone so things should improve.

Afghanistan we need more people on the ground to make the Taliban surrender i am sure Pakistan ain't helping much.

 

Perhaps you might like to mention all the wars the French won?

 

Sorry nope semaphore is a few years in the future.

 

The French are lovers, not fighters.

 

Good points but England owned much of France until the French eventually kicked them out.

 

Anything more recent than 1900? The popular joke during WWII was French "Military Rifles for sale, never been fired and only dropped once"

 

A Frenchman once told me the French love to fight with their feet and make love with their face.

 

Mebbe it was just a run of bad luck?

And quit typing all weird.

 

Why pick 1900?
Why not the following:

52 B.C. Battle of Gergovia The Gallic Tribes, led by Vercingetorix, defeat the Roman Republic army led by Julius Caesar. Despite the victory, the Gauls take heavy casualties among their ranks, forcing a retreat to Alesia.

1.5 451 Battle of the Catalaunian Plains A coalition led by the Frankish king Merovech, the Roman general Flavius Aetius and the Visigothic king Theodoric I against the Huns and their allies commanded by their leader Attila. It was one of the last major military operations of the Western Roman Empire and one of the biggest of the time. The Huns fled back to the east.

2. 496 A.D. Battle of Tolbiac The Franks, led by Clovis I, are victorious over the Alamanni.

3. 732 Battle of Tours / Battle of Poitiers The Carolingian Franks, led by Charles Martel, defeat a large invading Muslim force under the command of Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi.

4. 1066 Battle of Hastings - October 14th The Normans, led by William the Conquerer, defeat King Harold II and his Anglo-Saxon army.

4bis. 1214 Battle of Bouvines Philip Augustus of France defeated an army consisting of Imperial German, English and Flemish soldiers, led by Otto IV of Germany.

5. 1369 Battle of Montiel The Franco-Castilian combined forces led by Henry II of Castile find victory against a conglomerate of Portuguese, Jewish, Granadine and Marinid forces led by Pedro of Castile.

6. 1428 Siege of Orleans - October 12th-May 8th Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), Gilles de Rais and Jean d'Orleans of France defeat the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Salisbury and the Duke of Suffolk.

7. 1429 Battle of Patay - June 18th La Hire, Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc) and Poton de Xaintrailles of France defeat Sir John Fastolf of England, effectively turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War.

8. 1435 Battle of Gerberoy French forces, led by commander La Hire and Jean Poton Xaintrailles, defeat the English.

8bis. 1453 Battle of Castillon A decisive French victory, it is considered to mark the end of the Hundred Years' War. As a result of the battle, the English lost all landholdings in France, except Calais and the Channel Islands.

9. 1515 Battle of Marignano Francis I and his French forces defeat the Swiss.

10a. 1690 Battle of Fleurus In this naval battle, the French are victorious over the Anglo-Dutch.

10b. 1690 Battle of Fleurus - July 1690 In this a major engagement of the Nine Years' War, the Duke of Luxembourg, commanding Louis XIV’s army of some 35,000 men, soundly defeated Prince Waldeck’s Allied force of approximately 38,000 men comprising mainly Dutch, German, and Spanish troops.

11. 1745 Battle of Fontenoy - May 11th Maurice de Saxe and his French army defeat a contingent of Anglo-Austrian-Dutch-Hano troops.

12. 1792 Battle of Valmy - September 20th France defeats the invading armies of Prussia and Austria.

12bis. 1792 Siege of Lille The Holy Roman Empire is defeated in his attempt to seize the city of Lille.

12ter. 1794 Battle of Fleurus The Battle of Fleurus, on 26 June 1794, was a major engagement between the army of the First French Republic, under General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, and the Coalition Army (Great Britain, Hanover, Dutch Republic, and Habsburg Monarchy), commanded by Prince Josias of Coburg, in the most decisive battle of the Flanders Campaign in the Low Countries during the French Revolutionary Wars. Both sides had forces in the area numbering in the vicinity of 80,000 men, but the French were able to more effectively concentrate their troops in order to achieve victory against the First Coalition. The Allied defeat led to the permanent loss of the Austrian Netherlands and to the destruction of the Dutch Republic. The battle marked a turning point for the French army which afterwards remained ascendant throughout the rest of the War of the First Coalition.

13. 1797 Battle of Rivoli Napoleon's French forces net a victory over the Austrians.

14. 1798 Battle of the Pyramids French forces route Egyptian Mamelukes.

15. 1799 Battle of Mount Tabor Outnumbered French forces decimate a much larger Turkish force.

15bis. 1800 Battle of Marengo The French overcame General Michael von Melas's surprise attack near the end of the day, driving the Austrians out of Italy, and enhancing Napoleon's political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d’état the previous November.

16. 1805 Battle of Austerlitz - December 2nd Napoleon I of France is decidedly victorious over Russia and the Austrian Empire.

17. 1809 Battle of Wagram - July 5th-6th A decisive victory for Napoleon Bonaparte over Austria's Archduke Charles.

18. 1813 Battle of Dresden The outnumbered French forces route a larger multi-national contingent.

19. 1815 Battle of Ligny Standing as Napoleon's final victory, French forces find success over the Prussians.

20. 1830 Invasion of Algeria French forces invade and conquer the North African country of Algeria.

21. 1854 Battle of Balaclava - October 25th A coalition of French, British and Turkish troops defeat Russia during this Crimean War engagement.

22. 1855 Battle of Malakoff French forces help in overtaking the Russians.

23. 1859 Battle of Solferino The French are victorious over the Austrians.

24. 1916 Battle of Verdun Casualties mount on both sides but French forces ultimately push back the German tide.

25. 1918 Battle of Amiens - August 8th-11th French, British, Canadian and Australian forces are victorious over Germany.

Then, modern era.

 

Bugles and drums carry further than a voice too.

 

I have found that they, in general, are not good business people either. However, they are known as great lovers (rivaling the Italians)
and great chefs.

 

The first few were long before the country of France existed. The others were battles which may or may not have resulted in winning a war.

 

LOL you do not read history it would seems as they more then held their own in war after war and that with half the population of their unfriendly neighbors such as Germany.

 

Primary signal implements back in the day. Drums kept cadence on the march Bugles had calls for advance, and retreat. as well get up and go to bed, cavalry had still more signals, recall being a common one. Military bands were fairly common but they seldom went to war.

 

On the other hand, maybe Al has a point...

 

Yes yes and there were similar Jokes about the Italians. One From 'Up Front' Bill Malden's book. Somewhere along the Gothic Line in Northern Italy A German sniper sends a bullet ricocheting of the rocks near and American machine gun position and yells out, "How do you like your new allies"? The American fires a short burst at the tree line and shouts back. "You can have 'em back".

Another, How many gears does an Italian tank have? 5, 4 reverse and one forward. What's the one forward for? In case they get attacked from behind.

 

Perhaps you could try answering the question in the OP, or just don't post anything?

 

You forgot possibly the most important of these early modern battles Rocroi, Where Duc d' Enghien ended the Dominance of the Spanish Tercio

 

Thankyou for your gracious advice. One post that isn't akin to nationalistic crotch-rot is a boon in my most humble opinion.

 

There have actually been at least a dozen but you weren't really paying attention were you?

 

Ever wonder why the French planted so many beautiful trees along the "Champs Elysees?" .......it was so that the invading armies could march in the shade! How thoughtful!!

 

Yep! I only returned to the thread after the lovely advice offered. To be honest, I was hoping for some rugby commentary. With New York considering a Rugby League side, it seemed like only a matter of time before there was discussion of French history. Reference to the perceived adoption of the English Union game, as a means to install officer discipline. Then discussion of the Vichy French and how they destroyed the thriving adoption of the working class League variety. Imagine my surprise when that didn't occur!

 

I took the opportunity to discuss general military history and the obscenity that was WWI.