Redpill me on their military history.

sneed.

The French were continental Europes big strong country with a big strong army before Germany unified.
Then they got their ass kicked in the Franco-Prussian war.
Were on the back foot for the entire WW1 and had to be saved by murrica.
And lost WW2 (they were practically an Axis country and De Gaule wasn't taken seriously during the war).
They also lost their colonies after the war which involved the army, but isn't the fault of their military ability.

In sum. They have a glorious history, but they also have a streak of losing after a certain point.

>>213467111 (OP)
We got stabbed in the back by socialists and communists.

>>213467111 (OP)
they won all the wars they needed to win except for the french revolution

>>213467111 (OP)
We absolutely curbstomp everyone.
And then more than 80 years ago we decide to be stupid and not invade Germany despite their hostile policy and people are mocking us since.

>>213467111 (OP)
Napoleon was cool

If France was so strong, why the hell did they spend over a hundred years fumbling around against an island kingdom with a fraction of their manpower and territory?

England had what, maybe 1/4 the population of France
No real home advantage, had to cross the Channel every time, constantly underfunded, and still managed to absolutely clown France at places like Agincourt and Crécy.

I heard about the Hundred Years War and thought:

"Wait... this is the mighty medieval military power everyone brags about?"

It made me seriously question whether France was ever the dominant military force people claim

>>213467111 (OP)
They got collective PTSD during WWI, and in WWII they decided not to repeat it and not to rot in the trenches for four years in a row, and they stuck their asses out to the germans.

>>213467407
Gwangju Massacre 광주 민주화 항쟁 光州民主化抗爭 Jeju Massacre 제주4·3사건 濟州四三事件 WOMAD 워마드 Yushin Constitution 시월유신 十月維新 New Village Movement 신향촌운동 新鄕村運動 Korea under Japanese rule 일제 강점기 日本帝国主義強制占領期 日帝強占期 Human Rights 박정희 정권의 인권 침해 사례 民運 April Revolution 4.19 혁명 四一九革命 Bodo League massacre 보도연맹 학살사건 保導聯盟虐殺事件 Korean Vietnam War Crimes 한국군 월남전쟁 범죄 韩国军越南战争犯罪 Yeosu–Suncheon rebellion 여수·순천 10.19 사건 麗水順天十一九事件 Namyangju massacre 남양주 민간인학살 南楊州民間人虐殺 South Korea Suicide Rate 대한민국의 자살률 韩国自杀率 Hell Joseon 헬조선 海尔造船 Plastic Surgery Rate in Korea 대한민국의 성형수술률 韩国整形手术率 Kim Dae Jung 김대중 金大中 국가정보원 불법 도청 사건 인사 문란 사태 국가보안법 國家保安法 친일파 708인 명단 조선인민공화국 만세 김정운사령관도무 만세 Hetalia 헤타리아

>>213467111 (OP)
Up to and including the Napoleonic wars they were essentially always on the verge of militarily conquering most of Europe, and European coalitions had to be formed against them every verse end. They then quite literally stopped having sex for a century, and by that time Germany had outgrown and the UK had caught up to them population-wise, so they became a joke

>>213467111 (OP)
Strongest of Latin nations, but weaker than its Germanic neighbours (England, Germany...)

>>213467407
France's territory at that time was merely a fraction of what it currently is.
Also, we've always had a tendency to romantize war, to regard a bit too highly what was seen as heroic values. This bit us in the ass several times, from the battles you mentioned up until the start of WW1 where you'd have officers refuse to get down or get themselves into cover under heavy fire because that was seen as "unheroic".

>>213467407
I will never understand why Jeanne D'Arc got visions from God to help them defeat the english, maybe it is all in God's keikaku, let the villains win to fulfill the profecy

>>213467407
England was far more centralised than France was due to the Norman conquests whilst France was a complete clusterfuck with the king only having real control over Île-de-France
Also England was able to easily exploit divisions within France especially after their stunning victories at Crécy and Poitiers
Thank god for Jeanne d'Arc, without her the most beautiful and amazing country in the world might never have been
She gave the world the example of the greatest patriot of all time as well as the greatest woman of all time
The greatest man of all time was obvious Napoleon
Vive la France!
>>213467536
Yeah one problem was that the French knights were all obsessed with chivalry and the chivalry that they were exposed to at the time said that a true knight only had two options when defeated, either to fight to the death or to allow themselves to be captured, retreating was out of the question
The problem was that the armies they were facing were increasingly fielding commoners and so they'd be slaughtered to death, unwilling to surrender to those that they saw as beneath them
Even if they could easily retreat many refused to

>>213467404
Perhaps even more impressive than Napoleon was the amount of talents within the état-major. Almost every maréchal d'empire was formidable.

>>213467675
Btw if you want to read some good books about Jeanne d'Arc, Valérie Toureille's book is pretty good, I enjoyed it
It really shows her for who she was, a compassionate, religious fervent patriotic warrior woman
Did you know that Jeanne cried over even the dying English?
Georges Minois has some good books, I read La Guerre de Cent Ans which is a great overview of the war and about 100 pages of Philippe le Bel but didn't finish
Du Guesclin seems awesome, I need to get around to reading his biography
God I love France

>>213467111 (OP)
Pretty good until WW2 and that ruined their reputation forever because of recency bias

completely overhyped meme. you know the joke about their national flag should be just the white flag? that one is not a meme.

>>213467111 (OP)
Loser country. Never won a single war

>>213467111 (OP)
They're the only reason Americans have a country, a fact which has caused Americans no end of ass pain over the centuries.

>>213467470
>簡体字
キッショ、もう貼るな

>>213467111 (OP)
hmm