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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 12:21 am
by Mikey
So, they beat up France. EVERYBODY beat up France in the 19th c. and onwards.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:20 pm
by Deepcrush
Monroe wrote:Hate to tell you guys but.. British weren't the strongest army. The Prussians were.
Sorry but no, the Prussians were good sure enough but they weren't the best. The French and English were by an far the best "Rank and File" troops the world had ever seen.

P.S.
Does anyone even know what the last war the French won was?

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:23 pm
by Sionnach Glic
Does World War 2 count?

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:23 pm
by Deepcrush
NO!

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:24 pm
by Deepcrush
NO!

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:24 pm
by Aaron
I'd say WWII, seeing as the Free French forces fought alongside the allies and the resistance was tying down the Germans as much as they could. Gulf War I also comes to mind.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:27 pm
by Deepcrush
Ok, lets try this again.

What was the last war that the French WON on their own or in EQUAL part to their allies. WW2 is no, they surrendered remember. Gulf War, no they really didn't do anything important. WW1, maybe, if you don't count how the English had to save them.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:31 pm
by Captain Seafort
Deepcrush wrote:Sorry but no, the Prussians were good sure enough but they weren't the best. The French and English were by an far the best "Rank and File" troops the world had ever seen.
It depends on which period you're talking about - during the Seven Years War the Prussian Army was by far the best in the world.
Does anyone even know what the last war the French won was?
First Gulf War: not involved in any major capacity.

WW2: 1st Army played an important role in the fighting in southern France and Germany. Early involvement wasn't quite as good though.

WW1: Bore the brunt of the fighting from 1914 until lat 1917, then the BEF took over the leading role.

Crimean War: combined Franco-British effort, I don't know enough to state the balance absolutely, but Britain seemed to play the leading role.

Conclusion: the last war in which the French played the critical role on the winning side was the American Revolution.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:34 pm
by Deepcrush
I think WW1 is the last war that we could say the French were true victors.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:34 pm
by Sionnach Glic
I think the period Deep is talking about is the American Revolution.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:42 pm
by Captain Seafort
Deepcrush wrote:I think WW1 is the last war that we could say the French were true victors.
They played an important role in the early part of the war, but from mid-to-late 1917 they were effectively crippled by their massive losses. The decisive battles of 1918 were fought by the BEF.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:47 pm
by Deepcrush
Captain Seafort wrote:
Deepcrush wrote:I think WW1 is the last war that we could say the French were true victors.
They played an important role in the early part of the war, but from mid-to-late 1917 they were effectively crippled by their massive losses. The decisive battles of 1918 were fought by the BEF.
And the late arriving Americans. Nothing like a million fresh troops in a month to brighten the mood.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:53 pm
by Captain Seafort
Deepcrush wrote:And the late arriving Americans. Nothing like a million fresh troops in a month to brighten the mood.
The AEF was never present in sufficient strength to have a significant military influence. Their major effect was their potential to have deployed in massive numbers in the campaign of 1919.

Either way, the French had a secondary role in forcing the armistice.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:00 pm
by Deepcrush
The AEF was never present in sufficient strength to have a significant military influence.
Do you mean not in strength overall or just because of the location? American units scored a number of victories against german forces. None of which were war winning in their own but to say that they didn't have an effect is just silly.

Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:01 pm
by Enkidu
Probably the last wars the French won where some of the post-colonial bush fire wars in Africa, such as Chad. Not counting the two World Wars, the Crimean War, in partnership with Britain, The Ottoman Empire and IIRC, Savoy was the last success in a major war that springs to my mind.