A tribute to the military history of France....
1) Gallic Wars (58BC to 51BC) - In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.
2) The " Hundred Year War " against England, between 1337 to 1453, included disasters such as the king of France (Jean le Bon) being kept prisoner in London for years, another king (Charles VI) becoming crazy, a terrible defeat in Azincourt (1415) but, finally, came Jeanne d'Arc (1429) and the final victory.
3) Italian Wars (A series of wars between 1494-1559)- France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.
4) Wars of Religion (1562 and lasted until the Edict of Nantes in 1598) - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots.
5) The Thirty Years War consisted of a series of declared and undeclared wars which raged through the years 1618-1648 throughout central Europe. France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway.
6) The War of Devolution (May 24, 1667 – May 2, 1668) was a tie in which France invaded Spain. Thus the Triple Alliance was formed in January 1668, joining the Netherlands, England, and Sweden. They issued a decree granting Louis the territory he had demanded at the start of the war, but warned that if the French continued their offensive beyond those lines the three would join the Spanish in repelling them. French troops under the skilful Prince de Condé (the "Grand Condé") swiftly occupied Franche-Comté in February, but then, with his troops ranged across a long possible front, ill positioned to resist the Triple Alliance, Louis agreed to their demands.
7) The Dutch War – Tied
8) The French and Indian War was a profoundly significant victory....for the Brits although claimed as a tie by the French. Without Quebec, Montreal is isolated. Surrounded by British armies, the commander of the city surrenders in September 1760. The whole of French Canada is now in British hands - a state of affairs confirmed in the Paris peace treaty of 1763.
*** HALF-TIME *** That's three ties in a row (6-8), which induces deluded Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.
9) War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) was a major European armed conflict that arose in 1701 after the death of the last Spanish Habsburg king. France began to expand their territories more aggressively, but in the end lost it all to other countries that were doing the same.
10) American Revolution (1775–1783) - In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare: "France only wins when America does most of the fighting."
11) French Revolution (1789-1799) - Won, primarily due to the fact that the opponent was also French.
12) After Waterloo (June 18, 1815), France was crushed by a large coalition, Paris occupied, Napoleon exiled; in spite of the huge losses of 20 years of wars, the country recovered in a few years.
13) The Franco-Prussian War (July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871) - The lost war against Prussia in 1870, with two provinces (Alsace and Lorraine) annexed by Germany and a huge indemnity to pay but, finally, "la Belle Epoque" and decades of prosperity and creation.
14) World War I (1914 to 1918) - On the way to losing, France is saved by the United States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein." Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French bloodline.
15) The defeat in 1940 and more than four years of occupation, the country deeply humiliated and severely destroyed but, finally, "les Trentes Glorieuses" (the Thirty Prosperous) (1950-1980) with the spectacular modernization of the French society and economy and the country catching up with its time under the presidency of de Gaulle.
16) Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam, 8 May 1954. General de Castries surrenders to the Viet Minh. But in their defense, while not surrendering, even America left without a victory later on.
17) Algerian Rebellion (1954-1962) - Lost. This Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule of Muslim Warfare: "We can always beat the French." This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.
Gallic Wars - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Medieval Sourcebook: Jean Froissart: On The Hundred Years War (1337-1453)
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/I/ItalianW1.asp
Wars of Religion
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelin...apo_wars.shtml
History ; French historical anecdotes ; illustrious historical characters ; French kings
French surrender
http://www.frontpagemagazine.com/Art...e.asp?ID=20107
http://www.fortliberty.org/patriotic...-History.shtml
