Intelligence agents have identified the first French national known to have been killed fighting with the insurgency [sic, "terrorists" is meant here] against US forces in Iraq, officials said Friday.The 19-year-old, named as Redouane El Hakim, is believed to have travelled to Iraq via Syria at the start of the year and been killed in a US bombardment on Fallujah in July.
Officials close to the case, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hakim was one of several French citizens of Muslim background who have gone to Iraq to fight along insurgents [sic] there.
Yeah, well, no tears for Redouane or his "destination Paradise" pals. Can't pack'em off to Jahannam fast enough.
Little reminder to le Francias:
Sprechen Sie Deutsches? Non? You're welcome.
This was the killing of two birds with a single stone - an anti-American frog (redundant) and a terrorist (more redundancy).
I hope they bury him face down so flowers can sprout from his a$$. May Allah spit on his soul.
Sprechen Sie Deutsches? Non? You're welcome.
Enjoy your Freedom? Yes? Y'a pas d'quoi, Joe Blow.
Personally, I hate the French, but are you condemning France because one of it's citizens fought as a terrorist? If so, then you must condemn the USA because a US citizen fought with the Taliban. Or don't you remember John Walker Lindh? I understand your dislike of the French, but be careful of using silly excuses to condemn them. It can backfire.
zoomerx,
Witty...it even rhymes. I wonder how long the French will try to surf the American Revolution and expect endless friendship (one way of course).
Is there even a French word for "gratitude?"
"Gratitude" does not mean jumping off a cliff whenever you say so. Was the US ever threatened by Irak? Were they WMDs? Ah, but they're Aye-rabs anyway, pas vrai Joe?
Meanwhile, French special forces are fighting Taliban forces daily alongside the US near the Pakistani border... where is your gratitude?
Bin Laden: "Wanted Dead Or Alive", remember that?
And speaking of gratitude, two French soldiers were just killed recently in Afghanistan in a war (and most of the world) France SUPPORTS.
Another cause to quietly celebrate at PAVE, I'm sure.
Another link for you, Zoomerx. Of course, I don't expect you to comment the article, that would be too much to ask.
Canadian soldiers attached to the Afghan National Army (ANA) have stirred up a hornet's nest in Kabul by being too efficient.They've "discovered" a huge Soviet ammunition dump a few kilometres from Camp Julien with the potential of obliterating the camp, as well as most of Kabul.
That may sound like hyperbole, but I was with the Canadians who discovered the cache -- soldiers (mostly Princess Pats and combat engineers) who are training and working with the ANA and consider themselves to have the best job in the army.
In the dusty foothills, 10 minutes drive from Camp Julien (population 2,000), 82 buried bunkers, each 20 metres long, housed thousands of Soviet FROG missiles (one step down from Scud missiles), and every variety of rocket and mortar shells.
Some of the FROG missiles were still in their original cases. Some heaped in the open. Some stacked to the roof in the unlocked, open bunkers. Much of the ordnance had warheads removed to collect the explosive for homemade bombs -- or for blasting at a nearby quarry.
"Unbelievable!" was Maj. Brian Hynes' reaction when he saw them. "We (troops of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)) have been here some two years, and no one knew this was at our back door. Unbelievable."
In truth, the Soviet bunkers were well-known in an area supposedly under control of the Afghan Militia Force (AMF) -- not to be confused with the ANA. The AMF is paid by various warlords and so their loyalty is to them.
The hero of the discovery was combat engineer Sgt. Mike Mazerolle of New Brunswick, who has run the observation post for eight days with ANA soldiers. They watch the valleys leading to Kabul.
He saw people to his rear so he investigated and found the 82 bunkers "loaded with ordnance, and here I am sleeping next to a FROG!"
He informed his boss, Maj. Hynes and -- eureka -- the cache was discovered.
Many of the rockets, missiles and shells had been pried open for the explosives, which are used peacefully to blast mountain rock into gravel, and by those who want to make bombs that disrupt Kabul.
"These bunkers have been known for two years but no one bothered to check them," said Maj. Hynes.
"To me, that's incompetence."
"To me it's criminal," said Sgt. Power, who works with the major in training the ANA.
I've never seen anything like it. The feeling is that AMF soldiers were selling access to the dump or permitting friends to enter it.
Littered with burned out Soviet military vehicles, the whole area is a junk pile strewn with every sort of live ammunition, fuses, unexploded shells, rockets, etc., all supposedly under the authority of Belgian troops (at the moment), who ignored it.
In the midst of examining the bunkers and taking photos, a Swedish UN guy, a French major and a German colonel arrived to make a fuss and order the Canadians to leave. The French major insisted his government had a deal with the Afghan government for the area, and ISAF had no business being there.
This cut little ice with Maj. Hynes, who is responsible -- not to the commander of Camp Julien, Col. Jim Ellis -- but to the ANA, which has now moved in to secure the site.
The French major was clearly bluffing, hadn't checked the bunkers and got a classic Canadian roasting from Maj. Hynes -- who was supported by a German general who was also appalled at the laxity.
"Now we've stirred up the hornet's nest," grinned Maj. Hynes. "Good. Now we may get some action."
"I feel foolish that for eight days we've been watching our front, when at our back all this was going on and nobody cared," said Sgt. Mazerolle.
"Gratitude" does not mean jumping off a cliff whenever you say so.
Not jumping off a cliff in no way requires planting daggers in anyone's back. You still don't get it, do you? If France didn't want to go, no one cares - that's fine, there's no reason France should have gone. France could have simply stood clear instead of manuvering against us for Saddam.
Had this happened, I would have continued to hold mild distaste for France, but it would not have been the outright disgust that I suspect will last at least several years. Provided that France does not transmute it to visceral hatred in the meantime, that is.
Bin Laden: "Wanted Dead Or Alive", remember that?
Yeah. And? What happens when we finally get bin Laden? The war's over, Islamic terror's ended, and everyone can go home? Of course not. It would be great to get him, but he's in no way vital. He's a figurehead, and removing him won't change one significant thing. Until we get him, he's nothing more than a detail for the likes of you to carp about. When we do get him, you'll just find something else.
And speaking of gratitude, two French soldiers were just killed recently in Afghanistan in a war (and most of the world) France SUPPORTS.
Why? Afghanistan never attacked anyone.
I realize accusing Americans of bigotry and racism (Aye-rabs?) may work well as a debate tactic among Europeans whose defense has been subsidized by US blood and treasure for decades. We got the Germans out of Paris, protected all of Europe from the threat posed by the former U.S.S.R. and have troops on the ground to this day so France can have it's bloated socialist government without having to pay any real national security costs.
Its like the childishness of teenagers still live with Mom and Dad who rebel against everything they say or do but realize they can't do without them. 60,000 US soldiers died liberating your country. Why? so you could arm our enemies and block us no matter what we want at every step?
The intelligence reports showing French assistance to Saddam ongoing in the late winter of 2002 helped explain why France refused to deal harshly with Iraq and blocked U.S. moves at the United Nations.
"Stop arming bloody-handed dictators in accordance with international law" does not translate in French to "Jump off a cliff," I don't think, but I only took one year of French in highschool.
The WMD issue, though the most common attack, has gotten way off track. We all knew Saddam had WMD (he gassed his own people) and the terms of the ceasefire from the first Iraq War was to submit proof of their destruction which he did not. Hans Blix even thought Saddam had them.
What's so pathetic is how transparent the French have become. They throw up the "U.S. Oil Motives!!!" into the air like a smoke screen to hide your own same motives. Bribed by Saddam? Non! Sacre Bleu!
Another link for you, Zoomerx. Of course, I don't expect you to comment the article, that would be too much to ask.
Comment on what, screw-ups? What's new? It happens all the time. At least we're not talking about "friendly fire"... And if you read my link among many other reports, the overall cooperation between the US-led coallition, EU and Afghan forces is going very well. Pave poodles have a nasty habit of taking a close incident and turning it into hysteria, don't they?
Not jumping off a cliff in no way requires planting daggers in anyone's back. You still don't get it, do you?
US generals, military experts as well as conservatives agree that this war was unnecessary, it was a rush of judgement and there was no casus belli , which proved to be true. Oh yeah, Irak right now is a model of stablity. What is there to "get"? I have a long list of not-too-friendly regimes that ought to be "democratized" as well, who's next?
He's a figurehead, and removing him won't change one significant thing...
I agree, but by "Bin Laden", I mean Al-Quaeda. The problem is, what does forcing Democracy on Irak at the barrel of a gun going to do, if it ever succeeds, and how is that going to affect extreme anti-Americanism which, by the way, originates from our "allies" Pakistan and Saudi Arabia? This is going to be a war of "intelligence" first and foremost, an area where the US has severely trailed behind, as Tom Clancy recently told Le Monde. Clancy is a Bush supporter by the way, but against this war.
Why? Afghanistan never attacked anyone.
Afghanistan harboured the mastermind (at least spirituality speaking) of 9/11 and terrorism worldwide (Bin Ladin, a Saudi, and his lieutenant, an Egyptian), not Irak.
We got the Germans out of Paris, protected all of Europe from the threat posed by the former U.S.S.R. and have troops on the ground to this day so France can have it's bloated socialist government without having to pay any real national security costs.
I wasn't aware they were US troops in France, Joe. As far as not being grateful for WW2, you are certainly not speaking for me and millions of others.
The WMD issue, though the most common attack, has gotten way off track. We all knew Saddam had WMD (he gassed his own people) and the terms of the ceasefire from the first Iraq War was to submit proof of their destruction which he did not. Hans Blix even thought Saddam had them.
And guess who supplied Saddam with chemicals by the way? France, the EU, Blix etc... thought he had WMD (most of them destroyed in 1992) or at least programs , his ablity to actually produce WMDs was a different matter, that was the crux of the inspections, which the US blotched by going gung-ho to war. Meanwhile, Pakistan's Dr Khan was offering WMD technology to sworn enemies of the US, got a slap on the wrist from uncle Sam and Mussaraf and is happily retired now.
And France is your problem?
That strips back to my basic point: gratitude is an action word. The only actions France seems to know regarding the U.S. these days is stonewalling which shows contempt. If you are grateful for your allies, it's actions, not words.
France, the EU, Blix etc... thought he had WMD (most of them destroyed in 1992) or at least programs , his ablity to actually produce WMDs was a different matter, that was the crux of the inspections,
Again, even the possibility of this madman who thumbed his nose at international law was unacceptable which was why the burden of proof for destructions of WMD was placed on Saddam, which he failed. He wasn't handled (as the law requires) militarily after multiple failed UNSC resolutions because of vetoes by the likes of French. Why?
which the US blotched by going gung-ho to war
Are you truly suggesting that after all of those years of inspections and UNSC resolutions, the next one was going to be the magic one? Or Hans' inspections were going to yield fruit right around the corner? Nonsense. The UN was getting played for a bunch of fools by Saddam.
Your failure to acknowledge my proof of your own government's complicity with Saddam(not 10 or 20 years ago but while Saddam was under sanctions...as recently as 2002) suggests that it's not the U.S. who's being duped by their gov't but the French.
I realize you don't take any of this very seriously (last time I was called "Joe Blow" was in the 2nd grade), but we Americans do. I've given up on you zoomerx, but maybe this sort of dialogue addressed by serious Frenchmen and about an honest desire to start working with the U.S. again in a real way might lead to an actual alliance again, in reality, not just on paper or rhetoric.
zommerex-
what imbecilic comments you constantly make here. Your french special forces are impotentpieces of shit that have no damn capability of any nature. your "efforts" in afghanistan should be seen as a disgrace, even for a small minded half wit such as yourself. You and your french flea cohorts should keep your filthy arses the hell away from the US from any perspective. The entire nation of america knows what little duplicitous pussys you clowns are, nothing you do or have done, has been a success.
Name ONE success of your little panty wearing special forces? Your fukcing president trots over to preen in vietnam talking his crap about america shows what a slim dicked impotent idiot he is, and your nation of welfare suckers knows no shame. The post above regarding US troops was meant as having US troops in germany quite visiblly helped you little flea brained french freaks become as dependant and helpless as you currently are. your days are numbered you mindless little turd.
That strips back to my basic point: gratitude is an action word. The only actions France seems to know regarding the U.S. these days is stonewalling which shows contempt. If you are grateful for your allies, it's actions, not words.
If you beleive that dispite their differences, France and the US are not cooperating on many fronts, you're being naive. Just because it doesn't make some sexy headline on FoxNews doesn't mean it's not happening. Oh, and next time send your plutonium somewhere else and make your own flu vaccines instead of knocking at the door of countries that won't even help you in Irak.
Name ONE success of your little panty wearing special forces?
Well Rambo, French special forces are fairly new, as France's military has gone professional now and is far better than 25 years ago. France had also the only foreign Air Force participating in early Taliban raids along with the US. I know this disturbs you greatly, but US-French cooperation in Afghanistan is excellent.
As far as "kicking ass", French paras and the Foreign Legion (and no, the FFL is not entirely made up of foreigners) have been in many areas I wouldn't expect you to locate on a map, lately Somalia, cleaning up your shit (what? no mention of it in FoxNews?), or in Liberia and Ivory Coast, evacuating your citizens. The FFL is also in Afghanistan, and certainly not to be figureheads. Relax, moron, I accept the fact that in sheer force, the US Army is still "number one". There, I said it, now wipe that snot off your nose and go play marbles.
You retort with finesse (the French way, non? Fox News, Ay-rabs, Joe Blow) but the silence about the points you've failed to address (you know, the important ones) is deafening.
The oil for food program scandal? It's still under investigation, isn't it? That's one issue Joe, and I would never claim some French banks have their hands clean in that matter, although the French government is vehemently denying any wrong doing (would you care to know that Saddam himself cut-off diplomatic relations with France after the Gulf War?). So far, accusations of "French-made" WMD in Irak, "passeports" issued to "Iraki officials", Roland missiles found by Polish forces (proven outdated) have been all proven wrong and frankly shameful. Throw all the s**t you can, hopefully something might stick someday... As far as the war itself, you yourself do not aknowledge my point that many conservative, patriotic Americans do not see the way you do.
zoomer,
I was mystified when, after the fall of Saddam, France insisted that the sanctions and the Oil for Food program continue for many months. I am curious to know if you know of any good reason for it.
Joe,
Now don't get me wrong, cuzz I don't like the French either, but are you saying that France should always side with the USA because the USA helped them out in WW2? I hope not! Cuzz then that means the USA should always side with France cuzz they helped the USA out in the Revolutionary war. And believe me, I don't want to remain indebted to the French just because of that! Look, neither France nor the USA have always acted appropriately. Neither country can be held up as shining examples to the rest of the world. Hate 'em if you want to, but do it in silence, cuzz your arguements are making all us other French-haters look bad! LOL And me personally, why do I dislike the French? Mostly, it's their arrogance and bad breath. Their cowardice doesn't help either. I'm sure there are some Ameicans with the same problems, but it seems like every Frenchie I've ever met have these three traits. Anyway, rant on, but rant smart!
Who said anything about siding with the US all of the time? You generalize my points too far. One can stop stonewalling American efforts, disagree or no.
I merely point out how unbalanced the scales are in this "friendship" and it's been that way for a long time. Their attitude does stink and hence the reminder.
Remember their behavior in the Security Council? That's not alliance: that's my point and the facts popping up about why they stonewalled recently I've put up to show this poor Frenchman why alot of Americans are starting to view the French as downright enemies, and not just ex-allies. (Read all the posts)
Mostly, it's their arrogance and bad breath. Their cowardice doesn't help either
And I'm sure you're a fat, gun-totting, bible-banging moron incapable of pointing out "Europe" on a world map. How's that for a generalization?
Americans are starting to view the French as downright enemies, and not just ex-allies. (Read all the posts)
Mostly the gullible ones, Joe. Like I've said, next time, how about shipping your highly dangerous plutonium to be reconverted to a "real ally" instead to a "downright enemy"? Or are you that stupid?
Uh, zoomer,
I asked the question in all humility. It is not a trap. I just want to know how the French justified keeping the sanctions on Iraq, sanctioning the people now, definitely not the Saddam regime.
About the plutonium...
That's the fault of our "genius" government. It's an example of the "wall of seperation" between the gov't and the people. People should know how our gov't continues to trade with our enemies (i.e. France). More likely, it's because our bureaucrats are told to splurge on things that don't help the average American (farm subsidies) and be cheap-ass on things that do matter (flu shots). But that's for another discussion.
What do the French gain by being over in Afghanistan, according to Realpolitik logic? Is it the possibility of the oil pipeline being built from the Central Asian republic through that territory? Or, as I suspect, political cover against charges of being on the enemy's side? It is a good way of saying, "Hey, don't accuse us of XYZ..."
But let's look at their support of the Palestinian Authority, of Hamas, of their overtures to Syria and Hizbollah. Let's look at their dealings with Saddam. Let's look at their attempts to undermine the sovereignty of Isreal. Finally, let's look at their opposition to extriditing terrorist suspects because they don't like our death penalty laws. They will rather let tens of thousands of our fellow citizens die than extridite ONE terrorist.
If that's not the actions of an enemy then I don't know what is.
zommerx- that was quite a cute parchute jump your clown troops made into kosovo last week.
What was it that enabled them to make this "jump" in the first place? Who was the jump for anyway? ...the french people? the french press? Ha!, you damn preening clowns are hilarious!
Even though your panty clad colonel's were passing US bombing run info to the Serbs during kosovo, .(knocking down one billion dollar stealth bomber) the US still foolishly knocked serbia and milosovich out of synch.
you selfish and welfare soaked delushional fools should have done that parachute jump int oyour seniro citizens homes to pretect your elderly from your welfare system. And I'll tell you somehting- your damn french special forces aren't doing ONE DAMN THING in afghanistan but sippin coffee in their barracks. you pussies (and the germsn too) are to scared to even leave your barracks you little clown. Your country really isn't with shit in a hand bag. You talk about US "troop numbers"- and you need to realize this- 100 US troops could take on your entire french divisions and knock the living hell out of them. The US is NOT an ally of france anymore junior. Quit your pretending and get a damn job you desperate fool.
The US is NOT an ally of france anymore junior
Boo-hoo.
Gratitude may ass! for what? American never did anything for France except looting on their way to Germany after the Russian won the war. It's Leclerc who liberated Paris as Ike did not want to hear about it, he was too in a hurry to put his hand on Von Braun and his toys. Anyway until 41 Roosevelt was trying to strike a deal with Hitler his best customer in american steel. But decided that it would be more profitable to get in the war business. Fighting for freedom! what a line to send morons get their jughead blown off. Yeah go to Viet Nam, go to Bagdad it's for freedom! It would be funny if it was not so sad. Greed is what moves American politics and the rest is made up in Hollywood, After the war the Marshal plan was a loan to rebuild Europe destroyed by US bombers and to collect heavy interests. France paid back his loan 20 years in advance and left NATO in 61, kick the Yankee Doodles out and develop its own nuclear power. The Brits did not get their own nukes and now they are the puddles of their ancient colony and hate its guts. America got fat from 50 years of war profits and kept investing in that business. The US fought 131 wars since the decalration of independance and none on its soil. Talking about agressive bastards. Eventually the propaganda backfire and the Viets wiped their ass but the ol' racket of protection for money still worked in the Gulf war because America stuck to its golden principles -- always be on the side of the dictators as in Koweit, Chili, Nicaragua etc.. big mistake in Iran, big mistake in Irak... O yes the French .. Well ! they told you so for Indochina and they told you so for Mesopotamia -- Doodles never learn
Should Iraqis be grateful to their liberators too? Irak : 100 000 civilians dead http://info.france2.fr/monde/5666940-fr.php
O yes the French .. Well ! they told you so for Indochina and they told you so for Mesopotamia -- Doodles never learn ,/i>
Not only that, Vachier, but would you beleive that weeks before the Irak invasion, the Pentagon showed a private screening of the prophetic "The Battle Of Algiers" to top US military brass? Either they took the movie a little too litteraly (see Abu Grahib) or they were too distracted by the subtitles while at the same time trying to enjoy buttered popcorn.
By Gary Brecher ( war_nerd@exile.ru )
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The new big thing on the web is all these sites with names like "I Hate France," with supposed datelines of French military history, supposedly proving how the French are total cowards. If you want to see a sample of this dumbass Frog bashing, try this:
www.albinoblacksheep.com/text/france.html
Well, I'm going to tell you guys something you probably don't want to hear: these sites are total bullshit, the notion that the French are cowards is total bullshit, and anybody who knows anything about European military history knows damn well that over the past thousand years, the French have the most glorious military history in Europe, maybe the world.
Before you send me more of those death threats, let me finish. I hate Chirac too, and his disco foreign minister with the blow-dry 'do and the snotty smile. But there are two things I hate more than I hate the French: ignorant fake war buffs, and people who are ungrateful. And when an American mouths off about French military history, he's not just being ignorant, he's being ungrateful. I was raised to think ungrateful people were trash.
When I say ungrateful, I'm talking about the American Revolution. If you're a true American patriot, then this is the war that matters. Hell, most of you probably couldn't name three major battles from it, but try going back to when you read Johnny Tremaine in fourth grade and you might recall a little place called Yorktown, Virginia, where we bottled up Cornwallis's army, forced the Brits' surrender and pretty much won the war.
Well, news flash: "we" didn't win that battle, any more than the Northern Alliance conquered the Taliban. The French army and navy won Yorktown for us. Americans didn't have the materiel or the training to mount a combined operation like that, with naval blockade and land siege. It was the French artillery forces and military engineers who ran the siege, and at sea it was a French admiral, de Grasse, who kicked the shit out of the British navy when they tried to break the siege.
Long before that, in fact as soon as we showed the Brits at Saratoga that we could win once in a while, they started pouring in huge shipments of everything from cannon to uniforms. We'd never have got near Yorktown if it wasn't for massive French aid.
So how come you bastards don't mention Yorktown in your cheap webpages? I'll tell you why: because you're too ignorant to know about it and too dishonest to mention it if you did.
The thing that gets to me is why Americans hate the French so much when they only did us good and never did us any harm. Like, why not hate the Brits? They're the ones who killed thousands of Americans in the Revolution, and thirty years later they came back and attacked us again. That time around they managed to burn Washington DC to the ground while they were at it. How come you web jerks never mention that?
Sure, the easy answer is because the Brits are with us now, and the French aren't. But being a war buff means knowing your history and respecting it.
Well, so much for ungrateful. Now let's talk about ignorant. And that's what you are if you think the French can't fight: just plain ignorant. Appreciation of the French martial spirit is just about the most basic way you can distinguish real war nerds from fake little teachers'pets.
Let's take the toughest case first: the German invasion, 1940, when the French Army supposedly disgraced itself against the Wehrmacht. This is the only real evidence you'll find to call the French cowards, and the more you know about it, the less it proves. Yeah, the French were scared of Hitler. Who wasn't? Chamberlain, the British prime minister, all but licked the Fuhrer's goosesteppers, basically let him have all of Central Europe, because Britain was terrified of war with Germany. Hell, Stalin signed a sweetheart deal with Hitler out of sheer terror, and Stalin wasn't a man who scared easy.
The French were scared, all right. But they had reason to be. For starters, they'd barely begun to recover from their last little scrap with the Germans: a little squabble you might've heard of, called WW I.
WW I was the worst war in history to be a soldier in. WW II was worse if you were a civilian, but the trenches of WW I were five years of Hell like General Sherman never dreamed of. At the end of it a big chunk of northern France looked like the surface of the moon, only bloodier, nothing but craters and rats and entrails.
Verdun. Just that name was enough to make Frenchmen and Germans, the few who survived it, wake up yelling for years afterward. The French lost 1.5 million men out of a total population of 40 million fighting the Germans from 1914-1918. A lot of those guys died charging German machine-gun nests with bayonets. I'd really like to see one of you office smartasses joke about "surrender monkeys" with a French soldier, 1914 vintage. You'd piss your dockers.
Shit, we strut around like we're so tough and we can't even handle a few uppity Iraqi villages. These guys faced the Germans head on for five years, and we call them cowards? And at the end, it was the Germans, not the French, who said "calf rope."
When the sequel war came, the French relied on their frontier fortifications and used their tanks (which were better than the Germans', one on one) defensively. The Germans had a newer, better offensive strategy. So they won. And the French surrendered. Which was damn sensible of them.
This was the WEHRMACHT. In two years, they conquered all of Western Europe and lost only 30,000 troops in the process. That's less than the casualties of Gettysburg. You get the picture? Nobody, no army on earth, could've held off the Germans under the conditions that the French faced them. The French lost because they had a long land border with Germany. The English survived because they had the English Channel between them and the Wehrmacht. When the English Army faced the Wermacht at Dunkirk, well, thanks to spin the tuck-tail-and-flee result got turned into some heroic tale of a brilliant British retreat. The fact is, even the Brits behaved like cowards in the face of the Wermacht, abandoning the French. It's that simple.
Here's a quick sampler of some of my favorite French victories, like an antidote to those ignorant websites. We'll start way back and move up to the 20th century.
Tours, 732 AD: The Muslims had already taken Spain and were well on their way to taking the rest of Europe. The only power with a chance of stopping them was the French army under Charles "the Hammer" Martel, King of the Franks (French), who answered to the really cool nickname "the Hammer of God." It was the French who saved the continent's ass. All the smart money was on the Muslims: there were 60,000 of them, crazy Jihadis whose cavalry was faster and deadlier than any in Europe. The French army was heavily outnumbered and had no cavalry. Fighting in phalanxes, they held against dozens of cavalry charges and after at least two days of hand-to-hand combat, finally managed to hack their way to the Muslim center and kill their commander. The Muslims retreated to Spain, and Europe developed as an independent civilization.
Orleans, May 1429: Joan of Arc: is she the most insanely cool military commander in history or what? This French peasant girl gets instructions from her favorite saints to help out the French against the English invaders. She goes to the King (well, the Dauphin, but close enough) and tells him to give her the army and she'll take it from there. And somehow she convinces him. She takes the army, which has lost every battle it's been in lately, to Orleans, which is under English siege. Now Joan is a nice girl, so she tries to settle things peaceably. She explains in a letter to the enemy commanders that everything can still be cool, "...provided you give up France...and go back to your own countries, for God's sake. And if you do not, wait for the Maid, who will visit you briefly to your great sorrow." The next day she put on armor, mounted a charger, and prepared to lead the attack on the besiegers' fortifications. She ordered the gates opened, but the Mayor refused until Joan explained that she, personally, would cut off his head. The gates went up, the French sallied out, and Joan led the first successful attack they'd made in years. The English strongpoints were taken, the siege was broken, and Joan's career in the cow-milking trade was over.
Braddock's Defeat (aka Battle of Monongahela) July 1755: Next time you're driving through the Ohio Valley, remember you're passing near the site of a great French victory over an Anglo-American force twice its size. General Edward Braddock marched west from Virginia with 1,500 men -- a very large army in 18th-c. America. His orders were to seize French land and forts in the Valley -- your basic undeclared land-grab invasion. The French joined the local tribes to resist, and then set up a classic ambush. It was a slaughter. More than half of Braddock's force -- 880 men -- were killed or wounded. The only Anglo officer to escape unhurt was this guy called George Washington, and even he had two horses shot out from under him. After a few minutes of non-stop fire from French and Indians hidden in the woods, Braddock's command came apart like something out of Nam, post-Tet. Braddock was hit and wounded, but none of his troops would risk getting shot to rescue him.
Austerlitz, Dec. 1805: You always hear about Austerlitz as "Napoleon's Greatest Victory," like the little guy personally went out and wiped out the combined Russian and Austrian armies. The fact is, ever since the Revolution in 1789, French armies had been kicking ass against everybody. They were free citizens fighting against scared peasant and degenerate mercenaries, and it was no contest. At Austerlitz, 65,000 French troops took on 90,000 Russians and Austrians and destroyed them. Absolutely annihilated them. The French lost only 8,000, compared to 29,000 of the enemy. The tactics Bonaparte used were very risky, and would only have worked with superb troops: he encouraged the enemy to attack a weak line, then brought up reinforcements who'd been held out of sight. That kind of tactical plan takes iron discipline and perfect timing -- and the French had it.
Jena, Oct. 1806: just a quick reminder for anybody who thinks the Germans always beat the French. Napoleon takes on the Prussian army and destroys it. 27,000 Prussian casualties vs. 5,000 French. Prussian army routed, pursued for miles by French cavalry.
You eXile guys might want to remember that the French under Napoleon are still the only army ever to have taken all of continental Europe, from Moscow to Madrid. I could keep listing French victories till I had a book. In fact, it's not a bad idea. A nice big hardback, so you could take it to the assholes running all the anti-French-military sites and bash their heads in with it.
Thanks bart.
Of course, PAVE will be quick to remind its herd that Napoleon was Corsican , not French or that the French were only "after the Brits", not protecting the colonies, French-bashers, unable to give the French a hint of credit, love to point that out. The problem is, most can't name a single French General under Napoleon (and never mind he considered himself French), or do not have a clue that England surrendered to France, not to the colonies. Rochambeau graciously and unselfishly accepted the surrender in the name of the United States Of America. Months after, The USA backstabbed France (or so France felt at the time) by signing a peace treaty with England without French representation, and had the balls to ask France for additional money through Benjamin Franklin. France gave the money and plundged into an even deeper financial crisis preceeding the French revolution.
Such greedy bastards, the French.
