Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Guyute
Maybe because they have a knack for having someone pulling their irons out of the fire after being steamrolled, then acting like they would have done it anyway if they had a bit more time (De Gaulle was a puke like this), and then being to proud to admit that they were fucked if the good guys didn't help.
You know why French army rifles are such a great deal at surplus sales- they have never been fired and only dropped once!!
Hitler's troops embarrassed them so badly I am surprised they even had the termerity to call DeGaulle a *cough*General.
|
ENOUGH, ALREADY!
The ugy American is definately alive and well! Look here, I have traveled in Europe and endured some bizarre behavior on the part of SOME French people. But then again, when I was in grad school, my best friend was a woman from France. She was a trip! Very witty and warm and interested in American culture.
When It comes to WWII, where were WE when Rommel did his surprise maneuver around the Maginot line? Asleep, waiting for Pearl Harbour. Where were the Brits? Running like hell for Dunkirk, that's where.
People ignorant of European history (that means 99.9999999% of all Americans) find it easy to make arrogant assumptions. First of all, WWI was fought on French soil. Any of you genius's ever read
All Quiet on the Western Front ? No? I didn't think so. Run down to your public library and get a copy. I'll wait.
(*TAPS FOOT IMPATIENTLY*)
OK, WWI was one of the most awful wars in modern history. Thousands gave their lives for an inch of territory either way. It was brutal, trench warfare. It was stupid, horrible, and pointless.
"In Flanders fields the poppies grow..."
Nah, none of you people have read Rupert Brooke, either. Never mind.
The French people were so horrified and outraged by the deaths and suffering of trench warfare in WWI, that there was zero popular support for building up an agressive military in the 20's and 30's. The French just wanted to be left alone, thank you. Their posture was DEFENSE, hence the Maginot line which actually was pretty clever - they just didn't extend it all the way to the Adrienne. Now everybody today knows the words
blitzkrieg and the name Rommel, but this man and that technique were a stunning developments back in 1940. If you folks don't think Patton or McArthur or Eisenhour would have been put on the retreat by a surprise attack of panzer divisions over the Canadian border, led by no less a general than Rommel, himself, think again.
As far as Charles de Gaule, he was wounded twice at the beginning of WWI and promoted to captain in 1915. He was ultimately captured by the Germans at Verdun and made 5 escape attempts from the German prison camps.
After the armistice, de Gaulle was assigned to a Polish division being formed in France. He fought against the Red Army during the civil war and won Poland's highest military decoration, Virtuti Militari.
De Gaulle's military ideas appeared in his book, The Army of the Future (1934). In the book he criticized the rigid theories of war that was exemplified by the Marginot Line. The book was unpopular with the politicians and the military who who refused to strengthen France's peace-time military force between the wars.
On the outbreak of the WWII, at Caumont, De Gaulle became the only French commanding officer to force the Germans to retreat during the German invasion of France.
So, you wouldn't call De Gaulle, a general, eh? Just what branch of the military do you serve in, anyhow, chief?