No, that remark was absolutely stupid. In so many ways I can barely count. The French have fought *like lions* in battle after battle since Soissons. Charlemagne. Louis XIV.
https://twitter.com/carsonlawoffice/status/1372643073738555395
France occupies the largest landmass in Europe. Think that's an accident? You think they surrendered their way into that position? Remember Charles Martel? Hell, remember the Battle of Hastings?
Napoléon may have been many things, but a "surrender monkey" he was not.
Napoléon may have been many things, but a "surrender monkey" he was not.
In fact, consult Esdaille, Napoleon's Wars, pp 252–53. It was his refusal to brook *any* concessions that did him in. Pretty much all of Europe was under France's boot at one point or another, and though the British will never admit it, they got lucky.
(Which is not to detract from Lord Nelson's brilliance and heroism. Still, Wellington described the Battle of Waterloo as “the nearest-run thing you ever saw in your life.”)
The Napoleonic wars left roughly a million Frenchmen injured or killed. European total: about 5,000,000
The Napoleonic wars left roughly a million Frenchmen injured or killed. European total: about 5,000,000
These were the first *total* wars. hardly a welcome development for the world, but no doubt it was a *French* development. France, alone, conquered all of Europe.
(And Napoléon was continuing a trend: Years before him, French armies where overwhelming their enemies with numbers and pure courage.)
All of France's enemies defeated. Large portions of Italy and Germany *become* France.
All of France's enemies defeated. Large portions of Italy and Germany *become* France.
The French advance was only stopped after 20 years of unrelenting war-with no allies.
To this day, this poem is required reading in Russian schools: lyricstranslate.com/en/%D0%B1%D0%B…
To this day, this poem is required reading in Russian schools: lyricstranslate.com/en/%D0%B1%D0%B…
Sound to you like the French were out there doing a lot of surrendering?
France took the brunt of the beating in the Great War-- suffering more casualties than the British Empire--without coming *close* to breaking. They blunted the initial German advance at the Marne,
France took the brunt of the beating in the Great War-- suffering more casualties than the British Empire--without coming *close* to breaking. They blunted the initial German advance at the Marne,
taking spectacular casualties--and inflicting them--and using the most aggressive doctrines of any military in the war. (Generals displaying "defensive" attitudes were fired immediately.)
The casualties France took in the Great War--especially at Ypres and the Somme,
The casualties France took in the Great War--especially at Ypres and the Somme,
but my God, at Verdun--should cause anyone who cheerfully suggests the French are "surrender monkeys" hang his head in shame. Both for his historic ignorance and his callowness in the face of the greatest tragedy in human history. (
I skipped right over the Franco-Prussian war, but it was cataclysmic. France *certainly* didn't surrender: The Third and Fourth Prussian Army encircled MacMahon, at Sedan, in a gigantic battle of annihilation)
But back to the Great War. Look at the memorials in even the tiniest village--many of which still haven't recovered, demographically. And don't forget it was Pétain--then, the Lion of France--who led the French forces to victory.
Try asking General Falkenhayn--well you can't, he's dead--whether the French go down easy. But this says clearly that the fall of France was not owed to an inability or unwillingness to fight: This was a moral, not a martial failure.
Oh, and try asking *anyone* in the vast swath of the world France conquered whether France is prone to surrendering. Especially try asking an Algerian about the yielding, pacific nature of France in battle.
No one winds up conquering that much of the world by surrendering. That's just ... illogical.
They lost in Vietnam? Well, guess what: So did we.
They declined to invade Iraq? (That, recall, is what prompted Goldberg to issue that bon mot.)
Well, guess what: We didn't.
They lost in Vietnam? Well, guess what: So did we.
They declined to invade Iraq? (That, recall, is what prompted Goldberg to issue that bon mot.)
Well, guess what: We didn't.
So who's laughing now.
So, no: I think that qualifies as one of the least insightful comments ever made about France.
If anything, it is the *very opposite.*
So, no: I think that qualifies as one of the least insightful comments ever made about France.
If anything, it is the *very opposite.*
Bernard Lewis, I think, made the astute observation that the French Revolution and Islam are both conquering, totalizing ideologies.Anyone who misses this (quite obvious) aspect of French history and temperament just isn't serious about understanding France.
No, the French didn't surrender to Covid. They gave in to another deep strain in French history--the lure of Rousseau.
But that's another subject.
But yes, the French eat cheese. As well they should: They make, by far, the best damned cheese in the world.
But that's another subject.
But yes, the French eat cheese. As well they should: They make, by far, the best damned cheese in the world.
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