Actually, I think the world would be a much better place if more countries were like the French, in that they sit on there derrieres, getting twatted on red wine and minding their own damn business.
Perhaps there is something to be set for letting a situation boil over by itself rather than inflaming it, resulting in a never ending cycle of violence and retribution.
I guess one can only dream...
Actually, France has its own dark issues in Africa too.Originally Posted by Skogs
You mean like in Rwanda, when almost a million Tutsis were slaughtered in just a few months, because nobody did anything about it (not just France, but everybody? I agree - we should just sit back and stay out of others' business, at the risk of dirtying our hands a bit. But then the people who allow such crimes are no better than the ones who commit the crimes.
ARGUMENT FROM GUITAR MASTERY
(1) Eric Clapton is God.
(2) Therefore, God exists.
That goes for the every nation, not just for the so-called civilized, western nations who's 'duty' it is to teach the rest of the world how to behave.
Ack, I'm beginning to sound like John Lennon... :sweatdrop
I distinctly remember hearing on some History Channel program, or a PBS one, that the French actually had more tanks than Germany, and decent ones at that. I guess there's something to be said for blitzkrieg and the badass-ness of the Nazi's.
Oh, and France did declare war on Germany right after they attacked Poland, but they also sat on their ass for some months while Germany kicked the crap out of the Poles. Same for Britain. In the newspapers, it was called something like "The Make-Believe War," or around that. It wasn't until Germany strolled over and walloped France that everyone besides the Poles took it seriously.
I also believe that France and America are often at odds because we're both supremely arrogant. Of course, America has a reason to be, so HA!
EDIT: I remember it now. It was a book called A Short History of World War II which, ironically, was pretty long and detailed.
Last edited by Rei; 04-09-2004 at 12:57 AM.
Imagine there's no countires....
[q="Rei"]Oh, and France did declare war on Germany right after they attacked Poland, but they also sat on their ass for some months while Germany kicked the crap out of the Poles. Same for Britain. In the newspapers, it was called something like "The Make-Believe War," or around that. It wasn't until Germany strolled over and walloped France that everyone besides the Poles took it seriously.[/q]
AKA the "Phony War," or the "Sietzkrieg" (I love that term, a play on words). During that time, the war was mostly fought at sea with German U-Boats and "Pocket Battleships" vs. the French and British navy. It lasted from after the fall of Poland until France was attacked in 1940.
As far as the French went in WWII, one might use inept to describe their conduct, but, probably not cowardly. They relied too much on the strategy of the Maginot line, and even used that incorrectly. The original plan for war with Germany called for the Maginot line to act as a "shield," which Germany couldn't cross, and for French and British armies to attack Germany from the north, in the Ardennes forest. However, when WWII started, Britain and France were unwilling to attack Germany, and Germany simply attacked France through the gap in the line where France was supposed to attack, quickly flanking the French, and taking Paris, ending the war for them. However, at this point, the Maginot line was actually still well defended and controlled by a fairly powerful French army; it's just that there was no France anymore for them to defend.
Grab the opportunities life hands you, that's my motto!
I think we can all stand to be a little bit more like John Lennon personally.. except for the whole Yoko 'thing'..
Take care all.
What, you mean dead?
ARGUMENT FROM GUITAR MASTERY
(1) Eric Clapton is God.
(2) Therefore, God exists.
If memory serves correctly, tanks did not win Germany the first half of World War II nor did they defeat the Nazi army - mass force did. Germany didn't blast it's way through almost all of Europe with just enough men to defend a country, it had a freaking huge Nazi army. Germany, more tanks or less tanks, defeated most of Europe because it had immense manpower. They wouldn't have made it as far as Spain if they had an average army. There's no denying that the Nazi army was one bloody good army.
Bow before the mighty Javoo!
"What, you mean dead?"
Close, but no cigar. Peace over war, and darn good music too.
Take care all.
Everybody wants peace, but sometimes there are things worth fighting for, such as peace and freedom.
ARGUMENT FROM GUITAR MASTERY
(1) Eric Clapton is God.
(2) Therefore, God exists.
Not really. The French army was the fourth strongest in the world, and had modernized everything. The Germans were horribly outnumbered. It was the Frenches choice to just sit behind their Maginot line that caused their defeat, and their poor leadership that created their occupation.The German army was far, far, far superior to the French army.
Want some fun? Go to google, type in "French Military Victories" and hit "I'm feeling lucky".
France's biggest failure was that they were still set on the idea that trench warfare was still the key to winning an engagement. And that's really all the Maginot Line was - a giant trench. The Germans had come to embrace mobile warfare, and by proxy the blitzkrieg. All they had to do was make a bit of an effort to push their way through the Ardennes Forest (no one thought they'd have the cajones to do so) and France was pretty much theirs.
ARGUMENT FROM GUITAR MASTERY
(1) Eric Clapton is God.
(2) Therefore, God exists.
To be fair, the French probably didn't want to alienate the Low Countries by cutting them off from France with a supertrench. I suppose that the French expected the Ardennes to slow down Germany, as well as the Belgians, while they came around with their troops, IF Germany went that route.
Didn't Germany go through the Ardennes in WWI, too?
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