France won some battles and a revolution, that's all. Why? Because they didn't listen to Ivana Orleanska.
I don't think they've actually won a war. The United States and the like always have to step in and help poor little France. The only war they've won is their own independence, inspired by (then new) America's feat against Britan. Hate to be an idiot, but have you heard about the new French tank they just constructed? It has a total of 13 gears! 12 go in reverse, and 1 goes forward, in case the enemy attacks from behind. Haha, I love that one.
They won the French Revolution!!! oh wait, already said that. Well, I suppose if you are a peaceful country not wanting to rule the world, you don't engage in wars.
They had a huge empire, they established Canada, they conquered Algeria. They once controlled a part of Mexico. They had Vietnam. I guess those are all past tense, since they finally achieved independence, and the French got tired of empire. Were they stupid to give that up? They were third powerful behind the British and the Spanish.
You also won the first Battle of the Bulge but you have already lost the second one without a shot having been fired.
The American Revolution. (and if you mean 'won alone', this would also eliminate victories for many European Countries and the US, such as the American Revolution for the latter)
Call yourself a WWII fanatic and you get that wrong... The Free French did NOT fight for the Germans, that would be the Vichy French. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
The French are terrible at winning wars but incredible at winning battles. Oh and Napoleon (irrelevant that he was born in Corsica) is a general of a calibre that has or never will be seen in the ranks of nations that are proficient at winning wars (UK,US for example).
I suppose no one has heard of the Napoleonic Wars? http://www.napoleonguide.com/timeind.htm How about the Norman invasion of Great Brittian, anyone familar with that little takeover of England? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_conquest_of_England
What a strange thread. As someone once said, you can tell the true war nerds from the mere dabblers by noting who shows respect for the French military tradition. I mean, we're not counting WWI because others helped? By that logic America (which entered that war in its final throes) didn't win that war either...no one did. America didn't win the American revolution by the logic, since we'd have lost but for the French aid (and the French clearly won Yorktown, not the Americans). America had no funds at the end, and Washington was executing soldiers for talking about desertion, which they were doing because they hadn't been paid in a long while. It was the French sending money and materiel that allowed the Americans to play a part in Yorktown at all...and even then we had no experience at siege warfare, and no significant navy, so had deGrasse not defeated the British ships that came to evacuate Cornwallis... Of course the Americans won the war, that French aid was absolutely necessary for that doesn't change that fact. In WWI, the French lost nearly 1.5 million men on the front lines, out a population of something like 40 million, total. That was hardly an insignificant showing the French put in.
The french won the war, of the my shit don't stink. not to sound racist or anything, but the french are very arogent people, take a trip to quebec canada and you will see what i mean. but i will give the french one thing they have an amazing culture and a really interesting history..