re: #623 HappyWarrior

The people who call the French “surrender monkeys” are usually a bunch of overweight, sheltered assholes who know nothing about war. Having been in Ypres last summer, it really made me truly appreciate the sacrifices made by the European allies during WWI. I know you’re talking WWII and that’s true too.

I was talking WWII because the French did surrender then; WWI was won, by the French and the British with the help of the Americans, Canadians and Australians, but it’s doubtful that, even without them, it would have resulted in a surrender.

Of course the French lost the 1870 war against the Germans, a war even more pointless than WWI.

Indochina (Vietnam) and Algeria are greyer area, with political factors outweighing purely military ones. (A good read on both topics are the Jean Larteguy books, available in English.)