The French- some quotations!

[CNCskilled]

I am officer crabtree. i wark for British Ontelligence bot I have disgeezed maseelf as a poloceman so I am oble to move aboot with complate frodom.

 

I have two British earmen in the sill at the poloce station, I will return them to you as soon as pissable

[Harleyman]

But escape they did. Wonder where the French were at the time?

 

 

Hardly relevent really. Many French soldiers escaped with the British to fight another day under De Gaulle and the Free French forces. Many more stayed behind and joined the resistance movement and aided the escape of shot down Allied airmen at great risk to their own lives

 

The point is that even the greatest armies have had their times of defeat and humiliation. The American Revolutionaty army by the British until Lafayette and his French army came to their aid. The British army under general Percival when Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. The American army got a pasting from what was left of Rommel's Afrika Korps at the Kaserine Pass, North Africa and for a week or so in the Ardennes in late 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge, add to that the Red Army defeats during the first few months after Hitler invaded Russia.

 

Fortunately military leaders learn a lot from defeat and aided by good leadership, training of personnel, efficiency of government systems of resupply and stupid mistakes by enemy leaders eventually win victories

[Longcol]

Good job we had the channel between us and the Germans - the French had a lengthy land border and Belgium (I know which I'd prefer).

[davyboy]

But escape they did. Wonder where the French were at the time?

 

I believe that many also escaped to fight another day!

 

oops, didn't see harleyman's reply.

[Milford]

'Oh I'd rather be a froggy than a kraut, I'd rather be a froggy than a kraut...'

[Harleyman]

Good job we had the channel between us and the Germans - the French had a lengthy land border and Belgium (I know which I'd prefer).

 

Hitler had definite plans for a cross channel invasion but the RAF beat the crap out of the Luftwaffe and denied them air superiority which was vital in carrying out such an invasion

[plekhanov]

Hitler had definite plans for a cross channel invasion but the RAF beat the crap out of the Luftwaffe and denied them air superiority which was vital in carrying out such an invasion

Sea superiority would also have been vital for any invasion and Germany never had the slightest chance of achieving that.

 

The Nazi plans for invading the UK were vague, ill-formed and never had any realistic chance of success - converted river barges against the Royal Navy the Wehrmacht would have been massacred in the channel.

[shanes teeth]

I think the point is that had we had a land border with Germany our forces would have proved no more effective in defending our territory than the French were in defending theirs.To dismiss their skill and courage, as was attempted by the OP, is outrageous.

[plekhanov]

I think the point is that had we had a land border with Germany our forces would have proved no more effective in defending our territory than the French were in defending theirs.To dismiss their skill and courage, as was attempted by the OP, is outrageous.

Our army of course faired much the same as the French during the battle of France.

 

I suppose you could argue that had we not been an island we'd have had more of an army and less of a navy, but still.

[nickycheese]

But escape they did. Wonder where the French were at the time?

Holding up the Germans while the British and the other French escaped:

 

"Two French divisions remained behind to protect the evacuation. Though they halted the German advance, they were soon captured. The remainder of the rearguard, largely French, surrendered on 3 June 1940."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation