French Stereotypes, Truth or Myths? (6 of 7)

Weak Military:

Wikipedia: Despite being one of the world's leading power from the 18th century, the French military had been perceived as poor in armed combat and could be easily defeated in armed struggles, thus likely to surrender. The stereotype was attributed to France's role during World War II, in which French forces surrendered to German forces in just 46 days, but also due to the poor performances in various wars, such as the Battle of Assietta, the Haitian Revolution, the Franco-Prussian War, and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu during the First Indochina War.

 “The only thing strong about the French Army is their damn body odour.” Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

And finally, the plat de resistance! I truly love this one because somehow, even French people believe it. I suppose that the stigma and humiliations of our latest military counter-performances still drives this idea in France and abroad…

So yes, we experienced some very famous defeats, dating back from the Gaul’s era:

Note: We were declared as victors in WW I but really, on our own, we probably would have lost

Pop culture abundantly conveys the myths as well:

And the myth eventually rose to the status of international joke a few years ago. When you typed French military victories in Google. Here’s what you got:

 Funny isn’t it?

Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, let’s see if the French army is as bad as everybody believe.

-         By number of victories********, France is the best military force in the world – pure and simple:

Yes, unbelievable right? Yet, numbers don’t lie… We can always argue that it is a narrow-sided view and that it may not be representative enough: winning a battle is not winning a war. OK, let’s dig a little deeper then.

What makes a great military force? I’m no specialist but let’s narrow it down to 2 key aspects:

-         Equipment

-         Men

When it comes to equipment France has 6th largest military budget in the world*. It also has some impressive assets such as:

-         The Rafale**: the 100% French fighter, one of the deadliest fighter Jet in activity. It actually ranks 3rd behind F15 and the F22, respectively 2nd and 1st. Yet, it has proven its worth by displaying its ability to 'shoot down' an F-22 Raptor in 2009… With advanced Avionics and Sensors from Thales (yes, this is a product placement ??) The Rafale is capable of tracking 40 targets at a time and firing simultaneously on 4 of them. Not bad.

-         The Leclerc Battle Tank***: although getting now old, it still ranks 8th in the list of the best battle tanks money can buy… When entering into service in 1992, it brought some innovations and new features later used on other Western tanks. It can engage 6 targets, located 1.5 - 2 km away, within one minute with a hit probability of 95%. And to top it off, its turret and large calibre ammo were design and manufactured at the Arsenal of Tarbes, my hometown ??

-         The nuke: OK, nothing really to boast about but France is one of the few Nuclear Powers in the world and most likely the fourth in terms in terms of inventory (looks like numbers out there are scarce and inaccurate, go figure…)

What about the men then? I will focus here on elite/special forces and generals/commanders since it seems impossible to evaluate the corpsmen except by their sheer number (France has about 200,000 active military) but the again, it all depends on the country’s population…

Elite Forces:

-         The GIGN (Groupement d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale) ****: It ranks as the 3rd most dangerous special forces unit in the world (rank may change in various rankings but it always makes the top 5 or top 10). From rescuing school children in Djibouti to capturing war criminals in Bosnia, this deadly task force has done it all. The force, which saw its origin following the 1972 Munich Olympics hostage massacre, is one of the deadliest groups in the world. They have the slickest training regime known and are prepared to take down the Somali pirates with ease. Following their motto "To save lives without regard for one's own," GIGN is known to hunt down any threat to the nation and its people.

This 200-strong unit keeps a low profile and it's even against French law to publish pictures of their faces.

-         La Legion Etrangere: the French foreign legion… Probably one of the most famous and notorious army corps in the world. A very tight knit group, tough as they come, always sent to worst places and missions there are. “Walk or Die” is quite literal with them.

Famous Generals and commanders: a bunch of French nationals in the list of the 100 greatest generals of all time, here are a few*****

-         Charlemagne: Considered “the father of modern Europe” and credited with the invention of school (compulsory)… Every French kid hate him for that.

-         William the Conqueror: William (Guillaume), Duke of Normandy, won medieval warfare’s most famous and decisive European encounter, the Battle of Hastings (1066), which led to the Norman conquest of England. Yes, the king of England was French… Actually, it looks like French was used in english official legal documents until the 18th century and it is said that Richard the Lionheart himself did speak French, not English...

-         Ferdinand Foch: Although Foch earned his pre-World War I reputation as a tactician, his greatest contribution to Allied victory was as supreme commander of French, British and American forces (1918). To add to his fame and glory, he was born and raised in Tarbes, my home town…

I suppose you saw me coming miles away, I suppose I’m pathetically predictable, so yes, we will talk about Napoleon, arguably the greatest Military commander the world has ever known… (do you picture me right now, pumping my chest with national pride? ??).

Everybody knows him, most praise him for his tactical brilliance, but was he really as good as we think? according to the data, the answer is a big resounding YES!

According to a sabermetrics analysis of history’s greatest generals’ ability to win battles, Napoleon Bonaparte is so far ahead of the normal distribution curve created by the data for these 6,000-plus generals (including Alexander the great, Hannibal, and other warriors of legend), it’s not even close. After 43 battles, he has a WAR score of more than 16, which blows the competition away. There can be no question: Napoleon is the greatest tactical general of all time, and the maths prove it. *******

 After all this, I suppose it would be a stretch to conclude that France has a weak military. I can’t say for sure we have a strong one either but chances are we would give a good run for their money to anyone attacking us…

? Allons enfants de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrive. ?  Rouget De Lisle, Le Mareillaise

Sources:

*https://www.statista.com/statistics/262742/countries-with-the-highest-military-spending/

**https://interestingengineering.com/7-of-the-deadliest-fighter-jets-still-in-active-service

***https://www.military-today.com/tanks/top_10_main_battle_tanks.htm

****https://www.indiatimes.com/culture/who-we-are/11-of-the-world-s-most-dangerous-special-forces-257623.html

*****https://www.historynet.com/top-100-greatest-generals-of-all-time.htm

******https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/best-generals-ranked-by-statistics/

*******https://ethanarsht.github.io/military_rankings/

********https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgLKVaJwpXY