[Going strong]

(07-14-2017 08:07 AM)Svara Wrote:  

quoting another member: A bigger land army than the 3rd Reich that folded in 6 weeks

This whole thread is gold

A bigger land army than the 3rd Reich that folded in 6 weeks:

A very uneducated assumption, actually, a blatant lie, that is circulated throughout the world.

The French army fought valiantly against the German army (an army that they had previously thwarted and defeated in 1917' Verdun), losing tons of soldiers, until their losses were such that only possible solution was to trick Hitler into signing an armistice (armistice that left France with control over half of its territory, whereas Hitler was hours away to piercing all defense lines).

The (carefully repressed) truth is, France in a few months of 1940 lost more soldiers that England and the USA combined during the whole WWII (excepting maybe the Pacific battle field where the USA lost many brave soldiers)...

France lost the 1940 campaign to Hitler, because of a couple of old French generals who erroneously believed that tanks could not drive through lightly wooden areas (hence the non-completion of the Maginot line). End of story.

And yes, the whole thread is quite golden... quite a nice collection of cliches indeed, some holding truth in them, other just ridiculous.

In any case, do note (and think of the vast geopolitical implications) that France still has the military capability of (covertly) destroying everything in the world (think French nuclear submarines secretly scattered around the oceans, here). It makes France a great world actor on the geopolitical stage, whether one likes it or not...