w***@g.gg
2005-01-21 00:06:52 UTC
http://www.miquelon.org/history-wars.html
The following so-called "Military History of France" has made the rounds on
the Internet and has proven very popular with a great number France-Bashing
websites. This document is a very biased selection of materials from
general French history spun in a deceptive manner.
Who was behind the infamous blog/email/usenet troll known as "The Complete
Military History of France" ?
The so-called Complete Military History of France seems to have been first
written by the bloggers from "Silflay Hraka" on 19th January 2003. Silflay
Hraka is a North Carolina Site run by a trio with nicknames like Bigwig,
Kehaar and Woundwort. Two of these bloggers seem to be tech/support staff
at a local NC newspaper and UNC, the third is a professor at a local
christian university in Elon North Carolina.
The appearance of this document on usenet did not happen until a Florida
teacher, once a former US army officer, posted an abridged document on a
website on February 6th 2003. The post was then copied and forwarded by
someone named Rinaldi at Michigan University to seattle.politics. In the
next number of days, the document was cross posted to hundreds of other
usenet groups. Since then the document has been copied to hundreds of
blogs.
The question none has bothered to ask, is where did this document really
come from?
All of these bloggers reside in an area that is a short drive away from
Fort Bragg, home of the 4th Psychological Unit, but that is probably only a
coincidence...
Red: historical fact
Blue: editorial content
Green: corrections
Gallic Wars - Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years
of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian (Roman
Emperor Julius Caesar).
DATES: 58 - 52 B.C.E.
FACT: A series of campaigns led by Julius Caesar against Vercingetorix
leading the numerous tribes that lived in Gaul (roughly equivalent to the
area of France today.) The results of the wars were 1) Rome took control
over Gaul and 2) Caesar made his reputation as a great general.
Hundred Years War - Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who
inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare; "France's armies
are victorious only when NOT led by a Frenchman."
WEB SOURCE: http://www.lbdb.com/TMDisplayWar.cfm?WID=53
Italian Wars - Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose
two wars (Not factual, see below)-- when fighting Italians.
DATES: 14941559
FACTS: The wars began when, in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy
and seized (1495) Naples without effort, only to be forced to retreat by a
coalition of Spain, the Holy Roman emperor, the pope, Venice, and Milan.
His successor, Louis XII, occupied (1499) Milan and Genoa. Louis gained his
next objective, Naples, by agreeing to its conquest and partition with
Ferdinand V of Spain and by securing the consent of Pope Alexander VI.
Disagreement over division of the spoils between the Spanish and the
French, however, flared into open warfare in 1502. Louis XII was forced to
consent to the Treaties of Blois (15045), keeping Milan and Genoa but
pledging Naples to Spain.
Trouble began again when Pope Julius II formed (1508) an alliance against
Venice with France, Spain, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (see
Cambrai, League of). But shortly after the French victory over the
Venetians at Agnadello (1509), Julius made peace with Venice and began to
form the Holy League (1510) in order to expel the French barbarians from
Italy. The French held their own until the Swiss stormed Milan (1512)which
they nominally restored to the Sforzasrouted the French at Novara (1513),
and controlled Lombardy until they were defeated in turn by Louiss
successor, Francis I, at Marignano (1515). By the peace of Noyon (1516),
Naples remained in Spanish hands and Milan was returned to France.
The rivalry between Francis I and Charles V, king of Spain and (after 1519)
Holy Roman emperor, reopened warfare in 1521, and the French were badly
defeated in the Battle of Pavia (1525), the most important in the long
wars. Francis was forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid (1526), by which he
renounced his Italian claims and ceded Burgundy. This he repudiated, as
soon as he was liberated, by forming the League of Cognac with Pope Clement
VII, Henry VIII of England, Venice, and Florence.
To punish the pope, Charles V sent Charles de Bourbon against Rome, which
was sacked for a full week (May, 1527). The French, after an early success
at Genoa, were eventually forced to abandon their siege of Naples and
retreat. The war ended (1529) with the Treaty of Cambrai (see Cambrai,
Treaty of) and the renunciation of Franciss claims in Italy. Frances two
subsequent wars (154244 and 155657) ended in failure. Francis died in
1547, having renounced Naples (for the third time) in the Treaty of Crépy.
Complete Spanish supremacy in Italy was obtained by the Treaty of
Cateau-Cambrésis (1559), which gave the Two Sicilies and Milan to Philip
II.
The wars, though ruinous to Italy, had helped to spread the Italian
Renaissance in Western Europe. From the military viewpoint, they signified
the passing of chivalry, which found its last great representative in the
seigneur de Bayard. The use of Swiss and German mercenaries was
characteristic of the wars, and artillery passed its first major test.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.bartleby.com/65/it/ItalianW.html
Wars of Religion - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots (Civil war
fought between warring factions within France based on religious and
political lines, the Huguenots were French).
DATES: 1562-1598
FACTS: The religious wars began with overt hostilities in 1562 and lasted
until the Edict of Nantes in 1598. It was warfare that devastated a
generation, although conducted in rather desultory, inconclusive way.
Although religion was certainly the basis for the conflict, it was much
more than a confessional dispute. The Second War (1567-1568), The Third War
(1568-1570), The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), The Fourth War
(1572-1573), The Fifth War (1576), The Seventh War (1580), The War of the
Three Henries (1584-1589), The Wars of the League (1589-1598). 1598 saw the
publication of the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots freedom of
worship and civil rights for nearly a century, until Henri IV's descendent
Louis XIV revoked it in 1685.
Soon after Machiavelli and Erasmus wrote, Europe was torn apart by
religious wars between Catholics and the newly formed Protestant faith.
Protestant states persecuted Catholics and Catholic states continued, as
they had for centuries, to persecute "heretics." In France the religious
wars reached a climax with the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (24 August
1572) of Protestants after which Protestant political philosophers such as
Philippe du Plessis-Mornay developed the theory of tyrannicide in the
"Defence of Liberty against Tyrants" (1579). According to this theory
persecuted Protestants had both the right and the duty to rise up against
their oppressors and assassinate them if necessary.
Series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars. 1
The immediate issue was the French Protestants struggle for freedom of
worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots). Of equal
importance, however, was the struggle for power between the crown and the
great nobles and the rivalry among the great nobles themselves for the
control of the king.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.lepg.org/wars.htm,
http://www.arts.adelaide.edu.au/personal...,
http://www.bartleby.com/65/re/ReligWars.html
Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to
get invaded anyway (Unfounded claim). Claims a tie on the basis that
eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
DATES: Thirty Year's War 1618 - 1648
FACTS: The Thirty Years War consisted of a series of declared and
undeclared wars which raged through the years 1618-1648 throughout central
Europe. During the Thirty Years War the opponents were, on the one hand,
the House of Austria: the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors Ferdinand II and
Ferdinand III together with his Spanish cousin Philip IV.
France took control of Alsace and much of the Rhineland while the Swedes
took over or neutralized northern Germany and carried the war into Bohemia.
The entry of France into the Thirty Years' War was the point of departure
for a Franco-German traditional enmity, which was efficiently fomented
during the late 19th century, while the Peace of Westphalia was interpreted
as a visible sign of the inner conflicts and the powerlessness of the
Reich.
WEB SOURCE: http://www-geschichte.fb15.uni-dortmund.de/fnz/thirty.html,
http://www.hfac.uh.edu/gbrown/philosophers/...
War of Devolution - Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flower pots as
chapeaux (?).
DATES: 1667-1668
FACTS: On the basis of a complicated legal claim, Louis XIV of France
overran the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté. The United Provinces, in
alarm, formed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden, and France was
forced to make peace.
The French easily captured (1667) the Spanish Netherlands. The United
Provinces, in alarm, formed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden
(Jan., 1668). The French overran Franche-Comté (Feb., 1668) but came to
terms with the Triple Alliance in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (May,
1668).
WEB SOURCE: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/D/Devoluti.asp
The Dutch War - Tied.
DATES: War of 165254, War of 166467, War of 167278
FACTS: Series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to
late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial
rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which
French interests played a primary role. The war of 167278 was the first of
the great wars of Louis XIV of France. It was fought to end Dutch
competition with French trade and to extend Louis XIVs empire. Having
obtained the support of Charles II of England by the secret Treaty of Dover
(1670) and allied himself with Sweden (see Charles XI) and several German
states, Louis overran the southern provinces of the Netherlands (May,
1672). The Dutch stopped his advance on Amsterdam by opening the dikes;
about the same time, under the command of De Ruyter, the Dutch defeated the
English and French fleets at Southwold Bay. When Dutch peace proposals made
at this juncture were spurned by the French, a revolution broke out, and
William of Orange (later William III of England) took over Dutch leadership
from the ill-fated Jan de Witt (July, 1672). Williams attempt to divide
the French lines and enter France was countered by the French seizure of
Maastricht (1673). By the end of the year the French were forced to
retreat, and Spain, the Holy Roman emperor, Brandenburg, Denmark, and other
powers entered the war on the side of the Dutch. In 1674, England made
peace with the Dutch. Nevertheless, the military situation changed in favor
of France. In 1674, Louis II de Condé won the battle of Seneff, while
Turenne was victorious at Sinzheim. The defeats Créquy suffered in 1675
were balanced by the successful naval campaign of Abraham Duquesne in 1676,
and in 1677 the French defeated William at Cassel and took Freiburg. Peace
was negotiated at Nijmegen in 1678. Maastricht was ceded to the Dutch and a
trade treaty modified the French restrictive tariffs in favor of the Dutch.
By a subsequent treaty with Spain, Louis received Franche-Comté and a chain
of border fortresses in return for evacuating the Spanish Netherlands. By a
treaty with the Holy Roman emperor (1679), France was confirmed in
possession of Freiburg and a part of Lorraine.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.bartleby.com/65/du/DutchWar.html
War of the Augsburg League / King William's War / French and Indian War
-Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded
Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French
military power.
DATES: 1688 - 1697
FACTS: defensive alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I with
various German states, including Bavaria and the Palatinate, and with
Sweden and Spain so far as their German interests were concerned. It was an
acknowledgment of a community of German feeling against French expansion.
The war that broke out after the French attack on the Palatinate in Oct.,
1688, is sometimes designated the War of the League of Augsburg. In 1689 a
new coalition against the French, the Grand Alliance, was formed by
Austria, England, and the Netherlands. Savoy and Spain later joined the
Alliance, and the war of 1688-97 is more properly known as the War of the
Grand Alliance.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.slider.com/enc/4000/Augsburg_League_of.htm ,
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/A/AugsburgL1g.asp
War of the Spanish Succession - Lost. The War also gave the French their
first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved ever since.
DATES: 1702-13
FACTS: The War of the Spanish Succession, also known as Marlborough's Wars,
fought in Europe and on the Mediterranean, were the last and the bloodiest
of the Wars between England and France under Louis XIV, and the first in
which Britain played a major military role in European military affairs. In
1713 England, Holland, and France signed the Peace of Utrecht. Charles
continued the war until 1714. Although Philip remained on the Spanish
throne, the principle of balance of power had been established in European
dynastic affairs.
By the terms of the treaty France agreed never to unite the crowns of
France and Spain, while Britain acquired Hudson's Bay, Acadia, and
Newfoundland from the French, Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain, new trading
privileges with Spain, and a monopoly of the slave trade with the Spanish
Empire. France obtained the island of Cape Breton (Isle Royale) in North
America.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.kipar.org/kirkes_spanish_succession.html
American Revolution - In a move that will become quite familiar to future
Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far
more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the
Second Rule of French Warfare; "France only wins when America does most of
the fighting."
DATES
FACTS : The French extended considerable financial support to the
Congressional forces. France also supplied vital military arms and
supplies, and loaned money to pay for their purchase.
The high point of French support is the landing of five battalions of
French infantry and artillery in Rhode Island in 1780. In 1781, these
French troops under the command of Count Rochambeau marched south to
Virginia where they joined Continental forces under Washington and
Lafayette.
A French fleet under the command of Admiral DeGrasse intercepted and, after
a fierce battle lasting several days, defeated the British fleet and forced
it to withdraw. This left the French navy to land heavy siege cannon and
other supplies and trapped Cornwallis on the Yorktown peninsula.
Abbé Robin, who witnessed the surrender, described the victorious American
and French forces present at the ceremony. "Among the Americans, the wide
variety in age -- 12 to 14-year old children stood side by side with
grandfathers -- the absence of uniformity in their bearing and their ragged
clothing made the French allies appear more splendid by contrast. The
latter, in their immaculate white uniforms and blue braid, gave an
impression of martial vigor despite their fatigue.
How strange it must have been for these French troops and their new-found
colonial allies, some of whom had fought each other as enemies barely
fifteen years earlier, to stand shoulder to shoulder in armed conflict with
Frances ancient enemy and the colonists blood kin! In the end, these
French soldiers became the hard anvil upon which the new American nation
was forged and the chains of British imperial domination were finally
broken.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/sfelshin/saintonge/frhist.html
French Revolution - Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also
French.
DATES: 1789 -1792
FACTS: Brutal civil war that spawned a long process that took France from
Tyranny to Democracy.
WEB SOURCES: http://history.hanover.edu/modern/Frenchrv.htm,
http://members.aol.com/agentmess/Frenchrev/,
http://www.txdirect.net/users/rrichard/napoleo1.htm
The Napoleonic Wars - Lost (Great number of battles). Temporary victories
(remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up
being no match for a British footwear designer.
DATES: Wars lasted from 1803 until 1815.
FACTS: The Napoleonic. They were an continuation of the conflicts sparked
by the French Revolution.
The First Coalition (1793-1795) had been the first attempt to crush
republicanism. Defeated by the French efforts - levée en masse, military
reform, total war. The Second Coalition (1798-1800) was no more effective.
Napoleon Bonaparte had come to control the French state since 1796. But he
was unable to invade Britain directly, so boldly offered a double threat,
invading Egypt in the summer of 1798 and mounting another expedition to
Ireland. The French fleet was defeated by Horatio Nelson in the Battle of
the Nile (August 1) at Aboukir (Abu Qir) and the Irish problem was quickly
contained. Napoleon was trapped in Egypt and the old members of the First
Coalition, excluding Prussia, quickly took advantage of this seeming lapse.
Early victories in Switzerland and Italy were promising, but Russia
withdrew; the British declined to engage and the Austrians were left to
face the returning Napoleon at Marengo (June 14, 1800) and then at
Hohenlinden (December 3). The bloodied Austrians temporarily left the
conflict after the Treaty of Lunéville (February 1801).
The Treaty of Amiens (1802) made peace between Britain and France, marked
the final collapse of the Second Coalition. The French "perfidity" led to
Britain refusing to honour the treaty and the renewal of hostilities from
May 18, 1803. The conflict changed over its course from a general desire to
restore the French monarchy into an almost manichean struggle against
Bonaparte.
1805 April: Britain and Russia sign a treaty to liberate Holland and
Switzerland. Austria joins the alliance in May (?), after the annexation of
Genoa and the proclamation of Napoleon as King of Italy. French army moved
from Boulogne in late July, 1805. At Ulm (September 25 - October 20) the
French defeated 70,000 Austrians under Karl Mack von Leiberich. Austerlitz
(December 2) was another massive Russian-Austrian defeat. Treaty of
Pressburg.
Germany, Confederation of the Rhine. Hanseatic towns. Prussians declare war
alone. Defeated at Jena and Auerstädt (October 14. 1806). Napoleon in
Berlin 27th.
Russians, 1806. Stalemate at Eylau (February 7-8), but routed at Friedland
(June 14). Alexander I and Naopoleon made peace at Tilsit (July 7, 1807).
Congress of Erfurt (1808).
Britain alone, again. British military activity was reduced to a succession
of small victories in the French colonies and another naval victory at
Copenhagen (September 2, 1807). On land only the disastrous Walcheren
Expedition (1809) was attempted. The struggle then centred over economic
warfare - Continental System vs. naval blockade. Both sides entered
conflicts trying to enforce their blockade - the British the Anglo-American
War (1812-1814) and the French the much more serious Peninsular War
(1808-1814); Portugal, Bayonne (April), guerillas, Arthur Wellesley.
Industrial Revolution.
1809 Austria attacks into Bavaria. Defeated at Wagram, July 5-6. Treaty of
Schönbrunn (October 14, 1809).
1810 French empire reaches its greatest extent. Naopoleon marries
Marie-Louise. As well as the French empire, Napoleon controlled the Swiss
Confederation, the Confederation of the Rhine, and the Grand Duchy of
Warsaw. Allied territories included: the Kingdom of Spain (Joseph
Bonaparte); Kingdom of Westphalia (Jerome Bonaparte); the Kingdom of Italy
(Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Joséphine (Napoleon was king)); the Kingdom
of Naples (Joachim Murat, brother-in-law); Principality of Lucca and
Piombino (Felix Bacciochi, brother-in-law).
Russia. 1812. Grande Armée, 600,000 men (270,000 French), crossed the
Niemen River June 23, 1812. Russian policy of retreat and scorched earth.
Borodino (September 7), bloody but indecisive. 14th Moscow captured and
largely burned. Alexander I refused to deal. Great Retreat, 275,000
casualties, 200,000 captured. By November only 10,000 fit soldiers were
among those who crossed the Berezina River. Napoleon returned to Paris in
December.
At Vitoria (June 21, 1813) the French power in Spain was finally broken.
Arthur Wellesley vs. Joseph Bonaparte. French forced to retreat out of
Spain, over the Pyrenees.
Austria and Prussia re-enter the war. France had small victories at Lützen
(May 2) and Bautzen (May 20-21) over Russo-Prussian forces. Battle of
Leipzig (October 16-19, 1813), Battle of the Nations: 195,000 French,
350,000 Allies; 110,000 casualties. Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube. Treaty of
Chaumont (March 9). Allies enter Paris, March 31, 1814. Napoleon abdicated
April 6. Treaty of Fontainebleau.
Elba. Bourbon Restoration.
Hundred Days. Napoleon landed at Cannes, March 1, 1815. Raised 280,000 men.
Attacked the Allies in Belgium, intending to take Wellington and Blucher in
turn. Ligny (June 15), he defeated the Prussians, they retreated to Wavre.
At Quatre Bras on same day Wellington was held. Battle of Waterloo (June
18). Napoleon abdicates again June 22, 1815. Saint Helena.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars,
http://www.napoleonguide.com
The Franco-Prussian War - Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat
boy to France's ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
DATES: 1870-1871
FACTS: Conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise of German
military power and imperialism. It was provoked by Otto von Bismarck (the
Prussian chancellor) as part of his plan to create a unified German Empire.
Partly because they believed France the aggressor, the states of S Germany
enthusiastically joined the North German Confederationjust as Bismarck had
hoped. The military conduct of the war was, for the Germans, in the hands
of Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke, a military genius. On the French side,
Napoleon III took active command, but it soon devolved on Marshal Bazaine.
On Aug. 4, 1870, the Germans crossed the border into Alsace. They defeated
the French at Wissembourg, pushed the French under Marshal MacMahon to
Châlons-en-Champagne, and forced a wedge between MacMahons forces and
those of Bazaine, centered on Metz. Bazaine, attempting to join MacMahon,
was defeated at Vionville (Aug. 16) and Gravelotte (Aug. 18) and returned
to Metz. The Germans began their march on Paris, and on Sept. 1 the attempt
of Napoleon III and MacMahon to rescue Bazaine led to disaster at Sedan.
The emperor and 100,000 of his men were captured.
When the news of Sedan reached Paris a bloodless revolution occurred.
Napoleon was deposed, and a provisional government of national defense was
formed under General Trochu, Léon Gambetta, and Jules Favre. Paris was
surrounded by the Germans on Sept. 19, and a grueling siege began. Gambetta
escaped from Paris in a balloon to organize resistance in the provinces.
Faidherbe made a gallant stand on the Loire, Chanzy in the north, and
Bourbaki in the east, but the surrender (Oct. 27) of Bazaine, with a
garrison of 180,000 men, made such resistance useless. Paris, however, held
out until Jan. 28, 1871, suffering several months of famine. Though
Bismarck and Adolphe Thiers signed an armistice on the same day, the
fortress of Belfort resisted until Feb. 16.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.bartleby.com/65/fr/FrancoPr.html
World War I - Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United
States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep
with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein." Sadly, widespread
use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French
bloodline.
DATES: 1914 - 1918
FACTS: Imperial, territorial, and economic rivalries led to the Great War
between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey)
and the Allies (U.S., Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Serbia, Greece,
Romania, Montenegro, Portugal, Italy, Japan). About 10 million combatants
killed, 20 million wounded.
1914- Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and wife assassinated in Sarajevo
by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip (June 28). Austria declares war on
Serbia (July 28). Germany declares war on Russia (Aug. 1), on France (Aug.
3), invades Belgium (Aug. 4). Britain declares war on Germany (Aug. 4).
Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg on Eastern Front (Aug.).
First Battle of the Marne (Sept.). German drive stopped 25 miles from
Paris. By end of year, war on the Western Front is positional in the
trenches.
1915 - German submarine blockade of Great Britain begins (Feb.).
Dardanelles CampaignBritish land in Turkey (April), withdraw from
Gallipoli (Dec.Jan. 1916). Germans use gas at second Battle of Ypres
(AprilMay). Lusitania sunk by German submarine1,198 lost, including 128
Americans (May 7). On Eastern Front, German and Austrian great offensive
conquers all of Poland and Lithuania; Russians lose 1 million men (by Sept.
6). Great Fall Offensive by Allies results in little change from 1914
(Sept.Oct.). Britain and France declare war on Bulgaria (Oct. 14).
1916 - Battle of VerdunGermans and French each lose about 350,000 men
(Feb.). Extended submarine warfare begins (March). British-German sea
battle of Jutland (May); British lose more ships, but German fleet never
ventures forth again. On Eastern Front, the Brusilov offensive demoralizes
Russians, costs them 1 million men (JuneSept.). Battle of the
SommeBritish lose over 400,000; French, 200,000; Germans, about 450,000;
all with no strategic results (JulyNov.). Romania declares war on
Austria-Hungary (Aug. 27). Bucharest captured (Dec.).
1917 - U.S. declares war on Germany (April 6). Submarine warfare at peak
(April). On Italian Front, Battle of CaporettoItalians retreat, losing
600,000 prisoners and deserters (Oct.Dec.). On Western Front, Battles of
Arras, Champagne, Ypres (third battle), etc. First large British tank
attack (Nov.). U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary (Dec. 7). Armistice
between new Russian Bolshevik government and Germans (Dec. 15).
1918 - Great offensive by Germans (MarchJune). Americans' first important
battle role at Château-Thierryas they and French stop German advance
(June). Second Battle of the Marne (JulyAug.)start of Allied offensive at
Amiens, St. Mihiel, etc. Battles of the Argonne and Ypres panic German
leadership (Sept.Oct.). British offensive in Palestine (Sept.). Germans
ask for armistice (Oct. 4). British armistice with Turkey (Oct.). German
Kaiser abdicates (Nov.). Hostilities cease on Western Front (Nov. 11)
WEB SOURCES: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWchronology.htm,
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/archives.gb...
World War II - Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and
Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
DATES: 1939 - 1945
FACTS: 1939 - Germany invades Poland and annexes Danzig; Britain and France
give Hitler ultimatum (Sept. 1), declare war (Sept. 3). Disabled German
pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee blown up off Montevideo, Uruguay, on
Hitler's orders (Dec. 17). Limited activity (Sitzkrieg) on Western Front.
1940 - Nazis invade Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (May 10).
Chamberlain resigns as Britain's prime minister; Churchill takes over (May
10). Germans cross French frontier (May 12) using air/tank/infantry
Blitzkrieg tactics. Dunkerque evacuationabout 335,000 out of 400,000
Allied soldiers rescued from Belgium by British civilian and naval craft
(May 26June 3). Italy declares war on France and Britain; invades France
(June 10). Germans enter Paris; city undefended (June 14). France and
Germany sign armistice at Compiègne (June 22). Nazis bomb Coventry, England
(Nov. 14).
1941 - Germans launch attacks in Balkans. Yugoslavia surrendersGeneral
Mihajlovic continues guerrilla warfare; Tito leads left-wing guerrillas
(April 17). Nazi tanks enter Athens; remnants of British Army quit Greece
(April 27). Hitler attacks Russia (June 22). Atlantic CharterFDR and
Churchill agree on war aims (Aug. 14). Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor,
Philippines, Guam force U.S. into war; U.S. Pacific fleet crippled (Dec.
7). U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. Germany and Italy declare war on
U.S.; Congress declares war on those countries (Dec. 11).
1942 - British surrender Singapore to Japanese (Feb. 15). Roosevelt orders
Japanese and Japanese Americans in western U.S. to be exiled to relocation
centers, many for the remainder of the war (Feb. 19). U.S. forces on
Bataan peninsula in Philippines surrender (April 9). U.S. and Filipino
troops on Corregidor island in Manila Bay surrender to Japanese (May 6).
Village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia razed by Nazis (June 10). U.S. and
Britain land in French North Africa (Nov. 8).
1943 - Casablanca ConferenceChurchill and FDR agree on unconditional
surrender goal (Jan. 1424). German 6th Army surrenders at
Stalingradturning point of war in Russia (Feb. 12). Remnants of Nazis
trapped on Cape Bon, ending war in Africa (May 12). Mussolini deposed;
Badoglio named premier (July 25). Allied troops land on Italian mainland
after conquest of Sicily (Sept. 3). Italy surrenders (Sept. 8). Nazis seize
Rome (Sept. 10). Cairo Conference: FDR, Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek pledge
defeat of Japan, free Korea (Nov. 2226). Teheran Conference: FDR,
Churchill, Stalin agree on invasion plans (Nov. 28Dec. 1).
1944 - U.S. and British troops land at Anzio on west Italian coast and hold
beachhead (Jan. 22). U.S. and British troops enter Rome (June 4).
D-DayAllies launch Normandy invasion (June 6). Hitler wounded in bomb plot
(July 20). Paris liberated (Aug. 25). Athens freed by Allies (Oct. 13).
Americans invade Philippines (Oct. 20). Germans launch counteroffensive in
BelgiumBattle of the Bulge (Dec. 16).
1945 - Yalta Agreement signed by FDR, Churchill, Stalinestablishes basis
for occupation of Germany, returns to Soviet Union lands taken by Germany
and Japan; USSR agrees to friendship pact with China (Feb. 11). Mussolini
killed at Lake Como (April 28). Admiral Doenitz takes command in Germany;
suicide of Hitler announced (May 1). Berlin falls (May 2). Germany signs
unconditional surrender terms at Rheims (May 7). Allies declare V-E Day
(May 8). Potsdam ConferenceTruman, Churchill, Atlee (after July 28),
Stalin establish council of foreign ministers to prepare peace treaties;
plan German postwar government and reparations (July 17Aug. 2). A-bomb
dropped on Hiroshima by U.S. (Aug. 6). USSR declares war on Japan (Aug. 8).
Nagasaki hit by A-bomb (Aug. 9). Japan agrees to surrender (Aug. 14). V-J
DayJapanese sign surrender terms aboard battleship Missouri (Sept. 2).
WEB SOURCES: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WW.htm,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/index.shtml,
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/
War in Indochina - Lost. French forces plead sickness, take to bed with the
Dien Bien Flu.
DATES: 1946 - 1954
FACTS: After the defeat of Japan, the question arose of what was to happen
to Vietnam in the postwar world. There were two opposing forces attempting
to answer that question, both of them appealing to the United States for
help. The French wanted to reassert their control over Vietnam. Challenging
them was a powerful nationalist movement within Vietnam committed to
creating an independent nation. The nationalists were organized into a
political party, the Vietminh, which had been created in 1941 and led ever
since by Ho Chi Minh, a communist educated in Paris and Moscow, and a
fervent Vietnamese nationalist.
At first, the French had little difficulty reestablishing control. They
drove Ho Chi Minh out of Hanoi and into hiding in the countryside; and in
1949, they established a nominally independent national government under
the leadership of the former emperor, Bao Dai--an ineffectual, westernized
playboy unable to assert any real independent authority. The real power
remained in the hands of the French. But the Vietminh continued to
challenge the French dominated regime and slowly increased its control over
large areas of the countryside. The French appealed to the United States
for support; and in February 1950, the Truman administration formally
recognized the Bao Dai regime and agreed to provide it with direct military
and economic
aid. For the next four years, during what has become known as the First
Indochina War, Truman and then Eisenhower continued to support the French
military campaign against the Vietminh; by 1954, by some calculations, the
United States was paying 80% of the France's war costs. But the
war went badly for the French anyway. Finally, late in 1953, Vietminh
forces engaged the French in a major battle in the far northwest corner of
the country, at Dien Bien Phu, an isolated and almost indefensible site.
The French were surrounded, and the battle turned into a prolonged
and horrible siege, with the French position steadily deteriorating. It was
at this point that the Eisenhower administration decided not to intervene
to save the French. The defense of Dien Bien Phu collapsed and the French
government decided the time had come to get out. The First Indochina War
had come to an end.
The politicians of the Fourth Republic had to deal with a number of
problems related to France's status as a colonial power. The first of these
problems centred on Indochina, i.e. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (French
protectorates had been established in the first two in 1863 and in the
third in 1893). In September 1945, Hô Chi Minh, leader of the Vietminh
League, had declared Vietnam's independence. Negotiations were underway to
grant Vietnam the status of a free state within the Union française
(roughly equivalent to the British Commonwealth) when, in November 1946,
shots were exchanged between a Chinese junk and French customs officers in
the port of Haïphong. Pro-colonialists exploited the incident to try and
halt Vietnam's independence. Thus began an eight-year war that culminated
in the French defeat at Diên Biên Phu in May 1954 (to learn more, click
here).
WEB RESOURCES: http://latis.ex.ac.uk/French/cooke/indochina.htm,
http://www.ichiban1.org/html/history...,
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=393231
Algerian Rebellion - Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by
a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule
of Muslim Warfare; "We can always beat the French." This rule is identical
to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch,
Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux (?).
DATES: 19541962
FACTS: War for Algerian independence from France. The movement for
independence began in World War I and gained momentum after promises of
greater self-rule went unfulfilled after World War II. In 1954 the National
Liberation Front (FLN) began a guerrilla war against France and sought
diplomatic recognition at the UN to restore a sovereign Algerian state. In
1959 Charles de Gaulle declared that the Algerians had the right to
determine their own future. Despite terrorist acts by European Algerians
opposed to independence, a truce was signed in 1962 and Algeria became
independent.
The Algerian war was also a civil war between the French Government,
Algerian Nationalists and European Algerians.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=380297,
http://www.ina.fr/voir_revoir/algerie/index.en.html,
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki...
War Against Greenpeace - Lost. 1985, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior
prepares to sail for Moruroa Atoll for a major campaign against French
nuclear testing. Agents of the DGSE [secret service] bomb and sink the ship
in Auckland Harbor. I tree-hugger sans tree drowns. Six weeks later agents
Prieur and Mafart plead guilty to charges of manslaughter and willful
damage. They get sentences of 10 years and 7 years. French Prime Minister
Fabius admits to state terrorism on TV.
The Rainbow Warrior Affair -
http://www.kauricoast.co.nz/Feature.cfm?WPID=70
The Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior -
http://www.geocities.com/shipwrecks_magazine/rainbow.htm
War on Terrorism - France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders
to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese
ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.
France has been remarkably successful in thwarting Islamist terrorism. The
French experience holds some challenging lessons for the U.S. - Time
Magazine. LAURENT REBOURS/AP
France's anti-terrorist squad makes arrests outside Paris
In the early 1990s, Islamist radicals found a pool of willing recruits in
the cauldrons of youthful rage found in the impoverished suburban ghettoes
that house many of France's 5 million people of Arab origin. The point of
connection between the suburbs of Paris and Marseilles and Osama Bin
Laden's Afghanistan-based networks came via Algeria. There, the
military-backed government overturned elections won by the Islamists,
banned their party and drove its most extreme elements underground where
they've led a merciless war of terror against politicians and citizens
alike. The most notorious Algerian terror faction, the Armed Islamic Group
(GIA), had been founded by men who'd fought as volunteers alongside Bin
Laden in Afghanistan's anti-Soviet 'jihad.' When that war ended with the
Soviet withdrawal, the men moved into France and began recruiting young
thugs and exploiting their larcenous talents to raise money and build an
infrastructure to attack France for its support of the Algerian government.
A far-reaching law
Operatives recruited in France helped staged a series of bombing attacks
during 1995 that left eight dead and around 150 wounded. French
anti-terrorist police ultimately tracked down the bombers, and developed an
extensive "human intelligence" capability to monitor the wider networks of
which they'd been a part. French law-enforcement was also aided by a
catch-all crime law: Simply by citing "association with wrong-doers
involved in a terrorist enterprise," French police are able to arrest and
detain any suspect in any crime whose goal, however remotely, can
ultimately assist terrorist activity. That law shocks civil libertarians in
the U.S. and Britain, but French officials retort that those countries'
commitment to strict civil libertarian principles has made them havens
where Islamist militants can plot terror with less risk of detection
because of the legal restraints on techniques such as spot ID checks and
information monitoring.
The combination of these laws and human-level intelligence gathering
(infiltration and interrogation of suspects) helped France successfully
uproot terrorist networks in the mid-1990s and to thwart outrages planned
during the 1998 soccer World Cup. Casting the net wide revealed that many
people police had previously assumed were simply petty crooks had actually
been thugging for the Islamists.
Inside the terror networks
The French sweeps also revealed the informal and dispersed nature of the
terror networks: They were mostly cut off from one another to contain the
damage of detection or infiltration, and were guided by a limited number of
people who'd move around assembling the fruits of each cell's particular
talents false documents from one, funds from another and weapons from a
third, for example. The organizers who linked these discrete cells could
then synchronize complex multiple attacks.
One case in point: The February trial of Fateh Kamel, a 40-year-old
Algerian with Canadian citizenship, provided further evidence of the
discrete patterns of the terror networks. Kamel had been arrested on a
charge of "association with wrong-doers in relation with a terrorist
enterprise," for his involvement in the "gang of Roubaix" a group of
young men whose criminal behavior had been considered anti-social rather
than political.
Not your average gangsters
In 1996, following a failed car bomb attempt in Lille on the eve of a G7
summit there, French cops picked up two ethnic-Arab suspects, one of whom
cracked under questioning and revealed the true nature of "gang of
Roubaix." The group was in fact a collection of Muslim militants (most of
them white French converts) who had been radicalized during visits to
Bosnia. Robbery was used to finance arms purchases, and to create false ID
documents to facilitate the movement of Islamist terrorists transiting
France. The group had recruited men for their "holy war," and had staged
attacks when instructed to do so.
Patient intelligence work revealed that Kamel was both an expert document
forger, head of the network of which the Roubaix gang was a part and had
also spent time in Afghanistan, where he'd been in contact with Bin Laden.
French authorities say there's no way of proving whether Kamel "worked for
bin Laden." But, they say, it is clear that in the decentralized,
compartmentalized and intersecting root system of Islamic networks, Kamel
had been given the responsibility for creating and transporting false ID
documents used by militants being assembled in Turkey, Bulgaria, Belgium,
France, Bosnia and North America.
The value of surveillance
The French simply followed Kamel around the globe for six months prior to
his arrest, taking note of those with whom he met. That turned up names
who'd cropped up elsewhere, and revealed some of the point men for the
various regional networks with which Kamel had been put in contact. Based
on Kamel's visits to Montreal, France's top anti-terrorist cop Jean-Louis
Brugiere wanted to pay a call on Ahmed Ressam but he was discouraged by
incredulous Canadian authorities who considered the Algerian expatriate no
more than a petty crook. This was the same Ahmed Ressam who in 1999 was
arrested en route to Seattle with a car full of explosives.
Kamel and 23 associates were convicted for activities related to
association with terrorist enterprises. There was no demonstrative proof of
their service or allegiance to Bin Laden, although such links would be
impossible to verify given the dispersed, cellular nature of these
operations (thus organized precisely to prevent police from following a
linear trail back to the top) and their vague hierarchy and direction. In
other words, prosecutors may never find sufficient evidence to legally
prove Bin Laden issued orders to various operatives, although it is clear
their commitment to his cause functions as a kind of remote control.
The French experience also shows that the commitment level of terror
recruits is far from uniform, and that opens a gap exploited by the
authorities. "The ones that truly believe are the ones who become suicide
pilots," says French terrorism expert Roland Jacquard. "The ones who don't
the ones responding to promises of money, and support for their families,
or the ones simply acting out of hate they end up with the grunt work of
logistics, criminal activity, gun-running. Eventually, they'll burn out.
When they do, they'll be valuable to intelligence people if they're
picked up." Identifying those people will be the prime test for U.S.
intelligence forces in the years to come.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,176139,00.html
The following so-called "Military History of France" has made the rounds on
the Internet and has proven very popular with a great number France-Bashing
websites. This document is a very biased selection of materials from
general French history spun in a deceptive manner.
Who was behind the infamous blog/email/usenet troll known as "The Complete
Military History of France" ?
The so-called Complete Military History of France seems to have been first
written by the bloggers from "Silflay Hraka" on 19th January 2003. Silflay
Hraka is a North Carolina Site run by a trio with nicknames like Bigwig,
Kehaar and Woundwort. Two of these bloggers seem to be tech/support staff
at a local NC newspaper and UNC, the third is a professor at a local
christian university in Elon North Carolina.
The appearance of this document on usenet did not happen until a Florida
teacher, once a former US army officer, posted an abridged document on a
website on February 6th 2003. The post was then copied and forwarded by
someone named Rinaldi at Michigan University to seattle.politics. In the
next number of days, the document was cross posted to hundreds of other
usenet groups. Since then the document has been copied to hundreds of
blogs.
The question none has bothered to ask, is where did this document really
come from?
All of these bloggers reside in an area that is a short drive away from
Fort Bragg, home of the 4th Psychological Unit, but that is probably only a
coincidence...
Red: historical fact
Blue: editorial content
Green: corrections
Gallic Wars - Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years
of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian (Roman
Emperor Julius Caesar).
DATES: 58 - 52 B.C.E.
FACT: A series of campaigns led by Julius Caesar against Vercingetorix
leading the numerous tribes that lived in Gaul (roughly equivalent to the
area of France today.) The results of the wars were 1) Rome took control
over Gaul and 2) Caesar made his reputation as a great general.
Hundred Years War - Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who
inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare; "France's armies
are victorious only when NOT led by a Frenchman."
WEB SOURCE: http://www.lbdb.com/TMDisplayWar.cfm?WID=53
Italian Wars - Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose
two wars (Not factual, see below)-- when fighting Italians.
DATES: 14941559
FACTS: The wars began when, in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded Italy
and seized (1495) Naples without effort, only to be forced to retreat by a
coalition of Spain, the Holy Roman emperor, the pope, Venice, and Milan.
His successor, Louis XII, occupied (1499) Milan and Genoa. Louis gained his
next objective, Naples, by agreeing to its conquest and partition with
Ferdinand V of Spain and by securing the consent of Pope Alexander VI.
Disagreement over division of the spoils between the Spanish and the
French, however, flared into open warfare in 1502. Louis XII was forced to
consent to the Treaties of Blois (15045), keeping Milan and Genoa but
pledging Naples to Spain.
Trouble began again when Pope Julius II formed (1508) an alliance against
Venice with France, Spain, and Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (see
Cambrai, League of). But shortly after the French victory over the
Venetians at Agnadello (1509), Julius made peace with Venice and began to
form the Holy League (1510) in order to expel the French barbarians from
Italy. The French held their own until the Swiss stormed Milan (1512)which
they nominally restored to the Sforzasrouted the French at Novara (1513),
and controlled Lombardy until they were defeated in turn by Louiss
successor, Francis I, at Marignano (1515). By the peace of Noyon (1516),
Naples remained in Spanish hands and Milan was returned to France.
The rivalry between Francis I and Charles V, king of Spain and (after 1519)
Holy Roman emperor, reopened warfare in 1521, and the French were badly
defeated in the Battle of Pavia (1525), the most important in the long
wars. Francis was forced to sign the Treaty of Madrid (1526), by which he
renounced his Italian claims and ceded Burgundy. This he repudiated, as
soon as he was liberated, by forming the League of Cognac with Pope Clement
VII, Henry VIII of England, Venice, and Florence.
To punish the pope, Charles V sent Charles de Bourbon against Rome, which
was sacked for a full week (May, 1527). The French, after an early success
at Genoa, were eventually forced to abandon their siege of Naples and
retreat. The war ended (1529) with the Treaty of Cambrai (see Cambrai,
Treaty of) and the renunciation of Franciss claims in Italy. Frances two
subsequent wars (154244 and 155657) ended in failure. Francis died in
1547, having renounced Naples (for the third time) in the Treaty of Crépy.
Complete Spanish supremacy in Italy was obtained by the Treaty of
Cateau-Cambrésis (1559), which gave the Two Sicilies and Milan to Philip
II.
The wars, though ruinous to Italy, had helped to spread the Italian
Renaissance in Western Europe. From the military viewpoint, they signified
the passing of chivalry, which found its last great representative in the
seigneur de Bayard. The use of Swiss and German mercenaries was
characteristic of the wars, and artillery passed its first major test.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.bartleby.com/65/it/ItalianW.html
Wars of Religion - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots (Civil war
fought between warring factions within France based on religious and
political lines, the Huguenots were French).
DATES: 1562-1598
FACTS: The religious wars began with overt hostilities in 1562 and lasted
until the Edict of Nantes in 1598. It was warfare that devastated a
generation, although conducted in rather desultory, inconclusive way.
Although religion was certainly the basis for the conflict, it was much
more than a confessional dispute. The Second War (1567-1568), The Third War
(1568-1570), The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572), The Fourth War
(1572-1573), The Fifth War (1576), The Seventh War (1580), The War of the
Three Henries (1584-1589), The Wars of the League (1589-1598). 1598 saw the
publication of the Edict of Nantes, which granted Huguenots freedom of
worship and civil rights for nearly a century, until Henri IV's descendent
Louis XIV revoked it in 1685.
Soon after Machiavelli and Erasmus wrote, Europe was torn apart by
religious wars between Catholics and the newly formed Protestant faith.
Protestant states persecuted Catholics and Catholic states continued, as
they had for centuries, to persecute "heretics." In France the religious
wars reached a climax with the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (24 August
1572) of Protestants after which Protestant political philosophers such as
Philippe du Plessis-Mornay developed the theory of tyrannicide in the
"Defence of Liberty against Tyrants" (1579). According to this theory
persecuted Protestants had both the right and the duty to rise up against
their oppressors and assassinate them if necessary.
Series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars. 1
The immediate issue was the French Protestants struggle for freedom of
worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots). Of equal
importance, however, was the struggle for power between the crown and the
great nobles and the rivalry among the great nobles themselves for the
control of the king.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.lepg.org/wars.htm,
http://www.arts.adelaide.edu.au/personal...,
http://www.bartleby.com/65/re/ReligWars.html
Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to
get invaded anyway (Unfounded claim). Claims a tie on the basis that
eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
DATES: Thirty Year's War 1618 - 1648
FACTS: The Thirty Years War consisted of a series of declared and
undeclared wars which raged through the years 1618-1648 throughout central
Europe. During the Thirty Years War the opponents were, on the one hand,
the House of Austria: the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperors Ferdinand II and
Ferdinand III together with his Spanish cousin Philip IV.
France took control of Alsace and much of the Rhineland while the Swedes
took over or neutralized northern Germany and carried the war into Bohemia.
The entry of France into the Thirty Years' War was the point of departure
for a Franco-German traditional enmity, which was efficiently fomented
during the late 19th century, while the Peace of Westphalia was interpreted
as a visible sign of the inner conflicts and the powerlessness of the
Reich.
WEB SOURCE: http://www-geschichte.fb15.uni-dortmund.de/fnz/thirty.html,
http://www.hfac.uh.edu/gbrown/philosophers/...
War of Devolution - Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flower pots as
chapeaux (?).
DATES: 1667-1668
FACTS: On the basis of a complicated legal claim, Louis XIV of France
overran the Spanish Netherlands and Franche-Comté. The United Provinces, in
alarm, formed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden, and France was
forced to make peace.
The French easily captured (1667) the Spanish Netherlands. The United
Provinces, in alarm, formed the Triple Alliance with England and Sweden
(Jan., 1668). The French overran Franche-Comté (Feb., 1668) but came to
terms with the Triple Alliance in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (May,
1668).
WEB SOURCE: http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/D/Devoluti.asp
The Dutch War - Tied.
DATES: War of 165254, War of 166467, War of 167278
FACTS: Series of conflicts between the English and Dutch during the mid to
late 17th cent. The wars had their roots in the Anglo-Dutch commercial
rivalry, although the last of the three wars was a wider conflict in which
French interests played a primary role. The war of 167278 was the first of
the great wars of Louis XIV of France. It was fought to end Dutch
competition with French trade and to extend Louis XIVs empire. Having
obtained the support of Charles II of England by the secret Treaty of Dover
(1670) and allied himself with Sweden (see Charles XI) and several German
states, Louis overran the southern provinces of the Netherlands (May,
1672). The Dutch stopped his advance on Amsterdam by opening the dikes;
about the same time, under the command of De Ruyter, the Dutch defeated the
English and French fleets at Southwold Bay. When Dutch peace proposals made
at this juncture were spurned by the French, a revolution broke out, and
William of Orange (later William III of England) took over Dutch leadership
from the ill-fated Jan de Witt (July, 1672). Williams attempt to divide
the French lines and enter France was countered by the French seizure of
Maastricht (1673). By the end of the year the French were forced to
retreat, and Spain, the Holy Roman emperor, Brandenburg, Denmark, and other
powers entered the war on the side of the Dutch. In 1674, England made
peace with the Dutch. Nevertheless, the military situation changed in favor
of France. In 1674, Louis II de Condé won the battle of Seneff, while
Turenne was victorious at Sinzheim. The defeats Créquy suffered in 1675
were balanced by the successful naval campaign of Abraham Duquesne in 1676,
and in 1677 the French defeated William at Cassel and took Freiburg. Peace
was negotiated at Nijmegen in 1678. Maastricht was ceded to the Dutch and a
trade treaty modified the French restrictive tariffs in favor of the Dutch.
By a subsequent treaty with Spain, Louis received Franche-Comté and a chain
of border fortresses in return for evacuating the Spanish Netherlands. By a
treaty with the Holy Roman emperor (1679), France was confirmed in
possession of Freiburg and a part of Lorraine.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.bartleby.com/65/du/DutchWar.html
War of the Augsburg League / King William's War / French and Indian War
-Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded
Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French
military power.
DATES: 1688 - 1697
FACTS: defensive alliance formed by Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I with
various German states, including Bavaria and the Palatinate, and with
Sweden and Spain so far as their German interests were concerned. It was an
acknowledgment of a community of German feeling against French expansion.
The war that broke out after the French attack on the Palatinate in Oct.,
1688, is sometimes designated the War of the League of Augsburg. In 1689 a
new coalition against the French, the Grand Alliance, was formed by
Austria, England, and the Netherlands. Savoy and Spain later joined the
Alliance, and the war of 1688-97 is more properly known as the War of the
Grand Alliance.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.slider.com/enc/4000/Augsburg_League_of.htm ,
http://www.encyclopedia.com/html/A/AugsburgL1g.asp
War of the Spanish Succession - Lost. The War also gave the French their
first taste of a Marlborough, which they have loved ever since.
DATES: 1702-13
FACTS: The War of the Spanish Succession, also known as Marlborough's Wars,
fought in Europe and on the Mediterranean, were the last and the bloodiest
of the Wars between England and France under Louis XIV, and the first in
which Britain played a major military role in European military affairs. In
1713 England, Holland, and France signed the Peace of Utrecht. Charles
continued the war until 1714. Although Philip remained on the Spanish
throne, the principle of balance of power had been established in European
dynastic affairs.
By the terms of the treaty France agreed never to unite the crowns of
France and Spain, while Britain acquired Hudson's Bay, Acadia, and
Newfoundland from the French, Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain, new trading
privileges with Spain, and a monopoly of the slave trade with the Spanish
Empire. France obtained the island of Cape Breton (Isle Royale) in North
America.
WEB SOURCE: http://www.kipar.org/kirkes_spanish_succession.html
American Revolution - In a move that will become quite familiar to future
Americans, France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far
more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome", and leads to the
Second Rule of French Warfare; "France only wins when America does most of
the fighting."
DATES
FACTS : The French extended considerable financial support to the
Congressional forces. France also supplied vital military arms and
supplies, and loaned money to pay for their purchase.
The high point of French support is the landing of five battalions of
French infantry and artillery in Rhode Island in 1780. In 1781, these
French troops under the command of Count Rochambeau marched south to
Virginia where they joined Continental forces under Washington and
Lafayette.
A French fleet under the command of Admiral DeGrasse intercepted and, after
a fierce battle lasting several days, defeated the British fleet and forced
it to withdraw. This left the French navy to land heavy siege cannon and
other supplies and trapped Cornwallis on the Yorktown peninsula.
Abbé Robin, who witnessed the surrender, described the victorious American
and French forces present at the ceremony. "Among the Americans, the wide
variety in age -- 12 to 14-year old children stood side by side with
grandfathers -- the absence of uniformity in their bearing and their ragged
clothing made the French allies appear more splendid by contrast. The
latter, in their immaculate white uniforms and blue braid, gave an
impression of martial vigor despite their fatigue.
How strange it must have been for these French troops and their new-found
colonial allies, some of whom had fought each other as enemies barely
fifteen years earlier, to stand shoulder to shoulder in armed conflict with
Frances ancient enemy and the colonists blood kin! In the end, these
French soldiers became the hard anvil upon which the new American nation
was forged and the chains of British imperial domination were finally
broken.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.ai.mit.edu/people/sfelshin/saintonge/frhist.html
French Revolution - Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also
French.
DATES: 1789 -1792
FACTS: Brutal civil war that spawned a long process that took France from
Tyranny to Democracy.
WEB SOURCES: http://history.hanover.edu/modern/Frenchrv.htm,
http://members.aol.com/agentmess/Frenchrev/,
http://www.txdirect.net/users/rrichard/napoleo1.htm
The Napoleonic Wars - Lost (Great number of battles). Temporary victories
(remember the First Rule!) due to leadership of a Corsican, who ended up
being no match for a British footwear designer.
DATES: Wars lasted from 1803 until 1815.
FACTS: The Napoleonic. They were an continuation of the conflicts sparked
by the French Revolution.
The First Coalition (1793-1795) had been the first attempt to crush
republicanism. Defeated by the French efforts - levée en masse, military
reform, total war. The Second Coalition (1798-1800) was no more effective.
Napoleon Bonaparte had come to control the French state since 1796. But he
was unable to invade Britain directly, so boldly offered a double threat,
invading Egypt in the summer of 1798 and mounting another expedition to
Ireland. The French fleet was defeated by Horatio Nelson in the Battle of
the Nile (August 1) at Aboukir (Abu Qir) and the Irish problem was quickly
contained. Napoleon was trapped in Egypt and the old members of the First
Coalition, excluding Prussia, quickly took advantage of this seeming lapse.
Early victories in Switzerland and Italy were promising, but Russia
withdrew; the British declined to engage and the Austrians were left to
face the returning Napoleon at Marengo (June 14, 1800) and then at
Hohenlinden (December 3). The bloodied Austrians temporarily left the
conflict after the Treaty of Lunéville (February 1801).
The Treaty of Amiens (1802) made peace between Britain and France, marked
the final collapse of the Second Coalition. The French "perfidity" led to
Britain refusing to honour the treaty and the renewal of hostilities from
May 18, 1803. The conflict changed over its course from a general desire to
restore the French monarchy into an almost manichean struggle against
Bonaparte.
1805 April: Britain and Russia sign a treaty to liberate Holland and
Switzerland. Austria joins the alliance in May (?), after the annexation of
Genoa and the proclamation of Napoleon as King of Italy. French army moved
from Boulogne in late July, 1805. At Ulm (September 25 - October 20) the
French defeated 70,000 Austrians under Karl Mack von Leiberich. Austerlitz
(December 2) was another massive Russian-Austrian defeat. Treaty of
Pressburg.
Germany, Confederation of the Rhine. Hanseatic towns. Prussians declare war
alone. Defeated at Jena and Auerstädt (October 14. 1806). Napoleon in
Berlin 27th.
Russians, 1806. Stalemate at Eylau (February 7-8), but routed at Friedland
(June 14). Alexander I and Naopoleon made peace at Tilsit (July 7, 1807).
Congress of Erfurt (1808).
Britain alone, again. British military activity was reduced to a succession
of small victories in the French colonies and another naval victory at
Copenhagen (September 2, 1807). On land only the disastrous Walcheren
Expedition (1809) was attempted. The struggle then centred over economic
warfare - Continental System vs. naval blockade. Both sides entered
conflicts trying to enforce their blockade - the British the Anglo-American
War (1812-1814) and the French the much more serious Peninsular War
(1808-1814); Portugal, Bayonne (April), guerillas, Arthur Wellesley.
Industrial Revolution.
1809 Austria attacks into Bavaria. Defeated at Wagram, July 5-6. Treaty of
Schönbrunn (October 14, 1809).
1810 French empire reaches its greatest extent. Naopoleon marries
Marie-Louise. As well as the French empire, Napoleon controlled the Swiss
Confederation, the Confederation of the Rhine, and the Grand Duchy of
Warsaw. Allied territories included: the Kingdom of Spain (Joseph
Bonaparte); Kingdom of Westphalia (Jerome Bonaparte); the Kingdom of Italy
(Eugène de Beauharnais, son of Joséphine (Napoleon was king)); the Kingdom
of Naples (Joachim Murat, brother-in-law); Principality of Lucca and
Piombino (Felix Bacciochi, brother-in-law).
Russia. 1812. Grande Armée, 600,000 men (270,000 French), crossed the
Niemen River June 23, 1812. Russian policy of retreat and scorched earth.
Borodino (September 7), bloody but indecisive. 14th Moscow captured and
largely burned. Alexander I refused to deal. Great Retreat, 275,000
casualties, 200,000 captured. By November only 10,000 fit soldiers were
among those who crossed the Berezina River. Napoleon returned to Paris in
December.
At Vitoria (June 21, 1813) the French power in Spain was finally broken.
Arthur Wellesley vs. Joseph Bonaparte. French forced to retreat out of
Spain, over the Pyrenees.
Austria and Prussia re-enter the war. France had small victories at Lützen
(May 2) and Bautzen (May 20-21) over Russo-Prussian forces. Battle of
Leipzig (October 16-19, 1813), Battle of the Nations: 195,000 French,
350,000 Allies; 110,000 casualties. Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube. Treaty of
Chaumont (March 9). Allies enter Paris, March 31, 1814. Napoleon abdicated
April 6. Treaty of Fontainebleau.
Elba. Bourbon Restoration.
Hundred Days. Napoleon landed at Cannes, March 1, 1815. Raised 280,000 men.
Attacked the Allies in Belgium, intending to take Wellington and Blucher in
turn. Ligny (June 15), he defeated the Prussians, they retreated to Wavre.
At Quatre Bras on same day Wellington was held. Battle of Waterloo (June
18). Napoleon abdicates again June 22, 1815. Saint Helena.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_Wars,
http://www.napoleonguide.com
The Franco-Prussian War - Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat
boy to France's ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
DATES: 1870-1871
FACTS: Conflict between France and Prussia that signaled the rise of German
military power and imperialism. It was provoked by Otto von Bismarck (the
Prussian chancellor) as part of his plan to create a unified German Empire.
Partly because they believed France the aggressor, the states of S Germany
enthusiastically joined the North German Confederationjust as Bismarck had
hoped. The military conduct of the war was, for the Germans, in the hands
of Helmuth Karl Bernhard von Moltke, a military genius. On the French side,
Napoleon III took active command, but it soon devolved on Marshal Bazaine.
On Aug. 4, 1870, the Germans crossed the border into Alsace. They defeated
the French at Wissembourg, pushed the French under Marshal MacMahon to
Châlons-en-Champagne, and forced a wedge between MacMahons forces and
those of Bazaine, centered on Metz. Bazaine, attempting to join MacMahon,
was defeated at Vionville (Aug. 16) and Gravelotte (Aug. 18) and returned
to Metz. The Germans began their march on Paris, and on Sept. 1 the attempt
of Napoleon III and MacMahon to rescue Bazaine led to disaster at Sedan.
The emperor and 100,000 of his men were captured.
When the news of Sedan reached Paris a bloodless revolution occurred.
Napoleon was deposed, and a provisional government of national defense was
formed under General Trochu, Léon Gambetta, and Jules Favre. Paris was
surrounded by the Germans on Sept. 19, and a grueling siege began. Gambetta
escaped from Paris in a balloon to organize resistance in the provinces.
Faidherbe made a gallant stand on the Loire, Chanzy in the north, and
Bourbaki in the east, but the surrender (Oct. 27) of Bazaine, with a
garrison of 180,000 men, made such resistance useless. Paris, however, held
out until Jan. 28, 1871, suffering several months of famine. Though
Bismarck and Adolphe Thiers signed an armistice on the same day, the
fortress of Belfort resisted until Feb. 16.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.bartleby.com/65/fr/FrancoPr.html
World War I - Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United
States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to not only sleep
with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein." Sadly, widespread
use of condoms by American forces forestalls any improvement in the French
bloodline.
DATES: 1914 - 1918
FACTS: Imperial, territorial, and economic rivalries led to the Great War
between the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey)
and the Allies (U.S., Britain, France, Russia, Belgium, Serbia, Greece,
Romania, Montenegro, Portugal, Italy, Japan). About 10 million combatants
killed, 20 million wounded.
1914- Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand and wife assassinated in Sarajevo
by Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip (June 28). Austria declares war on
Serbia (July 28). Germany declares war on Russia (Aug. 1), on France (Aug.
3), invades Belgium (Aug. 4). Britain declares war on Germany (Aug. 4).
Germans defeat Russians in Battle of Tannenberg on Eastern Front (Aug.).
First Battle of the Marne (Sept.). German drive stopped 25 miles from
Paris. By end of year, war on the Western Front is positional in the
trenches.
1915 - German submarine blockade of Great Britain begins (Feb.).
Dardanelles CampaignBritish land in Turkey (April), withdraw from
Gallipoli (Dec.Jan. 1916). Germans use gas at second Battle of Ypres
(AprilMay). Lusitania sunk by German submarine1,198 lost, including 128
Americans (May 7). On Eastern Front, German and Austrian great offensive
conquers all of Poland and Lithuania; Russians lose 1 million men (by Sept.
6). Great Fall Offensive by Allies results in little change from 1914
(Sept.Oct.). Britain and France declare war on Bulgaria (Oct. 14).
1916 - Battle of VerdunGermans and French each lose about 350,000 men
(Feb.). Extended submarine warfare begins (March). British-German sea
battle of Jutland (May); British lose more ships, but German fleet never
ventures forth again. On Eastern Front, the Brusilov offensive demoralizes
Russians, costs them 1 million men (JuneSept.). Battle of the
SommeBritish lose over 400,000; French, 200,000; Germans, about 450,000;
all with no strategic results (JulyNov.). Romania declares war on
Austria-Hungary (Aug. 27). Bucharest captured (Dec.).
1917 - U.S. declares war on Germany (April 6). Submarine warfare at peak
(April). On Italian Front, Battle of CaporettoItalians retreat, losing
600,000 prisoners and deserters (Oct.Dec.). On Western Front, Battles of
Arras, Champagne, Ypres (third battle), etc. First large British tank
attack (Nov.). U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary (Dec. 7). Armistice
between new Russian Bolshevik government and Germans (Dec. 15).
1918 - Great offensive by Germans (MarchJune). Americans' first important
battle role at Château-Thierryas they and French stop German advance
(June). Second Battle of the Marne (JulyAug.)start of Allied offensive at
Amiens, St. Mihiel, etc. Battles of the Argonne and Ypres panic German
leadership (Sept.Oct.). British offensive in Palestine (Sept.). Germans
ask for armistice (Oct. 4). British armistice with Turkey (Oct.). German
Kaiser abdicates (Nov.). Hostilities cease on Western Front (Nov. 11)
WEB SOURCES: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWchronology.htm,
http://www.france.diplomatie.fr/archives.gb...
World War II - Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and
Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
DATES: 1939 - 1945
FACTS: 1939 - Germany invades Poland and annexes Danzig; Britain and France
give Hitler ultimatum (Sept. 1), declare war (Sept. 3). Disabled German
pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee blown up off Montevideo, Uruguay, on
Hitler's orders (Dec. 17). Limited activity (Sitzkrieg) on Western Front.
1940 - Nazis invade Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (May 10).
Chamberlain resigns as Britain's prime minister; Churchill takes over (May
10). Germans cross French frontier (May 12) using air/tank/infantry
Blitzkrieg tactics. Dunkerque evacuationabout 335,000 out of 400,000
Allied soldiers rescued from Belgium by British civilian and naval craft
(May 26June 3). Italy declares war on France and Britain; invades France
(June 10). Germans enter Paris; city undefended (June 14). France and
Germany sign armistice at Compiègne (June 22). Nazis bomb Coventry, England
(Nov. 14).
1941 - Germans launch attacks in Balkans. Yugoslavia surrendersGeneral
Mihajlovic continues guerrilla warfare; Tito leads left-wing guerrillas
(April 17). Nazi tanks enter Athens; remnants of British Army quit Greece
(April 27). Hitler attacks Russia (June 22). Atlantic CharterFDR and
Churchill agree on war aims (Aug. 14). Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor,
Philippines, Guam force U.S. into war; U.S. Pacific fleet crippled (Dec.
7). U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. Germany and Italy declare war on
U.S.; Congress declares war on those countries (Dec. 11).
1942 - British surrender Singapore to Japanese (Feb. 15). Roosevelt orders
Japanese and Japanese Americans in western U.S. to be exiled to relocation
centers, many for the remainder of the war (Feb. 19). U.S. forces on
Bataan peninsula in Philippines surrender (April 9). U.S. and Filipino
troops on Corregidor island in Manila Bay surrender to Japanese (May 6).
Village of Lidice in Czechoslovakia razed by Nazis (June 10). U.S. and
Britain land in French North Africa (Nov. 8).
1943 - Casablanca ConferenceChurchill and FDR agree on unconditional
surrender goal (Jan. 1424). German 6th Army surrenders at
Stalingradturning point of war in Russia (Feb. 12). Remnants of Nazis
trapped on Cape Bon, ending war in Africa (May 12). Mussolini deposed;
Badoglio named premier (July 25). Allied troops land on Italian mainland
after conquest of Sicily (Sept. 3). Italy surrenders (Sept. 8). Nazis seize
Rome (Sept. 10). Cairo Conference: FDR, Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek pledge
defeat of Japan, free Korea (Nov. 2226). Teheran Conference: FDR,
Churchill, Stalin agree on invasion plans (Nov. 28Dec. 1).
1944 - U.S. and British troops land at Anzio on west Italian coast and hold
beachhead (Jan. 22). U.S. and British troops enter Rome (June 4).
D-DayAllies launch Normandy invasion (June 6). Hitler wounded in bomb plot
(July 20). Paris liberated (Aug. 25). Athens freed by Allies (Oct. 13).
Americans invade Philippines (Oct. 20). Germans launch counteroffensive in
BelgiumBattle of the Bulge (Dec. 16).
1945 - Yalta Agreement signed by FDR, Churchill, Stalinestablishes basis
for occupation of Germany, returns to Soviet Union lands taken by Germany
and Japan; USSR agrees to friendship pact with China (Feb. 11). Mussolini
killed at Lake Como (April 28). Admiral Doenitz takes command in Germany;
suicide of Hitler announced (May 1). Berlin falls (May 2). Germany signs
unconditional surrender terms at Rheims (May 7). Allies declare V-E Day
(May 8). Potsdam ConferenceTruman, Churchill, Atlee (after July 28),
Stalin establish council of foreign ministers to prepare peace treaties;
plan German postwar government and reparations (July 17Aug. 2). A-bomb
dropped on Hiroshima by U.S. (Aug. 6). USSR declares war on Japan (Aug. 8).
Nagasaki hit by A-bomb (Aug. 9). Japan agrees to surrender (Aug. 14). V-J
DayJapanese sign surrender terms aboard battleship Missouri (Sept. 2).
WEB SOURCES: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WW.htm,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/index.shtml,
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/
War in Indochina - Lost. French forces plead sickness, take to bed with the
Dien Bien Flu.
DATES: 1946 - 1954
FACTS: After the defeat of Japan, the question arose of what was to happen
to Vietnam in the postwar world. There were two opposing forces attempting
to answer that question, both of them appealing to the United States for
help. The French wanted to reassert their control over Vietnam. Challenging
them was a powerful nationalist movement within Vietnam committed to
creating an independent nation. The nationalists were organized into a
political party, the Vietminh, which had been created in 1941 and led ever
since by Ho Chi Minh, a communist educated in Paris and Moscow, and a
fervent Vietnamese nationalist.
At first, the French had little difficulty reestablishing control. They
drove Ho Chi Minh out of Hanoi and into hiding in the countryside; and in
1949, they established a nominally independent national government under
the leadership of the former emperor, Bao Dai--an ineffectual, westernized
playboy unable to assert any real independent authority. The real power
remained in the hands of the French. But the Vietminh continued to
challenge the French dominated regime and slowly increased its control over
large areas of the countryside. The French appealed to the United States
for support; and in February 1950, the Truman administration formally
recognized the Bao Dai regime and agreed to provide it with direct military
and economic
aid. For the next four years, during what has become known as the First
Indochina War, Truman and then Eisenhower continued to support the French
military campaign against the Vietminh; by 1954, by some calculations, the
United States was paying 80% of the France's war costs. But the
war went badly for the French anyway. Finally, late in 1953, Vietminh
forces engaged the French in a major battle in the far northwest corner of
the country, at Dien Bien Phu, an isolated and almost indefensible site.
The French were surrounded, and the battle turned into a prolonged
and horrible siege, with the French position steadily deteriorating. It was
at this point that the Eisenhower administration decided not to intervene
to save the French. The defense of Dien Bien Phu collapsed and the French
government decided the time had come to get out. The First Indochina War
had come to an end.
The politicians of the Fourth Republic had to deal with a number of
problems related to France's status as a colonial power. The first of these
problems centred on Indochina, i.e. Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (French
protectorates had been established in the first two in 1863 and in the
third in 1893). In September 1945, Hô Chi Minh, leader of the Vietminh
League, had declared Vietnam's independence. Negotiations were underway to
grant Vietnam the status of a free state within the Union française
(roughly equivalent to the British Commonwealth) when, in November 1946,
shots were exchanged between a Chinese junk and French customs officers in
the port of Haïphong. Pro-colonialists exploited the incident to try and
halt Vietnam's independence. Thus began an eight-year war that culminated
in the French defeat at Diên Biên Phu in May 1954 (to learn more, click
here).
WEB RESOURCES: http://latis.ex.ac.uk/French/cooke/indochina.htm,
http://www.ichiban1.org/html/history...,
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=393231
Algerian Rebellion - Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by
a Non-Turkic Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule
of Muslim Warfare; "We can always beat the French." This rule is identical
to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians, Germans, English, Dutch,
Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux (?).
DATES: 19541962
FACTS: War for Algerian independence from France. The movement for
independence began in World War I and gained momentum after promises of
greater self-rule went unfulfilled after World War II. In 1954 the National
Liberation Front (FLN) began a guerrilla war against France and sought
diplomatic recognition at the UN to restore a sovereign Algerian state. In
1959 Charles de Gaulle declared that the Algerians had the right to
determine their own future. Despite terrorist acts by European Algerians
opposed to independence, a truce was signed in 1962 and Algeria became
independent.
The Algerian war was also a civil war between the French Government,
Algerian Nationalists and European Algerians.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?eu=380297,
http://www.ina.fr/voir_revoir/algerie/index.en.html,
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki...
War Against Greenpeace - Lost. 1985, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior
prepares to sail for Moruroa Atoll for a major campaign against French
nuclear testing. Agents of the DGSE [secret service] bomb and sink the ship
in Auckland Harbor. I tree-hugger sans tree drowns. Six weeks later agents
Prieur and Mafart plead guilty to charges of manslaughter and willful
damage. They get sentences of 10 years and 7 years. French Prime Minister
Fabius admits to state terrorism on TV.
The Rainbow Warrior Affair -
http://www.kauricoast.co.nz/Feature.cfm?WPID=70
The Bombing of the Rainbow Warrior -
http://www.geocities.com/shipwrecks_magazine/rainbow.htm
War on Terrorism - France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders
to Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to Vietnamese
ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.
France has been remarkably successful in thwarting Islamist terrorism. The
French experience holds some challenging lessons for the U.S. - Time
Magazine. LAURENT REBOURS/AP
France's anti-terrorist squad makes arrests outside Paris
In the early 1990s, Islamist radicals found a pool of willing recruits in
the cauldrons of youthful rage found in the impoverished suburban ghettoes
that house many of France's 5 million people of Arab origin. The point of
connection between the suburbs of Paris and Marseilles and Osama Bin
Laden's Afghanistan-based networks came via Algeria. There, the
military-backed government overturned elections won by the Islamists,
banned their party and drove its most extreme elements underground where
they've led a merciless war of terror against politicians and citizens
alike. The most notorious Algerian terror faction, the Armed Islamic Group
(GIA), had been founded by men who'd fought as volunteers alongside Bin
Laden in Afghanistan's anti-Soviet 'jihad.' When that war ended with the
Soviet withdrawal, the men moved into France and began recruiting young
thugs and exploiting their larcenous talents to raise money and build an
infrastructure to attack France for its support of the Algerian government.
A far-reaching law
Operatives recruited in France helped staged a series of bombing attacks
during 1995 that left eight dead and around 150 wounded. French
anti-terrorist police ultimately tracked down the bombers, and developed an
extensive "human intelligence" capability to monitor the wider networks of
which they'd been a part. French law-enforcement was also aided by a
catch-all crime law: Simply by citing "association with wrong-doers
involved in a terrorist enterprise," French police are able to arrest and
detain any suspect in any crime whose goal, however remotely, can
ultimately assist terrorist activity. That law shocks civil libertarians in
the U.S. and Britain, but French officials retort that those countries'
commitment to strict civil libertarian principles has made them havens
where Islamist militants can plot terror with less risk of detection
because of the legal restraints on techniques such as spot ID checks and
information monitoring.
The combination of these laws and human-level intelligence gathering
(infiltration and interrogation of suspects) helped France successfully
uproot terrorist networks in the mid-1990s and to thwart outrages planned
during the 1998 soccer World Cup. Casting the net wide revealed that many
people police had previously assumed were simply petty crooks had actually
been thugging for the Islamists.
Inside the terror networks
The French sweeps also revealed the informal and dispersed nature of the
terror networks: They were mostly cut off from one another to contain the
damage of detection or infiltration, and were guided by a limited number of
people who'd move around assembling the fruits of each cell's particular
talents false documents from one, funds from another and weapons from a
third, for example. The organizers who linked these discrete cells could
then synchronize complex multiple attacks.
One case in point: The February trial of Fateh Kamel, a 40-year-old
Algerian with Canadian citizenship, provided further evidence of the
discrete patterns of the terror networks. Kamel had been arrested on a
charge of "association with wrong-doers in relation with a terrorist
enterprise," for his involvement in the "gang of Roubaix" a group of
young men whose criminal behavior had been considered anti-social rather
than political.
Not your average gangsters
In 1996, following a failed car bomb attempt in Lille on the eve of a G7
summit there, French cops picked up two ethnic-Arab suspects, one of whom
cracked under questioning and revealed the true nature of "gang of
Roubaix." The group was in fact a collection of Muslim militants (most of
them white French converts) who had been radicalized during visits to
Bosnia. Robbery was used to finance arms purchases, and to create false ID
documents to facilitate the movement of Islamist terrorists transiting
France. The group had recruited men for their "holy war," and had staged
attacks when instructed to do so.
Patient intelligence work revealed that Kamel was both an expert document
forger, head of the network of which the Roubaix gang was a part and had
also spent time in Afghanistan, where he'd been in contact with Bin Laden.
French authorities say there's no way of proving whether Kamel "worked for
bin Laden." But, they say, it is clear that in the decentralized,
compartmentalized and intersecting root system of Islamic networks, Kamel
had been given the responsibility for creating and transporting false ID
documents used by militants being assembled in Turkey, Bulgaria, Belgium,
France, Bosnia and North America.
The value of surveillance
The French simply followed Kamel around the globe for six months prior to
his arrest, taking note of those with whom he met. That turned up names
who'd cropped up elsewhere, and revealed some of the point men for the
various regional networks with which Kamel had been put in contact. Based
on Kamel's visits to Montreal, France's top anti-terrorist cop Jean-Louis
Brugiere wanted to pay a call on Ahmed Ressam but he was discouraged by
incredulous Canadian authorities who considered the Algerian expatriate no
more than a petty crook. This was the same Ahmed Ressam who in 1999 was
arrested en route to Seattle with a car full of explosives.
Kamel and 23 associates were convicted for activities related to
association with terrorist enterprises. There was no demonstrative proof of
their service or allegiance to Bin Laden, although such links would be
impossible to verify given the dispersed, cellular nature of these
operations (thus organized precisely to prevent police from following a
linear trail back to the top) and their vague hierarchy and direction. In
other words, prosecutors may never find sufficient evidence to legally
prove Bin Laden issued orders to various operatives, although it is clear
their commitment to his cause functions as a kind of remote control.
The French experience also shows that the commitment level of terror
recruits is far from uniform, and that opens a gap exploited by the
authorities. "The ones that truly believe are the ones who become suicide
pilots," says French terrorism expert Roland Jacquard. "The ones who don't
the ones responding to promises of money, and support for their families,
or the ones simply acting out of hate they end up with the grunt work of
logistics, criminal activity, gun-running. Eventually, they'll burn out.
When they do, they'll be valuable to intelligence people if they're
picked up." Identifying those people will be the prime test for U.S.
intelligence forces in the years to come.
WEB SOURCES: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,176139,00.html