STOP Repeating these Military LIES 

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Making fun of the French for their combat skills is kind of a low hanging fruit, there are so many other things to make fun of them for.

Whenever I see people joking about the French, I always imagine some French guy seeing that and yellin "Oh come on, THAT WAS ONE TIME!"

In 1870, out of political stupidity, France declared war on Prussia. The other German nations joined Prussia in responding to this declaration of war. On the evening of one of the battles (all in France even though it was France that attacked...) a German general made this comment: "The French soldiers?: they are Lions! Their only problem, they are led by a herd of donkeys!!!" the worst is that some people think that it is still true today ​

Funny fact: R Lee Ermy, the guy who played the famous Drill Sargent in Full Metal Jacket actually was one IRL and he said if one tried even HALF of what his character did in the movie? He'd be arrested, discharged and likely end up in jail.

I love how you kind of glossed over taking down Napoleon at Waterloo. It was a combined effort from British, Dutch, Belgium, German, and Prussian forces with Napoleon being outnumbered almost 2 to 1 and still it was a close battle. This man was a downright genius in warfare Russia not withstanding.

I remember watching Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader and they had a question about which country fought England during the Hundred Years War. She discounted France as a possibility because she thought the French were not good fighters and couldn't last in a war that long. That was for $500,000. Because of her ignorant mindset, she went from having $300,000 to $25,000.

It's especially sad when it's the French that helped the Americans the most during the War on independence, and it's the US ppl who perpetuate the myth the most.

The French have ALWAYS been "For the country, not the queen!" Type of mentality. They don't want glory, they want peace through strength and determination. The French are, in my opinion, America's GREATEST ally

Just so you know, Napoleon was not short, that was British propaganda that made him look less threatening than he actually was

The worst part of all this, despite the defeat, is that the French defenders of Lille in 1940 received Military Honors from the Germans at the end of the battle. And the worst part is that little brats are calling them cowards anyway.

Popular opinion: If the French are as good as they claim then why don't we hear about them more? France: Those who brag are without confidence, and only a fool judges an ally or opponent on rumor alone.

France has it terrible reputation because of poor leadership in 1940-41. Their army was not defeated, it was encircled. Also, it was the first time Blitzkreig was really used (was used in Poland to an extent, but not fully understood until after the fall of France).

"History is not written by the victor it's written by those who write stuff down"-Max miller tasting history

their loss in ww 2 had nothing to do with the soldiers but was the leaders that failed.

The first one about the French is amazing. In fact the French GIGN is probably one of the most intense counter-terrorism groups!

Despite our overwhelming numerical and material superiority, French troops counterattacked in several places. I cannot understand how such valiant soldiers, fighting in various places one against ten (sometimes even one against thirty), still manage to find enough strength to attack: it is simply astonishing. ! I found among the French soldiers of Dunkirk the same enthusiasm as that of the poilus of Verdun in 1916. For several days, hundreds of bombers and cannons have been pounding the French defenses. However, it's always the same thing, our infantry and our tanks cannot break through, despite some fleeting local successes. The French command very skillfully installed its troops and artillery. I fear that Dunkirk will be a failure for us: almost the entire British expeditionary force and most of the French 1st Army will escape us, because a few thousand brave men are blocking our access to the sea. It's appalling , but that’s how it is.“ “Dunkirk provides me with proof that the French soldier is one of the best in the world. French artillery, so feared in 14-18, once again demonstrated its formidable effectiveness. Our losses are terrifying: many battalions have lost 60% of their troops, sometimes even more! “ „ By resisting for ten days against our forces which were clearly superior in numbers and means, the French army accomplished, at Dunkirk, a superb feat which should be saluted. It certainly saved Britain from defeat, by allowing its professional army to reach English shores.“ General Georg von Külcher

If it wasn’t for the French, Americans would be speaking English.

“It was a setup, for money. Ik the traitor wasn’t me.” Niko Bellic

during the Korean war my father (now 93) served with the 23rd Inf. Reg with a French battalion during the battles of Twin Tunnels and Chipyong-ni, in both battles the French made several bayonet charges against the Chinese.

as a history buff i have never once thought of France as having a weak military....all of by which are the reasons you brought up

Polish cavalry always had the brains to run away from tanks, especially if you've a horse to get away on.

Laughing at French for their surrender is good sign of low intellect. At least is can serve as a selection tool.

I’m French, and I’m so glad this video was made. We can be made fun for anything, but not surrendering

My father was on the phone with the VA and he had it on speaker phone since his hearing was damaged in Vietnam. The woman on the phone kept telling him to take her off apeaker phone and my dad kept telling her I can't hear if I do that. He then heard someone say he was in Vietnam, ne has PTSD and flagged his file. It stayed there for awhile, even after he complained. I myself told one of his doctors that it was totally unprofessional and uncalled for. The men and women who serve deserve to be treated with dignity, PTSD or not.

Making fun of France for losing wars is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to making jokes about them

Love how you skipped over the Vichy French, the main reason for the misunderstanding of the French capitulation as them being cowardly. Pétain created the myth

The first thing to understand about the French is that, for most of medieval history, the leaders of England WERE French, which is why France and England were enemies for so very long.

You are a legend for clearing things about Nero. I feel like he was just a dude trying to do his job. He even managed to keep the position away from dangerous people.

A nation's military as a whole is usually just as (in)capable as its government's ability to adapt.

I never understood the jokes towards the French. They were gangster af. Their AMX 13 series tanks had no armor, but an autoloader. Run in blow the magazine, then run back. Reload, rinse, and repeat. Straight up balls to the wall.

During the Battle of France in 1940, cadets at a cavalry school held off a panzer division for several days with their training weapons. The survivors were carried out between ranks of German soldiers standing at parade attention.

In WWII, the French Generals ignored reconnaissance photos showing chaotic bunched-up German supply that could have been bombed to devastating effect. French tanks were dispersed and deployed chaotically. France surrendered while a large part of the country had not yet been invaded. French strategy depended on the Maginot line, which ate up a large portion of the defense budget and could not be extended into neutral countries. The Maginot Line was tail heavy, with an incredibly big support apparatus underground to support a few big guns. Corrupt, inept and even traitorous leaders caused the defeat.

"Sometimes the bitterest truth can taste better than the sweetest lies." Griffin the Archanan in Men in Black 3

It's so very true about what you say about veterans with PTSD. I served in the British Armed Forces, but joined at a time when there wasn't much going on worldwide, and I never saw combat, however I'm in contact with a LOT of veterans who have, some of which suffer from PTSD from either active combat, or helping clearing up from other peoples atrocities (such as terrorism related plane crashes). During the 33 years that I've been in close contact with serving members of the Armed Forces, and Veterans, I've never yet seen an outbreak of violence that wasn't justified. What I have seen is many times when violence probably could have been justified, have been avoided because the Veteran involved has been trained in conflict management! Obviously there ARE rare occasions that are highly publicised, such as the horrible murder of Chris Kyle (AKA 'American Sniper) Chris was murdered by Eddie Ray Routh, a Schizophrenic former US Marine, who was said by his parents to also have PTSD related to military service. Horrible events such as this are incredibly rare, but always seem to be massively reported by the media, and spoken of as if it's a norm for Veterans to be deranged psychopaths. Quite simply not true!

as a proud french pariotist, I wish all those idiots that call us cowards could see that video!

Thank you for covering ptsd. I have it and it really is a war within yourself but we are more apt to harm ourselves than others for sure.

5:30. Merde! La Garde meurt, elle ne se rend pas Napolean Bonaparte and the 7 coalition wars proves that the french are a force to be reckoned with

It may not have been that easy to enlist at all times, but Defense Secretary Robert McNamara had the idea of reducing physical, educational and psychological requirements in order to boost troop numbers during the Vietnam War, Project 10,000 as he called it, or McNamara's Morons as it was called by many others behind his back. As a result, people who had trouble keeping up with their battle buddies, were barely able to operate their weapons without self injury or who couldn't restrain themselves from commiting monstrous atrocities were deployed.

Another thing about the French is that in most of the major conflicts, involving western nations, the main decisive battles have been fought on French soil. They are just sick of it.

France has been an ally to the US for 250 years. If it was not for France's help, we might not have won our independence. So yeah.

The French had trouble, but in World War 1 they kept the mighty German empire away from Paris and they tried their hardest in Verdun, and in World War 2, they fell but in some of the colonies of France in Africa, made them selves free.

I was a kid like , ya I wanna be front line infantry! Took the ASVAB test. And the marines were like sorry we need you as a helicopter mechanic😂

In all fairness, even George Washington was highly disappointed with the French’s “assistance” in the Revolution. They made several blunders on land and sea that caused the war to drag on for 2 extra years than it needed to. They were slow to get to America. They sent very few troops, mostly new recruits and volunteers from Paris. Several shipments of muskets they sent were not fitted with the proper flints. They messed up John Sullivan’s march on Providence RI. They just didn’t help as much as we were taught as kids. Yes they won the battle of the capes and they helped at Yorktown. But according to most continental army officers, they weren’t a major part of the operation.

My grandson was a captain in the USAF according to him he made around $100,000: per year with all allotments included. He also received 30 days vacation in addition to 13 holidays, exceeding certain standards earned him another 2 days of vacation. Add that to a typical 5 day a week schedule and he was off nearly 40% of the time.

I’m glad the Polish and French myths are becoming realized as such

What about the sacrifice of the French rear guard during the evacuation of Dunkirk.

I read somewhere that Napoleon's height was actually normal but Was a form of propaganda That he was short

I lived one street away from a Polish veteran who became a POW early in the war , he had the numbers on his arm.. He was in a mounted regiment of lancers and said they would try to drive the lane through the observation portal of the German tanks and it worked but was told to surrender by his officer when things became hopeless.

The defender of Verdun is the french💪 just the bloodiest war in history

My great-uncle fought in WWll with the Brazilaan Expeditionary Forces, I strongly believe he had PTSD but he would just zone out for several seconds, even minutes... But had a normal lifem took care of his farm, he had a town house, took care of his nephew, my uncle, and attended to regular activities. as I said I do not know if this is actually PTSD but he did zoned out and stared at nothing alot

How many 4 star generals are there compared to lower enlisted ranks? WTH. Military pay stinks and a raise of 3% a year is considered ‘big’.

When I hear The Battle of Verdun my mind instantly goes to Sabaton.

Everyone says “FrAnCe AlwAyS SuRrEnDeRs” *ils ne passeront pas Verdun 1916*

The only problem I have with the French is that after they surrendered to Germany at the beginning of WWll the French army fought for Germany in North Africa against those who were trying to free the country from the invaders.

The part neglected here is that France also had a massive collaborationist government in Vichy France led by the same Petain that held Verdun in WWI. If that wasn't weird enough. DeGaulle was the most disliked allied leader making demands of the Americans and British more akin to Stalin while the free poles, free Czechs, free dutch...etc, all just wanted to fight DeGaulle wanted resources wasted for specifically french uniforms and equipment.

The French Foreign Legion and GIGN are some serious "F around and find out" soldiers.

People make fun of the French mainly because they hear French criticism of their countries. I’ve heard the same thing from Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Arabs, and Americans.

My grandfather fought in WW2 along side our French allies, and from what he told me "and he would know" they were brave and fought hard

I love how they completely glossed over the biggest french beating ever at Dien Bien Phu.

In 1940 France was fighting against the entire German forces, unlike the allies who only fought against less than half of Germany’s forces in North Africa and then Europe, mostly Germany’s worst forces that were posted on the western front, because most of German forces and their very best were fighting against the USSR on the eastern front. From the start of the war in 1939, to the armistice following the battle of France (invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and lastly France), the French gave such a blow to the German forces that it was consequent in the failed invasion of England by Germany and the winning of the allies. Also, France was numerically inferior to the Germans: France had 86 divisions and the Germans 141 divisions, France had 1103 airplanes and Germany had 4020 airplanes.

Very interesting to see how much this rewrites real misconceptions vs how much it solidifies certain propaganda.

Unfortunately people tend to forget there were more wars out there besides WW2…

Thanks for clarifying the WW 2 Polish cavalry charges.

Not helping to fighting Poland was huge bravery and even bigger was not informing Poland about not helping which had to result of many unpleasant things.

I was once one of the people that labeled French as incompetent during WW2, but now I'm one of the people who understands why the French army lost.

Basic Training. Echo Co. 1-50th ITB, Ft. Benning Georgia, was under CID investigation when I was there (Jan-May 2001). Hazing might still have been a thing.

as a person with diagnosed ptsd, i hate how the media portrays us like violent people. i am too scared of people to dish out physical pain.

I mean, Napoleon alone is so good that one should take pause before questioning France's military prowess.

The French surrendering meme is stupid. They once ran most of Europe and had the largest Army in the World in WWI and 2. They just got straigt up out maneuvered

Can you cover the Burgundian kingdom in a separate video? Seeing as how they seem to no longer be around I expect the content to be lesser but still having some intrigue.

The ASVAB is not a pass or fail test. It is an aptitude test. Each branch will have a set threshold dependent upon how badly they need people to fill billets. Each job in the military will require a certain score dependent upon how technical the job.

What a great video, thank you.

14:11 eh it’s pretty easy to get a waiver to join the army

18:18 I believe the common statistic for most modern military’s is for every 1 fighting man there are 11 behind him. This is actually an advancement on the WW2 one which was every 1 man fighting there were 7 behind him. - to those wondering the behind him part refers to all people being the soldier keeping him fed, supplied, housed, medical attendance, monetary upkeep, grooming, etc etc. any rear line area that doesn’t see combat but assists in making sure that 1 soldier can see combat.

Mocking the French is just banter. It's done out of friendship, not disdain. They do it to us, too.

Figuring in inflation the base pay for an E-1 recruit today is virtually equal to what I received in 1968.

You 100% can join the military without passing the minimum asvab requirement, they literally have a waiver for that, my recruiter was one of them. He literally told me that he took it 3 times, and his 3 scores barely equalled my 1 time.

Don't forget the foreighn legion.

Consideration of the source of your information or just the thoughts, arguments for one viewpoint or another have forever been key to the ability to think critically. I think Absolam,Absolam! is the greatest poem I have ever read. What it means to me is that the greatest tragedy for a man is to have wasted his life supporting incorrect beliefs.

For the U.S. branches of the Military, the author forgot to include the U.S. Public Health Service (under the Surgeon General's Office), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps, under the Department of Commerce). Both almost exclusively officers and the NOAA consisting of only 300 commissioned officers. Historically, like the Coast Guard, both tend to be absorbed by the Navy and Army, during times of war.

French durring ww1 was somewhat good but durring the seccond one the defended for 40 ish days and surrenderd but everyone laughts about poland for 38 days, We had no wepons or good equipment yet we did a lot of damage to the reich

Can you guys cover the history of guerrilla warfare and its tactics?

What, France gets no mention for Dien Bien Phu? Soldiers were still paratrooping in while full knowing full well they wouldn't get out. It was a tactical and strategic clusterF***, true, but the soldier's bravery was undeniable.

41:45 had me laughing out loud. I was thinking wonder what those troops are mad about, then the guy jus shoots the officer. 😅

OMG thank you! I am always telling people that the French are not weak cowards.

My grandfather left home, walked 20 miles to the nearest train station, rode that train to the closest place he could sign up at. He was only 17 years old, lied about his age so he could join and when he was finished he was a 0-9 and the best grandfather you could ask for. Sweetest man you ever met, he even calls all the grandkids "Hon". Thanks You Vets🫡🇺🇲👨‍✈️👩‍✈️

Just to point out that there were French troops at Gallipoli. Overall, some 80,000 French troops served at Gallipoli in the course of the campaign. Of these, more than 14,000 were killed or reported missing in action and 40,000 wounded-a casualty rate of 68%. Robin Prior, in his book Gallipoli: the End of the Myth (UNSW Press, 2009), quotes the British Official History figure of 7,825 killed (at the time!). British casualties were around 120,000. The French incurred 27,000 casualties and a Turkish figure, while uncertain, is thought to be over 220,000.

I love the full metal jacket and forrest gump references😂👍

When we all make fun of the French we are making fun of their weak leaders

Yep like a wise man once said: "war is just a part of who we are, why fight it"

My great grandfather refused to fight beside the french because soo many times he fought beside them they surrendered or just gave up when things got hard and then him and his men had to work extra hard

this felt like a US-Army sponsored Ad

Sad part is that French bashing started because French did not follow the usa in terms of war on Irak, for which the us l’aéré recognized they lied about mass destruction weapons being there in the first place.

The Germans who experienced combat against the Fench never made fun of them or belittled them arrogantly. They knew who they were fighting. Those who deliberately mocked the French calling them surrender chicken are the Americans because they need to appear as the ultimate warriors before the eyes of the whole mankind and those who did beat those who defeated the French, then strongest army in the workd. Sadly, the Americans lack of humility and tend to bully other peoples, considering themselves the kings of the hill.

What about Iran Iraq WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION? Forgot that by chance

The theory behend the ASFAB . Is that it is illegal to put someone in danger that is technically mentally handicap with a low IQ. Along that line it assesses someone to know where to place them.

They pay in the military is definitely low u start below poverty line

I make fun of the French military, and I will till the day I die. The difference is that I served in the US military, I fought side by side with the French, Spanish, English, Norway, and several other countries. They are my brothers. I love the French military, I also know the United States wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the French helping us. I make fun of them as they make fun of me. It is a brotherhood. We still respect each other, but I get mad when people who have not served make fun of other people's military.

You surrender that ONE TIME and the world never lets you live it down.