Faeelin
Banned
Let me caveat by saying I think France could have been defeated in World War I, I just find the way they all fall over in 1917-1918 in a lot of discussions a bit weird.
There's something of an unspoken assumption that the French military would have collapsed with a firm push, and that the mutinities in 1917 could have led to the fall of France. But is this really likely? At its height, the mutiny affected 46 of France's 112 divisions. But these units didn't walk home, or stop defending the border. (The Germans had no idea there was a mutiny, and when they launched assaults on some of the "mutinous" regiments they were repelled with machine guns and artillery, as always).
The mutiny was crushed with... 43 death sentences in the French army. This isn't that high, compared to the number of executions the German army carried out; Petain met with the mutineers, and promised no further attacks unless the troops were adequately supported. And the mutinies ended.
So, why do we assume the French were about to collapse in 1917-1918? Is it a holdover from the Second World War (those effeminate Frenchmen, compared to the doughty soldiers of the Fatherland?)
There's something of an unspoken assumption that the French military would have collapsed with a firm push, and that the mutinities in 1917 could have led to the fall of France. But is this really likely? At its height, the mutiny affected 46 of France's 112 divisions. But these units didn't walk home, or stop defending the border. (The Germans had no idea there was a mutiny, and when they launched assaults on some of the "mutinous" regiments they were repelled with machine guns and artillery, as always).
The mutiny was crushed with... 43 death sentences in the French army. This isn't that high, compared to the number of executions the German army carried out; Petain met with the mutineers, and promised no further attacks unless the troops were adequately supported. And the mutinies ended.
So, why do we assume the French were about to collapse in 1917-1918? Is it a holdover from the Second World War (those effeminate Frenchmen, compared to the doughty soldiers of the Fatherland?)