Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Difference between revisions

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*** De Gaulle was not a brilliant tacticist in the field, he was more of a forward thinker and an inspirational leader. In the 30's, he published several writings on the necessity to make more tanks and to better understand how to use them in battle; his views were dismissed because of his very tense relations with his former commanding officer, Petain, who happened to be one of the most decorated and revered hero of WW I.

*French cavalry was [[Proud Warrior Race|hardly known]] for an unusual taste for surrendering. They do seem to have had a curious taste for [[Onrushing Army|charging]] to soon which they showed on several fields, notably Crecy, Potiers, and Agincourt. In one instance the French thought the King of Hungary a coward for urging caution when attacking the Turks even though the King fought them his whole life and knew what he was talking about. Perhaps the most famous instance of French horse charging to soon was Waterloo where the British were arrayed with bayonets sticking out like pincushions and mowed them down with musket fire when the horses were "reluctant" to impale themselves.

* Curiously, Vichy France, perhaps the [[Trope Maker]] only shows that ambiguously. It's bureaucracy certainly was an example, as both for their own ambitions and to prevent things being taken out on civilians did in fact suck up to the Germans and in fact were even more enthusiastic about things like [[Casablanca|rounding up usual suspects]] then was necessary to appease the Germans. However the Vichy military was reasonably professional ~~and~~ if they had no cause to fight for did have [[Honor Before Reason|their own pride.]] While they almost always lost and certainly were not up to the level of a first class belligerent in efficiency, they did make a showing in places like Madagasscar, Morrocco, and Mels-El-Kabir.

* Curiously, Vichy France, perhaps the [[Trope Maker]] only shows that ambiguously. It's bureaucracy certainly was an example, as both for their own ambitions and to prevent things being taken out on civilians did in fact suck up to the Germans and in fact were even more enthusiastic about things like [[Casablanca|rounding up usual suspects]] then was necessary to appease the Germans. However the Vichy military was reasonably professional even if they had no cause to fight for did have [[Honor Before Reason|their own pride.]] While they almost always lost and certainly were not up to the level of a first class belligerent in efficiency, they did make a showing in places like Madagasscar, Morrocco, and Mels-El-Kabir.

[[Category:National Stereotyping Tropes]]