about the war. I would appear that it was fought by the Americans and France.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8072340.stm

Sommat to do with some one bollocked bloke called Hilter too.

I was lead to believe that it was purely American forces? Didn’t the french just shrug and roll over?

We all know Europe was saved by an entirely American force who arrived in the nick of time to save the brave French troops who had fought almost to the last man against the mighty Hun. The thousands of English and Canadian troops who were killed were obviously involved in a different war.
The French have never been able to get over the fact that first we kicked their asses at Azincourt, then we saved their asses in WW2. Cheese eating surrender monkies. Oh, and Sarchozies’ family were Hungarian who lived a life of luxury under the Nazis ‘cos they were terrified of the Russian Communists. Typical little man with a big ego. Like Napoleon, really. And we handed him his backside on a plate too, IIRC.

Hmmm…seems strange to me.

Maybe it’s because they did the right thing and killed most of their hereditary monarchs and associated aristocrats towards the end of the eighteenth century.

Although I suppose if you want to have a German representative, then yeah, have the queen there.

The French have never been able to get over the fact that first we kicked their asses at Azincourt,then we saved their asses in WW2

And some might say that the British have never been able to get over the fact that the French ‘kicked their asses’ in Yorktown Virginia forcing them to surrender (the greasy-chip eating surrender monkeys) and thereby guaranteeing the United State’s freedom and independence from tyranny. Not something which you might know about if you rely on the Simpson’s for your history lessons.

Of course not forgetting Dunkirk, when the British said to the French, “sod this for a game of soldiers, we’re legging it”

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BTW, the French contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany is very clear. After D Day, almost a quarter of a million French resistance fighters came under the direct control of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. They had been previously been engaged in vital anti-German work such as coordinating allied bombings of France. 67,000 French civilians died as a result of Allied bombing. In total, France lost more than half million in WW2, Britain a bit less.

On VE Day, by which time all the Free French Forces, resistance organisations and the Maquis had been fully integrated, the French Forces of the Interior was an army 1.2 million men in strength.

Furthermore, note the complete lack of involvement by Britain in Operation Dragoon, the Allied seaborne and airborne assault of Nazi occupied Southern France involved 1,000 ships, 3,000 aircraft and 1,000,000 troops on August 15, 1944. It was the largest operation of its kind in the European War.

Obviously Southern France was of little interest to Britain, as it was those pesky Germans around Calais which were causing all the trouble.

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And, lets not forget that 3 or 4 weeks after Churchill made his famous speech about fighting the Germans :

“we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender“

….. let’s not forget, that about 3 or 4 weeks after that speech (about not surrendering) Britain surrendered the Channel Islands to the Germans without a single shot being fired.

Pah …… Grease eating surrender monkeys.

Countzero I am sorry but I quite not like your xenophobic content…
I’ll ask the mods to give you a warning as I just find that not accceptable.

Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the greatest military leaders in history, and emperor of France he conquered much of Europe.

Napoleon Bonaparte was born on 15 August 1769 in Corsica into a gentry family. Educated at military school, he was rapidly promoted and in 1796, was made commander of the French army in Italy, where he forced Austria and its allies to make peace. In 1798, Napoleon conquered Ottoman-ruled Egypt in an attempt to strike at British trade routes with India. He was stranded when his fleet was destroyed by the British at the Battle of the Nile.

France now faced a new coalition – Austria and Russia had allied with Britain. Napoleon returned to Paris where the government was in crisis. In a coup d’etat in November 1799, Napoleon became first consul. In 1802, he was made consul for life and two years later, emperor. He oversaw the centralisation of government, the creation of the Bank of France, the reinstatement of Roman Catholicism as the state religion and law reform with the Code Napoleon.

In 1800, he defeated the Austrians at Marengo. He then negotiated a general European peace which established French power on the continent. In 1803 Britain resumed war with France, later joined by Russia and Austria. Britain inflicted a naval defeat on the French at Trafalgar (1805) so Napoleon abandoned plans to invade England and turned on the Austro-Russian forces, defeating them at Austerlitz later the same year. He gained much new territory, including annexation of Prussian lands which ostensibly gave him control of Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, Holland and Westphalia created, and over the next 5 years, Napoleon’s relatives and loyalists were installed as leaders (in Holland, Westphalia, Italy, Naples, Spain and Sweden).

You seem touchy, Juan, you’re not really a Belgian in disguise are you? 😉

I think that ernie_lynch may have to research the role of the Maquis and also the french communists a little more to get a more balanced view of the resistence and also the fact that is was SOE who organised and supplied and trained all the resistence groups in occupied europe. And also how many french troops were also evacuated from Dunkirk. And also the fact that once de gaulle had returned to france he gave all SOE personnel 24 hours to leave the country or to be arrested.

Furthermore he could also look at America’s insistence in the early part of the war not allow Royal Navy escorts for the convoys leaving American ports entry into US waters so the convoys had no protection, so the U boats just waited inside the US waters and sank as much as they could, (of course all goods had to be paid for in full before the ships could leave port). This was stopped when too many bodies started getting washed onto US shores.

Azincourt

What, again? What for this time??? 😯

to get a more balanced view

WTF was talking about a more balanced view ?

But ok, more balance …..

The whole of England SURRENDERED when attacked and invaded by ONE French COUNTY in 1066.

I fart in your general direction, I wave my private parts at your aunties, you in-gleesh stodgy steam-pudding eating surrender monkeys !

Isn’t it funny…I know it’s a cliché to say that history is written by the victors but it never ceases to amaze me how the English, on average, have such a one eyed view of their military history. You want to grow up in a country that was a fairly unwilling part of the great empire for the best part of a millennium. We learned all about your defeats. The American revolution was quite a big part of our history syllabus.

Of course not forgetting Dunkirk, when the British said to the French, “sod this for a game of soldiers, we’re legging it”

Generally agree with what you’re saying, but I’m not sure the slaughter of 1/3 million British troops at Dunkirk would have help the overall war effort. Sometimes it makes sense to withdraw and regroup. I think you’re doing a disservice to those soldiers to imply that the Dunkirk evacuation was due to cowardice.

Sometimes it makes sense to withdraw and regroup.

But we’re not talking about ‘making sense’.

We’re talking about posting amusing little jibes packed with prejudices.

Isn’t it funny any more ?

I think it is …… you greasy-chip, stodgy steam-pudding, eating surrender monkeys !

So the french are a bit more like this then?

History through the medium of Monty Python eh? 😀

Hang on a minute, didn’t half the French lot ally themselves with Hitler, in a feat worthy of the Italians, once it was clear the Germans were going to beat them.

zokes – that’s Richard The Lionheart on the left of that pic. He was FRENCH you know.

He didn’t speak any English only French. And didn’t even live in England – only ever spent about 6 months in England.

And another thing, the WHOLE of England SURRENDERED when it was attacked and invaded by ONE Italian CITY.

You tomato jam on greasy chip, eating surrender monkeys !

And didn’t the French wave in the Nazis into Paris, because they did not want their City and building bombed – Cheese eating surrender monkies!
Where as, we may have pulled out of Dunkirk for a breather and had a tactical regrouping, but we didn’t surrender even after a number of our cities were bombed.

So, no mention of the 23 MILLION Russians who were killed in WW2?

Many times more than the total dead of Germany, France, UK and the US combined.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties

we didn’t surrender even after a number of our cities were bombed.

That sounds very brave. Because of course all countries surrender when their cities are bombed.

Didn’t mind handing over the Channel Islands to the Nazis without a fight though. After all that bollox about ‘fighting them’ on the beaches streets fields and stuff

You jellied eel and spam sandwich eating surrender monkeys !

My girlfriend’s late grandad was actually involved in the decision not to defend the Channel Islands. They were basically un-defendable given their proximity to the French coast. To do so would have involved losses on a huge scale and they still would have been taken. If such manpower had been wasted, we’d probably all be speaking German now….

Maybe the whole non-attendance of the royals was an oversight, as everyone thought Germany would be inviting Mr and Mrs Saxe-Coburg.
Did Germany get invited to the party?

They were basically un-defendable

That’s funny, because the Germans were convinced that they could be defended.

And apparently the Allies also agreed that the Germans (despite allegedly having a hostile population to contend with) would be able to mount a defence of the Channel Islands. Indeed despite there ‘close proximity to the French coast’ and liberated France, the Channel Islanders were forced to endure Nazi occupation until Germany itself had surrendered and there was no chance of having to fight the Germans over it.

Now I’m not saying that these decisions were wrong of course. Any more than I’m saying that it was wrong at Dunkirk for the British to say to the French, “frightfully sorry old chaps, but looks as if it could turn a bit nasty – we’re off. So toodle toot and au revoir. Good luck with the Nazi occupation. And will see you in about 4 years time”.

But I do think, that some of the sliced cupboard bread and lumpy custard eating surrender monkeys, deserve a bit of stick. The only remarkable thing about Dunkirk was just how many Brits managed to leg it.

Ignore juan, and by all means carry on taunting the Frenchies with puerile schoolyard taunts. I’ll carry on taunting the English.

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So anyway C n u t, the Danish King who ruled England, he was my favourite. Any of you spam fritter eating surrender monkeys like him ?

Maybe the whole non-attendance of the royals was an oversight

I’m only guessing, but I reckon what probably happens for events like this, is that the French government asks the British government who they would like to have invited. The French government probably didn’t send Buckingham Palace an invite because they weren’t asked to. imo.

THat and the staement about it being a Franco-american affair.

That’s funny, because the Germans were convinced that they could be defended. And you’d take military advice from a country who tried to invade russia in the winter? I seem to remember the frenchies tried this as well…..

ps wasn’t Richard born near Oxford and only moved back to France beacuse his parents split up?

I think the franco-american statements is somewhat insulting.

DeGaulle genuinely believed he liberated France himself and so did the general population after the war, the cheeky beret-toting onions!!

The truth however is much simpler, it was my Grandad wot done it (RIP)

Ernie wasn’t it the Normans who invaded in 1066, and didnt the franks then invade the territory which is now called france?

I think the franco-american statements is somewhat insulting.

It is extremely insulting imo.

Sadly it’s the sort of stuff which I expect from a right-wing French Tory like Sarkozy ……. to dismiss another nation’s contribution because of petty nationalism.

Although I’m not completely convinced that he wasn’t perhaps simply referring solely to the event on Utah and Omaha beaches with Barack Obama. Surely no one is that much of a tw4t ?

According to my paper it’s all Gordon Brown’s fault of course :

Veterans blame Brown as Palace says it’s too late for ANY royals to attend D-Day anniversary in France

That link’s not working, try again :

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1189057/Veterans-blame-Gordon-Brown-Buckingham-Palace-says-late-ANY-royals-attend-D-Day-anniversary-France.html

Ignore juan, and by all means carry on taunting the Frenchies with puerile schoolyard taunts. I’ll carry on taunting the English.

So if we’re Welsh, Scottish, Manx or Northern Irish we don’t need to listen to you then? Obviously the above all stayed in France and were captured after Dunkirk, leaving them unable to defend the Channel Islands. If you’re going to be racist, at least do it properly!

If you’re going to be racist, at least do it properly!

Don’t you challenge my ability to be a racist and a bigot – I’m as good as anyone else on here.

I just chose to single out the English because I thought that it would be more fun. But yeah, I know, too easy.

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btw, I did actually refer to the ‘British’ at Durkirk, not the ‘English’. But I’m happy to be accused of being prejudiced against the English …….. the warm beer drinking surrender monkeys.

Nowt wrong with warm beer. Are you afraid, ye of indeterminate nationality?

Are you afraid

No. It’s just that I prefer that elixir of life which derives from the vine.

I find that the smell of warm beer flavoured drinks, reminds me of poor northern people.

I suspect that it is an oversight caused by someone not knowing their history or who the head of state is in the UK.

As for the rest of the pish in this thread – I cant take any more of this pish. I’m going to be a sausage, bacon and fried egg eating surrender money.

I’m going to be a sausage, bacon and fried egg eating surrender money.

That’s the sort of person which Alistair Darling likes.

Pays your taxes and dies early.

Your a credit to your country, my man.