Gonna get paid more tomorrow than I got for a whole week working as pizza delivery
Professor failed to list the soviets as a major ally in ww2 but remembered france
well they did kinda do their own thing
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Up until 1815, the French military was the best in the world for several centuries.
i wouldnt say best in the world. they were defeated plenty of times before that
Last edited by eleven bravo (2012-04-10 07:36:39)
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Conscription ftw
They were way more consistent than the other European powers. Starting with Louis XIII in the early 17th, their land army was unmatched on the continent. They were unequivocally the best from 1789-1815.
The British had a better Navy sure. But taken as a whole, the French military was the best in the world.
The British had a better Navy sure. But taken as a whole, the French military was the best in the world.
Last edited by Macbeth (2012-04-10 07:42:13)
i made the same point about france in the college thread, in a very strange context. something about focussing on intellectual strength and culture after the dog days are over.
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Numbers over training was all it was. Massive columns of conscripted soldiers. Lines > columns in musket battles, but a column is intimidating so most people didn't stand for a proper fight.
well i disagree. unless im mistaken, france was having some serious internal military actions in the 1790's. also, the reality of napoleons conquests is that the majority of his troops were not french soldiers.Macbeth wrote:
They were way more consistent than the other European powers. Starting with Louis XIII in the early 17th, their land army was unmatched on the continent. They were unequivocally the best from 1789-1815.
The British had a better Navy sure. But taken as a whole, the French military was the best in the world.
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also, technically speaking napoleon wasnt french either
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http://politicalhumor.about.com/library … istory.htmeleven bravo wrote:
i wouldnt say best in the world. they were defeated plenty of times before that
"internal military actions in the 1790's"eleven bravo wrote:
well i disagree. unless im mistaken, france was having some serious internal military actions in the 1790's. also, the reality of napoleons conquests is that the majority of his troops were not french soldiers.Macbeth wrote:
They were way more consistent than the other European powers. Starting with Louis XIII in the early 17th, their land army was unmatched on the continent. They were unequivocally the best from 1789-1815.
The British had a better Navy sure. But taken as a whole, the French military was the best in the world.
I think you are referring to the royalist rebellion in the Vendee after the revolution? Those were really short and are mostly forgotten due to the coalition and Napoleonic wars.
The majority of Napoleons troops were French during the warfare in Italy (the ones were he first was recognized for military talents). The majority of his troops were French during the war of the third coalition that led to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (the highpoint of his career).
It's argued from the antibonapartist that Napoleon's military success was only the result of inheriting a strong military.
I know he was Italian. Corsican to be exact.eleven bravo wrote:
also, technically speaking napoleon wasnt french either
down with ze frogs
Blackbelts are just whitebelts who have never quit.
the whole 'is corsica french or italian' thing will still raise eyebrows today. it's a little reductive to say "napoleon was italian".Macbeth wrote:
I know he was Italian. Corsican to be exact.eleven bravo wrote:
also, technically speaking napoleon wasnt french either
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According to Frank Mclynn's biography of Napoleon (where I'm drawing most of my knowledge from), Napoleon spoke French with an Italian accent. Napoleon and family were also part of an Corsican independence movement before he got a job in the French military.Uzique wrote:
the whole 'is corsica french or italian' thing will still raise eyebrows today. it's a little reductive to say "napoleon was italian".Macbeth wrote:
I know he was Italian. Corsican to be exact.eleven bravo wrote:
also, technically speaking napoleon wasnt french either
Frank Mclynn is a very respected historian. I've come across a bunch of his stuff in other classes. So he's no quack.
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Surely he would of identified as Corsican before he would Italian.
napoleon was a soldier of fortune pretty much, but he is an important figure in french national history - not really so much italian. the circumstances of his birth and his raising probably say more about opportunism and historical contingency more than anything. also i don't really think a person's accent should be the work of a high-rate historian - not unless the analysis is very linguistically sound - for e.g. many people born in scotland/glasgow have irish accents, but will still consider themselves scottish to the point of killing someone with a scottish accent over it. accents and nationalities aren't so easily pinholed.
Last edited by Uzique (2012-04-10 08:14:33)
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i knew a girl from sardinia who never identified herself as italianSuperior Mind wrote:
Surely he would of identified as Corsican before he would Italian.
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those islands have a very distinct and developed sense of their own identity. just look at sicily - sicilians consider themselves a very special bunch of italians, indeed. you have to remember italy wasn't really a unified national republic until garibaldi. the islands and territories have changed political alliance so much that they tend to be hermetic.
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not to mention the cultural and religious influence of invasion and colonization form northern africa / iberian peninsula
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- Superior Mind
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Italy, like most of the world, was a place of many languages and cultural identities. Only in modern times is the whole nation expected to speak Florentine Italian.
my great grandparents were sicilian. their name was pimentelli
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well, since the mid-19th century. even france and germany didn't have unified languages until relatively 'modern' times. they had lots of regional dialects. france and germany both went through a gigantic amount of imperial effort to unify their languages and dictionaries.
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