Armies of The World~France

France has been known to fight in over 160 wars throughout its long history and won around over 100 of them. In this page we will talk about France's war history as well as its military throughout its history.

## Hundred Years War

For several centuries, parts of France was under occupation of Britain's Angevin Empire even after the fall of this Empire Britain still occupy parts of France, in order to drive the British out of France, the French King Phillip the 6th massed forces in 1337, thus beginning the Hundred Years War this was a series of wars that saw the English and the French fight one another which would last for \*over\* 100 years, it also saw the rise of french heroes such as Joan of Arc and Gilles de Rais. In the end, the French would win and regain all their territories that were once occupied by the English.

## French Wars of Religion

When the Protestant Reformation was upon Europe, it wouldn't be long enough before war erupted on the continent, including France which several outbreaks of war would occur (including the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which saw the deaths of nearly 30,000 people) this conflict would go on for nearly 40 years which saw many people on both sides of Christianity die, and France remains a catholic nation.

## Thirty Years War

In 1618, the Thirty Years War was being fought all over Europe. Though it would be (again) against Catholics and Protestants, by 1635 it would be between nations and France would be once again fighting for Catholicism. As he name implies, the war would last for 30 years in which it saw 8 million soldiers lose their lives.

## French and Indian War

As some European nations were beginning to colonize in other parts of the world, France hopped right on board, they colonize parts of North America, but their colonial ambitions and some misunderstandings is what led to the French and Indian War the conflict would last for 7 years (as it was part of the much larger Seven Years War) though it's unknown to tell how many soldiers of the French Army lost, but they would lose the war as well as their North American territories to both the British and to the Spanish.

## American Revolution

Trouble was brewing again in North America, a revolution broke out and the United States has formed and now is fighting the mighty British army, the rag-tag Militias of the United States are having trouble fighting against the British, so they turned to France for help, at first the French weren't enthusiastic in aiding the Americans it wasn't until the British General John Burgoyne after the battle of Saratoga, the French were also looking for some revenge against the British after the defeat in the French and Indian War, the French would aid the Americans in the second half of the war as they would stall the British navy at the famous Battle of Yorktown where the British would surrender to the Americans.

## French Revolutionary Wars

In 1789, France would face with another revolution, this time it'll be within its own borders, the situation got so bad that by 1792 the other powers of Europe such as Britain, Austria, the Holy Roman Empire as well as other European countries were worried that revolution might break out in their own countries and declare war on France. Being fought for nearly 10 years, France would surprise Europe by winning against the first 2 European coalitions and taking the countries that would be Belgium and The Netherlands, and this around the time when French General Napoleon Bonaparte would become first consul of France.

## Napoleonic Wars

In 1804, Napoleon would crown himself emperor of France, this didn't sit well with the other monarchs of Europe who now begin their campaign against Napoleon who is also beginning his own campaign for Europe. Under Napoleon, the French army was seemingly unstoppable as every nation in continental Europe would fall to the French Army as they still want to fight the British, even at the Battle of Austerlitz (sometimes called the Battle of The Nations) where the coalition was soundly defeated by Napoleon's forces. For years, Napoleon had the entire continent of Europe in his hand, except for Spain, Portugal, and (of course) Britain. Napoleon even tried to negotiate with the King of Spain to invade Portugal (who was an ally of Britain) but guerilla warfare would prove taking Spain difficult for Napoleon's forces, in the end Spain would defend itself from Napoleon. Perhaps the real trouble wouldn't start until Napoleon invaded Russia. Napoleon would lose a lot of men when he invaded Russia, nevertheless he still was able to reach Moscow which the city was abandoned and then burned to the ground, faced to take a ruined city, Napoleon soon left Moscow to go back to France, then winter settled in and decimated nearly his entire army, only 60,000 of his men survived. The monarchs of other nations now take their opportunity to stop Napoleon once and for all, Napoleon was deposed during the 6th coalition and was dethroned. He would eventually return after living in exile, this would culminate a 7th coalition which would defeat Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo and was sent into exile again, thus ending the Napoleonic era and leaving France weakened.

## Crimean War

France along with Britain came to the aid of the Ottoman Empire who were fighting against the Russian Empire as they were fighting for control of the Crimea. The French Army would fight for 2 years aiding the Ottomans against Russia, in the end the Ottomans would win against the Russians.

## French invasion of Mexico

By the 1860s, Mexico was so poor from their revolutions and war, they couldn't pay back the debts they owed to their trading partners, including France which decide to invade the country by force. In 1861 they invade Mexico and did good against the Mexican forces and even established a French puppet government. But as the war went on, the Mexicans were getting better at fighting the French, the Mexicans were able to overthrow the Mexican emperor (which France put in place) and driven the French out of Mexico as the French would suffer 14,000 casualties.

## Franco-Prussian War

Another 3 years would go by without war, until a rising power called Prussia declares war on France as they believed France is trying to rekindle its glory days of the Napoleonic Wars. The 2 nations would go to war, the war would go on for 6 months and despite the French army suffering 144,000 Casualties they would lose the war as the Prussians would invade Paris and forcing the French to agree to the Prussians' terms to unite the 4 provinces in southern Germany.

## World War 1

As war would break out again in 1914, the French would have to prepare for another German invasion, determined to not get humiliated again. The Germans invaded by taking Belgium first, but the French were successful in defending Paris and pushing back the Germans to the low countries, and this is when trench warfare would be used and everything grind to a halt. At the Battle of Ypres the Germans would use Chlorine Gas to try to flush out the French entrenchments, but because the gas was so dangerous, the Germans did not advance, but the wiped out French forces were replaced by Canadian forces. As the war went on, the French would get aid from both the British and the Americans, by 1918 the war would be over. World War 1 was a wake up call for the French as they would create a defense net called the Maginot Line to try to defend their home land from another German invasion.

## World War 2

As the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, war would be upon Europe once more, and after trying and failing to defend Norway from the Nazis, the French Army came back to France to defend it from an impeding Nazi invasion, but what the Nazis did was take advantage of the weak points in the Maginot Line (like in the Ardennes) and broke through, the French army was helpless against the Nazi Blitzkrieg and along with some British forces were forced to retreat to Dunkirk where the last of the remaining French forces evacuated to Britain, leaving France to be invaded by the Nazis. It wouldn't be until 1944 when the British along with the Americans would liberate France, with French General Charles de Gualle to regroup the French army and fight the remaining Nazis in France.

## Indochinese Wars

After World War 2, nations that were once colonies now want independence. For France, it was French Indochina where a Communist uprising is taking place. France moved in swiftly to try to quell the uprising. France was still weak after World War 2 and had trouble fighting off the Communists. The war would rage on for 7 years and with France in a weakened state, it lost to the communists in Indochina and the region split into 4 nations of Laos, Cambodia, and 2 Vietnams. A result which would escalate into the Vietnam War.

This would be the end of big wars for France, nevertheless they would aid their American and British allies in other conflicts such as the Gulf War and the War On Terrorism especially after France re-joined NATO in 2009. France still plays a vital role in keeping the peace of the world.

That'll do it for this page. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.