- Gallic Wars
- Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years
of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an
Italian.
- Hundred Years War
- Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently
creates The First Rule of French Warfare; "France's armies
are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman." Sainted.
- Italian Wars
- Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose
two wars when fighting Italians.
- Wars of Religion
- France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots
- Thirty Years War
- France is technically not a participant, but manages to get
invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the
other participants started ignoring her.
- War of Revolution
- Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
- The Dutch War
- Tied
- War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and
Indian War
- Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded
Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height
of French military power.
- War of the Spanish Succession
- Lost. The War also gave the French their first taste of a
Marlborough, which they have loved every since.
- American Revolution
- In a move that will become quite familiar to future Americans,
France claims a win even though the English colonists saw far
more action. This is later known as "de Gaulle Syndrome",
and leads to the Second Rule of French Warfare; "France
only wins when America does most of the fighting."
- French Revolution
- Won, primarily due the fact that the opponent was also French.
- The Napoleonic Wars
- Lost. Temporary victories (remember the First Rule!) due to
leadership of a Corsican, who ended up being no match for a
British footwear designer.
- The Franco-Prussian War
- Lost. Germany first plays the role of drunk Frat boy to France's
ugly girl home alone on a Saturday night.
- World War I
- Tied and on the way to losing, France is saved by the United
States. Thousands of French women find out what it's like to
not only sleep with a winner, but one who doesn't call her "Fraulein."
Sadly, widespread use of condoms by American forces forestalls
any improvement in the French bloodline.
- World War II
- Lost. Conquered French liberated by the United States and
Britain just as they finish learning the Horst Wessel Song.
- War in Indochina
- Lost. French forces plead sickness; take to bed with the Dien
Bien Flu
- Algerian Rebellion
- Lost. Loss marks the first defeat of a western army by a Non-Turkic
Muslim force since the Crusades, and produces the First Rule
of Muslim Warfare; "We can always beat the French."
This rule is identical to the First Rules of the Italians, Russians,
Germans, English, Dutch, Spanish, Vietnamese and Esquimaux.
- War on Terrorism
- France, keeping in mind its recent history, surrenders to
Germans and Muslims just to be safe. Attempts to surrender to
Vietnamese ambassador fail after he takes refuge in a McDonald's.
The question for any country silly enough to count on the French
should not be "Can we count on the French?", but rather
"How long until France collapses?"
"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting
without an accordion. All you do is leave behind a lot of noisy
baggage."
Or, better still, the quote from last week's Wall Street Journal:
"They're there when they need you."