The British Empire is much much older and did much more war. The US is too recent so they only get the recent credit. Russia was on the other side of the world so not much happened with them.
i mean like. it was the scortch earth tactic of the russians that killed alot of napoleons men. since their tactic of surviving the winter was pillaging the cities. but that didn't work since russia did it themselves in advance of the french arrival
@@Tekkit98 But the Grande Armée was more of a European military at the time, since half of that army consisted of non-French soldiers, like Germans, Italians and Spaniards.
As an English man I've been to France before, never to Paris but to the south to a place called Beziers. It was wonderful, I stayed in a near by village with a family who were so hospitable and welcoming and treated my like one of their own and so did everyone else in the village, it was an amazing experience and I was sad to leave to go back to England. The England-France rivalry will always be there, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition. Deep down they are not just our neighbours like other European countries, they're family (the aunt we didn't like but nonethless family who we love). Anyone who takes this rivalry so seriously to say we hate each other on either side is an idiot. In this new up and coming world/Europe, we're the best each other have got in crazy continent and we should remember and respect that it took over a thousand years to achieve this close alliance.
+Daniel Ockerby I've been to France three times, once a skii trip which absolutely lovely. The instructors were a bit half-hearted and cold but it was a beautiful place. The second time was on a French exchange, and my person was bloody awful, never spoke a word to me but when he came here he loved talking to my damn cat in English -.- Anyway, the school was nice, the people weren't. His family was nice but a little strict, I guess. The third time was Paris. The most overrated place in the world, maybe you have to be there at night to appreciate it? :/ got pick-pocketed and that's probably the most exciting thing that happened. And yes I agree with the friendly competition thing, though I do think they're a bit backwards in some respects, and they really ought to cheer up a tad.
Paris Syndrome isn't a testament to the Japanese, it's indicative of how they live in a bubble. Admittedly Tokyo is spotless and the trains are incredibly well run, but artifice is part of modern Japanese culture and if you break that surface you can be met with a very passive aggressive entrenched behaviour that is very wearing. Paris isn't great but I'm not surprised it's a cause of distress to the likes of Tokyoites.
The way I've heard it, a large part of the issue is the romanticisation of Paris in Japanese culture. Apparently Paris is considered and portrayed to be the height of culture and sophistication, to the point where Japanese tourists genuinely expect it to be something otherworldly. And, of course, it isn't. I doubt very much those same people would have such a bad reaction to, say, India or Brazil.
@@fosphor8920 Well Paris can be amazing, but it's also a gigantic tourist trap, and if you haven't done your research on how to properly experience it, you have yourself to blame that you spent 10h in queues, accosted by street sellers, had a shitty overpriced hotel and shitty overpriced food.
It is just another WWII thing: France was considered to have the most modern military and (despite of that) got overrun by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The british troops at Dünkirchen were never seen as cowards though... So much for the truth behind stereotypes: I've met beautiful british women, had some good lunches and rather pleasant encounters on that rainy island; I've met sober russians, unpunctual germans and diligent italians too.
+11Kralle I think in the world wars the English were described as lions led by donkeys. But yes, stereotypes can be fun as long as you remember they're most likely to be inaccurate.
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in history class I had the odd tendency to pick a favorite nation to bet on to win the wars. In ancient history I always went with Assyria and in more recent times I had France. ...did pretty damn well.
I'm Australian, and i have to say that when i went to Europe, my favourite country way easily France, it was so amazingly beautiful, the culture was so vibrant, the people wonderful and the food is simply beyond words, however i must admit i do enjoy the odd French joke :)
@@lucruijter3027 You know that almost all people living in Australia descended from european ancestors right? This person probably has dutch great great grandparents or maybe even more generations back.
Thanks mate ! I'd love to fly over to Australia, I've heard how genuin people in Aussie and if you live in Sydney you should have a coffee at the Metro St James !
Hardly, but I've been in Paris for about 13 months of my short 20 year old life, on three different occasions and haven't regretted a single day there. People were friendly (as far as city people are really friendly - I'm from a city as well, so I'm used to it though), passionate about their culture and as long as you show interest and effort, they're more than willing to help you out. The architecture is beautiful, there are lots of museums and the tube system is really easy. I love it!
@1Kazis1 and another fun fact,Wellington was of Irish descent. And in retrospect all major wars won by the British in the last 200 years was won with alliances they formed during the conflict, so they deserve credit for their tactical and diplomatic stratergies, focusing allies to overwelhm their enemies. So the Battle of Waterloo was a British victory with support from European allies.
@1Kazis1 I think it's remembered more as a French defeat than a British victory. If you asked most people (at least here in the history ignorant US) they might say ".... the British? maybe" but with no certainty
I recommend you check out "Wasabi", which is everything I adore about French cinema. Or at least that portion of French cinema involving Jean Reno and Luc Besson.
@Jafroboy Obviously they are talking about all states, nations, regions that had existed where modern day France is now. Just like Britain didn't exist until about 100-200 years ago, but 'british history' goes back thousands of years.
Alright, well have to say that good humour is definitely present on both sides of the Channel. I personnaly love British humour, this is one of my favourite shows in the world! And I also very much like French humour. The whole making fun part is just funny really ! I've lived and worked in Cornwall and nobody ever said anything hurtful to me (but it's true I'm also Breton, so you know, Celtic Brotherhood). French people tend to be a bit more spitey. But no hatred on either side.
I would say a reasonable amount is between 5 or 6. That would have to be with the modern life span though so about 9 if it was up until the current point.
Fun fact about the Battle of Waterloo, only about a quarter of the soldiers were actually British. Half the force were Prussian and the other quarter were a mix of soldiers from Holland and small German states like Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau. So I wouldn't call it a British victory really, a victory nevertheless. But Wellington would never have won if it wasn't for Blücher(he was the Prussian general) : )
@manhunt48 Dude, the normand duke was a vassal of the French king. He had french vassal outside of normandy who joined him as their duty. So the army was: normands (mix of french and vikings), "pure" french from normandy and "pure" french from outside normandy (i.e. kingdom of france.
Paris is a shock to the rest of France.....always has been . So I can imagine the poor Japanese tourists must have quite a shock themselves. This being said.....what a fantastic city !!!
@GGSDavejones You are right - ish... The old guard where pushed out of Plancenoit by the Prussians at about the same time the Anglo allies where advancing having just broken the middle guard... This is why I said "offensively" deployed :) They did however hold their positions against the allies to allow a french withdrawal - the officer your thinking of is Lord Hill... The old guard are difficult i am not 100% about Plancenoit but I know they weren't involved in the middle guards attack.
That didn't even make sense. I worked in Paris. I took a spontaneous train to Paris because I was done with school and I realized I would need money in Paris so I bluffed my way through a job interview as a waitress (I barely spoke any French) and got hired. Next day my boss realized I was useless but he and every client admired my guts so I could keep the job and I could live with him and his family during the summer because of my lack of housing. After that no one can convince me Paris sucks.
I'm French and I see nothing from with British sense of humour, I like it ! I'd agree that here in France our humour is way different but not bad aswell. We love to tackle our good old ally/ennemy British folks ! It's just fair game and in my pov no disrespect ! Love and Fun boys :)
I think he was referring to the spelling. If one is writing in British English, it should be spelt Americanised. The use of the zed is an American conceit, which is sadly used somewhat universally among most spellchecking programs.
Out of the capitals of Europe, I've been in Paris doesn't rank as high as many others even though it was a fun place. Both Berlin and London are more fun to me. But then again I'm an anglophile half german:D.
@rank666 Oh boy. The point of Waterloo was to force the British and Prussians to surrender before the Russians and Austrians arrived. They were in Belgium so Napoleon went in to Belgium. The battle was just about killing, not conquest.
Would the English ever shut up about beating Napoleon. It took the armies of Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, The German States and the Italian States to best him fgs. And France was in tatters after the revolution when he seized power. He even had you beat at Waterloo until the Prussians turned up. If it had been a fair fight he'd have won without a doubt.
+Matthew Williams I never said it wasn't a British victory. I'm just saying you couldn't beat the army of a country battered by a 10 year revolution by yourself. All thanks to the military genius of Napoleon. Yet the English (And American for some strange reason) media always portray Napoleon as some hot-hotted half-witted midget. He wasn't even that small! hahah
+Conal Quinn Actually, the Prussians didn't exactly get to the battle of waterloo, it was the rumour of their approach that made the french give up. before that, there were many, many hours of battle where 210 thousand french troops, with the best artillery and cavalry of the time, were unable to beat just over half that number of (mostly) british troops. It wasn't a crushing victory for Wellesley's force, more of an embarrassment that napoleon couldn't beat him despite having most of a day, and a vast numerical advantage. there's speculation that napoleon himself was not commanding due to illness but i don't believe there's evidence either way. as for the overall napoleonic war, the british military was the largest driving force against the french, and i'm not counting the failed attempt at invading russia because cold weather is not an army belonging to any one nation, though that was a massive waste of resources and hugely affected the overall war.
Am I! That's really interesting, I've always thought of myself as English since, you know, I've spent my entire life here- but I guess that just shows how archaic my thinking is daddy-oh. Also, what's a goit?
well to be fair all media portrays paris as a clean and rich area. but its a kip and theres so much litter and really poor areas around their football stadium
Paris is indeed pretty tramautising. Getting out by train or airport is like arriving in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting where civilization is on it's way out.
In the early eighties, I used to go to Paris almost every weekend as I had a beautiful, posh French girlfriend there (and I had cheap flights as I worked for British Airways). I used to love it. However, a friend of mine was there recently and he told me that it has really gone downhill. He said that there was an enormous amount of human shit all over the place, presumably from homeless people just crapping wherever they happened to be. Sounds delightful!
Most likely it's caused by immigrants from Africa, poor people that heard about "amazing and rich Europe with free houses for everyone" that later turns out Europe isn't so rich after all also African gangs came to Europe too. Ofc it's not really their fault, it's goverment for letting too many people in in short period of time without any solution how to help them assimilate with new kind of society.
That's almost 3 decades of socialists being elected, for you! It all went to shite, when the left started being elected. I'm sure it's the same for you in the UK.
What a load of old bollocks. Paris is, if anything, cleaner than it has ever been (thanks in no small part to the strict enforcement of a number of littering regulations - we used to be the dogshit capital of the world!). And the immigrant twaddle is largely the fantasy of people living in the arse end of the country or sheltered enough that they get their news from TH-cam pundits.
Oh sorry yes I didn't get the irony, because that is how we do spell Americanized. Makes a lot more sense now. I also forgot you call Zee's Zed's so that gave me a good laugh. Zed.. :p
I think you should read the other comment I posted in reply to your first one. I had to send it as two comments because I couldn't fit it nicely into a single one.
@Vehementi We can say the same about the British army given how fast they betrayed their French allies to run away to Dunkirk and sail back home away from the Germans.
@hobs You have a point but it wasn't really what i was talking about: it's not a matter of who was wrong, who did awful things etc... here we're just talking about a mathematical number: how many victories/losses? Of course, there are wars where the winner is ambiguous, but be honest not many, and for 99% of them western countries have the same conclusions. For example even Wikipedia US (i know lol) recognize the fact that france won the Algerian war, even if people usually think the opposite.
@GGSDavejones Sorry if this assumption about what your talking about is wrong but I can't find the post you where replying to... Napoleon never offensively committed his old guard against the Anglo allied lines, He deployed the 2nd Division (Middle Guard): commanded by General Morand against the allied line as both the young and old guard where busy with the Prussians at Plancenoit.
"I think it reflects well on the Japanese myself."
Brilliant.
I think it was Warren Buffett that said: "it takes 20 years to build a reputation and just 5 minutes to ruin it".
...but then, we got the cane out of the cupboard and we gave him a damn good thrashing.
doesn't matter if it's true or not, that's an amazing line!
feel like the british take credit for alot of victories. but mostly it is russia and US who does shit.
The British Empire is much much older and did much more war. The US is too recent so they only get the recent credit. Russia was on the other side of the world so not much happened with them.
i mean like. it was the scortch earth tactic of the russians that killed alot of napoleons men. since their tactic of surviving the winter was pillaging the cities. but that didn't work since russia did it themselves in advance of the french arrival
@@Tekkit98 But the Grande Armée was more of a European military at the time, since half of that army consisted of non-French soldiers, like Germans, Italians and Spaniards.
As an English man I've been to France before, never to Paris but to the south to a place called Beziers. It was wonderful, I stayed in a near by village with a family who were so hospitable and welcoming and treated my like one of their own and so did everyone else in the village, it was an amazing experience and I was sad to leave to go back to England. The England-France rivalry will always be there, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of healthy competition. Deep down they are not just our neighbours like other European countries, they're family (the aunt we didn't like but nonethless family who we love). Anyone who takes this rivalry so seriously to say we hate each other on either side is an idiot. In this new up and coming world/Europe, we're the best each other have got in crazy continent and we should remember and respect that it took over a thousand years to achieve this close alliance.
+Daniel Ockerby I've been to France three times, once a skii trip which absolutely lovely. The instructors were a bit half-hearted and cold but it was a beautiful place. The second time was on a French exchange, and my person was bloody awful, never spoke a word to me but when he came here he loved talking to my damn cat in English -.- Anyway, the school was nice, the people weren't. His family was nice but a little strict, I guess. The third time was Paris. The most overrated place in the world, maybe you have to be there at night to appreciate it? :/ got pick-pocketed and that's probably the most exciting thing that happened.
And yes I agree with the friendly competition thing, though I do think they're a bit backwards in some respects, and they really ought to cheer up a tad.
Well said! 👌🏼
Every French person I've ever spoken to says don't go to Paris, go to South of France.
Paris Syndrome isn't a testament to the Japanese, it's indicative of how they live in a bubble. Admittedly Tokyo is spotless and the trains are incredibly well run, but artifice is part of modern Japanese culture and if you break that surface you can be met with a very passive aggressive entrenched behaviour that is very wearing. Paris isn't great but I'm not surprised it's a cause of distress to the likes of Tokyoites.
Dom Edwards What do they do if they come to India or Brazil?
Shiva Srinivasan They don't XD
The way I've heard it, a large part of the issue is the romanticisation of Paris in Japanese culture. Apparently Paris is considered and portrayed to be the height of culture and sophistication, to the point where Japanese tourists genuinely expect it to be something otherworldly. And, of course, it isn't.
I doubt very much those same people would have such a bad reaction to, say, India or Brazil.
I was in Paris about 10 years ago. Never been back, only regret not choosing another place to spend my holiday...
@@fosphor8920 Well Paris can be amazing, but it's also a gigantic tourist trap, and if you haven't done your research on how to properly experience it, you have yourself to blame that you spent 10h in queues, accosted by street sellers, had a shitty overpriced hotel and shitty overpriced food.
I love it when Stephen sometimes quotes the Simpsons in one breath and (say) Aristotle in the other.
The way Fry spoke that sentence was the most English thing I've ever seen.
It is just another WWII thing: France was considered to have the most modern military and (despite of that) got overrun by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The british troops at Dünkirchen were never seen as cowards though... So much for the truth behind stereotypes: I've met beautiful british women, had some good lunches and rather pleasant encounters on that rainy island; I've met sober russians, unpunctual germans and diligent italians too.
+11Kralle I think in the world wars the English were described as lions led by donkeys. But yes, stereotypes can be fun as long as you remember they're most likely to be inaccurate.
si a Dunkerque les Anglais ont été lâche!
Dear 11Kralle - This is Herr Kerner of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. This comment has been brought to our attention for containing information about an unpunctual German citizen. I kindly request you to share the personal data of this individual so appropriate action can be taken in the interest of our country. With kindest regards, D. Kerner, BfV.
11Kralle they just didnt have the manpower and as much of the equiqment such as theyre tanks but yeah theyre equiqment was better
Spec
I think he might have just met me.
...Tschuldigung.
in history class I had the odd tendency to pick a favorite nation to bet on to win the wars. In ancient history I always went with Assyria and in more recent times I had France.
...did pretty damn well.
I'm Australian, and i have to say that when i went to Europe, my favourite country way easily France, it was so amazingly beautiful, the culture was so vibrant, the people wonderful and the food is simply beyond words, however i must admit i do enjoy the odd French joke :)
Jared van der sluys ..... You are dutch!!! Hallo van der sluys, nederland is veel beter.
@@lucruijter3027 You know that almost all people living in Australia descended from european ancestors right? This person probably has dutch great great grandparents or maybe even more generations back.
@@qlv2580 i know... But vandersluys without spaces...... It hurts my dutch heart
If you are European, France is usually the least favorite country for many.
And we love you for that and the fact you can laugh about yourselves !
I love Alan's gut reaction: "The miserable bastards..." LOL
Thanks mate ! I'd love to fly over to Australia, I've heard how genuin people in Aussie and if you live in Sydney you should have a coffee at the Metro St James !
The little nod at the end!!
Hardly, but I've been in Paris for about 13 months of my short 20 year old life, on three different occasions and haven't regretted a single day there. People were friendly (as far as city people are really friendly - I'm from a city as well, so I'm used to it though), passionate about their culture and as long as you show interest and effort, they're more than willing to help you out. The architecture is beautiful, there are lots of museums and the tube system is really easy. I love it!
I still miss Benny Hill.
Little does Hugh Dennis knows, that Japanese medical system also is in love with suppositories.
That's an awesome story!
"Isn't that fabulous?" lol
Very well done!
"But then we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave them a damn good thrashing" hahahahahaha XD
If we could just have the last ten seconds as a loop, that would be lovely.
@1Kazis1 and another fun fact,Wellington was of Irish descent. And in retrospect all major wars won by the British in the last 200 years was won with alliances they formed during the conflict, so they deserve credit for their tactical and diplomatic stratergies, focusing allies to overwelhm their enemies. So the Battle of Waterloo was a British victory with support from European allies.
"Yes, but we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave him a damn good thrashing..."
Stephen Fry just made my day, lol.
@1Kazis1 I think it's remembered more as a French defeat than a British victory. If you asked most people (at least here in the history ignorant US) they might say ".... the British? maybe" but with no certainty
I second you dear fella german ! Love from France !
The Benny Hill bit was hilarious XD
I recommend you check out "Wasabi", which is everything I adore about French cinema. Or at least that portion of French cinema involving Jean Reno and Luc Besson.
@Jafroboy Obviously they are talking about all states, nations, regions that had existed where modern day France is now. Just like Britain didn't exist until about 100-200 years ago, but 'british history' goes back thousands of years.
Alright, well have to say that good humour is definitely present on both sides of the Channel. I personnaly love British humour, this is one of my favourite shows in the world! And I also very much like French humour. The whole making fun part is just funny really ! I've lived and worked in Cornwall and nobody ever said anything hurtful to me (but it's true I'm also Breton, so you know, Celtic Brotherhood). French people tend to be a bit more spitey. But no hatred on either side.
*Sneering Imperialist perk chosen* xD
I would say a reasonable amount is between 5 or 6. That would have to be with the modern life span though so about 9 if it was up until the current point.
@1Kazis1 A fact that many people tend to overlook. It's good to know that I'm not alone in my knowledge of Napoleonic warfare.
Fun fact about the Battle of Waterloo, only about a quarter of the soldiers were actually British. Half the force were Prussian and the other quarter were a mix of soldiers from Holland and small German states like Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau. So I wouldn't call it a British victory really, a victory nevertheless. But Wellington would never have won if it wasn't for Blücher(he was the Prussian general) : )
Love the way Stephen says "Damn good thrashing."
I swear that was Fry's Melchett voice at the end.
@manhunt48 Dude, the normand duke was a vassal of the French king. He had french vassal outside of normandy who joined him as their duty. So the army was: normands (mix of french and vikings), "pure" french from normandy and "pure" french from outside normandy (i.e. kingdom of france.
Paris is a shock to the rest of France.....always has been . So I can imagine the poor Japanese tourists must have quite a shock themselves.
This being said.....what a fantastic city !!!
Sorry. The pastry war? Hahahahahhaha
That is truly excellent. Congratulations sir.
0:36 - what a picture :)
I'm going to be very 'pissed' the day I realize I've seen every QI clip on youtube.
Well one experience with one family certainly characterizes an entire metropolis
@math581 You mean current british food or traditional?
@GGSDavejones You are right - ish... The old guard where pushed out of Plancenoit by the Prussians at about the same time the Anglo allies where advancing having just broken the middle guard... This is why I said "offensively" deployed :) They did however hold their positions against the allies to allow a french withdrawal - the officer your thinking of is Lord Hill... The old guard are difficult i am not 100% about Plancenoit but I know they weren't involved in the middle guards attack.
Paris, most overrated city in the world. And I'm french...
Definitely one of the smelliest.
Statalyzer lol no try the congo
+respite and nepenthe try India
Nah, loved it...and I stayed at a dive of a hotel....but fuck sake why is the Louvre closed at tuesdays.
>guy mad he doesn't live in Paris
@Paladynae
You forget to mention the Belgians, Dutch and Italians.
That didn't even make sense.
I worked in Paris. I took a spontaneous train to Paris because I was done with school and I realized I would need money in Paris so I bluffed my way through a job interview as a waitress (I barely spoke any French) and got hired. Next day my boss realized I was useless but he and every client admired my guts so I could keep the job and I could live with him and his family during the summer because of my lack of housing.
After that no one can convince me Paris sucks.
For some reason I cant play/view the TH-cam clips anymore on my PS3, any advice?
@Teufelsnachbar667 Did your grand-dad have this syndrom when he marched down the Champs Elysees, mate?
Great video, stupid fucking comments.
great comment
Draw a battle, similar causlaites, neither side able to gain victory and then they both withdraw.
@punkmanjon Nice! lol are French girls "really accessible"?
@AnimeFortune Funnily enough the French army is the army with the most victories credited to it.
I'm French and I see nothing from with British sense of humour, I like it ! I'd agree that here in France our humour is way different but not bad aswell.
We love to tackle our good old ally/ennemy British folks ! It's just fair game and in my pov no disrespect !
Love and Fun boys :)
We are speaking with mr frank scuttle, YES WE ARE SIR!
A bit of General Melchitt in the end :)
Excellent native cockney wit!
*punch*
They may have won some battles, but they tend to always lose the wars...
@Sanglyon Thanks, but that question wasn't addressed to you.
I think he was referring to the spelling. If one is writing in British English, it should be spelt Americanised. The use of the zed is an American conceit, which is sadly used somewhat universally among most spellchecking programs.
@DomWeasel Thank you for saying that.
Out of the capitals of Europe, I've been in Paris doesn't rank as high as many others even though it was a fun place. Both Berlin and London are more fun to me. But then again I'm an anglophile half german:D.
Wooh Niall Ferguson shout out.
4:00 Return of General Melchett :D
387 BC?
Surely it's only meaningful to speak of "France" after the Treaty of Verdun (843), or the Battle of Soissons (486) at the earliest.
Apart from the one where we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave Napoleon a damn good thrashing ;)
hehe we kinda are aren't we? but please let us keep it it's one of the few things we're good at ;)
@RaincloudPlay What about the Dutch in 1688?
@math581 The best food I ever had in the uk was Thai though :p I do really like british custard and jelly doughnuts though
From which series is this?
Given how friendly the royal family were with him it could of happened that way had he played his cards right.
@Lyvetacus Nothing man, it's just expectations vs. reality. You go to France expecting Amelie and get The Fifth Element.
@rank666
Oh boy. The point of Waterloo was to force the British and Prussians to surrender before the Russians and Austrians arrived. They were in Belgium so Napoleon went in to Belgium. The battle was just about killing, not conquest.
Neighbors often hate each other at least a little.
Would the English ever shut up about beating Napoleon. It took the armies of Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, The German States and the Italian States to best him fgs. And France was in tatters after the revolution when he seized power. He even had you beat at Waterloo until the Prussians turned up. If it had been a fair fight he'd have won without a doubt.
+Matthew Williams I never said it wasn't a British victory. I'm just saying you couldn't beat the army of a country battered by a 10 year revolution by yourself. All thanks to the military genius of Napoleon. Yet the English (And American for some strange reason) media always portray Napoleon as some hot-hotted half-witted midget. He wasn't even that small! hahah
+Conal Quinn ... But he lost.
mikeykm1993 And we won...
+Conal Quinn Fry played Wellington in Blackadder the Third. It's one of his lines.
+Conal Quinn Actually, the Prussians didn't exactly get to the battle of waterloo, it was the rumour of their approach that made the french give up. before that, there were many, many hours of battle where 210 thousand french troops, with the best artillery and cavalry of the time, were unable to beat just over half that number of (mostly) british troops.
It wasn't a crushing victory for Wellesley's force, more of an embarrassment that napoleon couldn't beat him despite having most of a day, and a vast numerical advantage. there's speculation that napoleon himself was not commanding due to illness but i don't believe there's evidence either way.
as for the overall napoleonic war, the british military was the largest driving force against the french, and i'm not counting the failed attempt at invading russia because cold weather is not an army belonging to any one nation, though that was a massive waste of resources and hugely affected the overall war.
Am I! That's really interesting, I've always thought of myself as English since, you know, I've spent my entire life here- but I guess that just shows how archaic my thinking is daddy-oh.
Also, what's a goit?
lol we got the cane out of the cupboard and gave him a damn good thrashing...i love that man
I thought as much but I'd already used my 500 characters so I couldn't qualify that statement.
well to be fair all media portrays paris as a clean and rich area. but its a kip and theres so much litter and really poor areas around their football stadium
Paris is indeed pretty tramautising. Getting out by train or airport is like arriving in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi setting where civilization is on it's way out.
In the early eighties, I used to go to Paris almost every weekend as I had a beautiful, posh French girlfriend there (and I had cheap flights as I worked for British Airways). I used to love it. However, a friend of mine was there recently and he told me that it has really gone downhill. He said that there was an enormous amount of human shit all over the place, presumably from homeless people just crapping wherever they happened to be. Sounds delightful!
Most likely it's caused by immigrants from Africa, poor people that heard about "amazing and rich Europe with free houses for everyone" that later turns out Europe isn't so rich after all also African gangs came to Europe too.
Ofc it's not really their fault, it's goverment for letting too many people in in short period of time without any solution how to help them assimilate with new kind of society.
That's almost 3 decades of socialists being elected, for you! It all went to shite, when the left started being elected. I'm sure it's the same for you in the UK.
What a load of old bollocks. Paris is, if anything, cleaner than it has ever been (thanks in no small part to the strict enforcement of a number of littering regulations - we used to be the dogshit capital of the world!). And the immigrant twaddle is largely the fantasy of people living in the arse end of the country or sheltered enough that they get their news from TH-cam pundits.
@FranzKafkaRockOpera
Saying the guy that probably lives in one of the whitest neighbourhood of the city!
if its tactically and strategically inconclusive, measure it in attrition.
Must have been another member of your team.
That was satisfying at the end! 'We gave them a damn good thrashing'
Oh sorry yes I didn't get the irony, because that is how we do spell Americanized. Makes a lot more sense now.
I also forgot you call Zee's Zed's so that gave me a good laugh.
Zed.. :p
I think you should read the other comment I posted in reply to your first one. I had to send it as two comments because I couldn't fit it nicely into a single one.
@Vehementi We can say the same about the British army given how fast they betrayed their French allies to run away to Dunkirk and sail back home away from the Germans.
We got the cane out of the cupboard and gave him a damn good thrashing. (nod)
bahaha, I love Stephen Fry!
ever heard of the Gauls?
Can you elaborate?
it's funny to listen to our cousins... "Honni qui mal y pense"
387 BCE...? Surely you'd want to start at the Treaty of Verdun, or the Battle of Soissons at the earliest...
@hobs You have a point but it wasn't really what i was talking about: it's not a matter of who was wrong, who did awful things etc... here we're just talking about a mathematical number: how many victories/losses? Of course, there are wars where the winner is ambiguous, but be honest not many, and for 99% of them western countries have the same conclusions. For example even Wikipedia US (i know lol) recognize the fact that france won the Algerian war, even if people usually think the opposite.
You want to be traumatized by weirdness, come to Japan. I am up to my neck with it. Strange and peculiar bunch.
@GGSDavejones Sorry if this assumption about what your talking about is wrong but I can't find the post you where replying to...
Napoleon never offensively committed his old guard against the Anglo allied lines, He deployed the 2nd Division (Middle Guard): commanded by General Morand against the allied line as both the young and old guard where busy with the Prussians at Plancenoit.
@Smokeurmum What do you base you judgement on?
"but then we got the cane out of the cuboard and gave him a damn good thrashing"
Best words ever spoken by an Englishman.
"A man who soils a wellington puts his foot in it"
A great way to sum up napoleons fighting record
true, however religions can, and are regulary classified as creed.