GV-actually the FL would have been like the insurgents in Iraq/Fallujha..... They would have built up a strong hold, be tatically incompetant, let themselves get surrounded, get out-fought, overwhelmed and then get wiped out, fighting to the death. your Iraq senerio logic was right, just traveling down the wrong track

GV...Break it down even more. The french were among the first to get their butts kicked in ww1, they were the first modern nation to get their butts kicked in ww2. They continued after in indochina(does DBP ring a bell?) And they futhered it in Algeria....am I missing something? Oh yeah, while I am not big on French history, wasnt the FL instramental in the 'revolt'-or whatever it was in north africa? Yeah, sure they came to the us. Not often you get to talk to a side that looses continually. Vital to learn from their continual mistakes.... and not to disappoint you, france was not the first in asymmetrical warfare in the XX century.......how about the marines in the 20s during the banana wars in centeral america? The list goes one and one. But I see your confusion. At that time, France was still licking its wounds after she got her butt wipped in ww1(Ironic, marines at Belleau Woods) Nice try, Semper Fi, carry on.........

stb: get off GOPs case. He is just being a hard-charging, dedicated devildog....trying to represent...... (by the way, I never could run 3 miles in 18 minutes...try 21 minutes-I DID NOT LIKE TO TRAIN TO RUN FROM A FIGHT, BUT TO LOCATE, CLOSE WITH, AND TO DESTROY MY ENEMY WITH FIRE AND MANEUVER, OR TO REPEL MY ENEMYS ASSAULT BY FIRE AND CLOSE COMBAT....KILL, KILL, KILL OOH-RAH!!!!) -hehehehehehhehe-just kidding....I'm to old now to do anything but locate my couch and close with my remote and to destroy a 6-pack with guzzeling and belching. speaking of which............

Hi, You show a lack of knowledge about french history. I remember you that France have won WWI. Inconstatably, France made the biggest effort to defeat Germany. French soldiers were top notch on the battlefied. USA, that I respect a lot, did almost nothing during that war. Sorry. So, before saying lies, inform yourself. Regards.

BS. The Germans were advancing on Paris when the US soldiers and Marines started arriving...the Brits and French were almost defeated...and even if you stopped the advance on Paris, you still would not have gotten back lost territory (and if you did, it would have taken years), so without the US, France would >probably< now be Germany. Regards

"Hi, You show a lack of knowledge about french history. I remember you that France have won WWI. Inconstatably, France made the biggest effort to defeat Germany. French soldiers were top notch on the battlefied. USA, that I respect a lot, did almost nothing during that war. Sorry. So, before saying lies, inform yourself. Regards." Yeah, I do have to back this up. The French paid the most dearly to win that war by far (W.W. I). They did almost give up at one point (Mutiny), but they did win in the end. The U.S. contribution to that war was more a morale boost than anything. By the time U.S. troops got to Europe in any significant numbers, the matter was decided. There were a couple of instances of strong action by U.S. troops, but they were generally fairly small. Truthfully the U.S. really had little to do with it. About the best that can be said of our involvement is that our entry forced the Germans to go for broke before we could be strongly involved. This helped to speed up the end of the war. buzzard

GOP; PT in the army in IET (Basic and advanced training) is pretty wimpy. It is mainly geared to the nintendo generation. If you are in any kind of shape it's easy now. Once you get to a unit, it is a whole different story. If it's a REMF unit, the PT is as hard as you want it to be (5x/week, but easy). Line units, however, do REAL pt, and then you have the usual one upsmanship in the gym in the afternoons. As to the French in WW1.......when the US entered the war, the French and British both wanted to use US troops as fillers in their units. Pershing put a stop to that. According to several historians, Niall Fergeson among them, the US troops were the punch that knocked out the germans. Both sides were tired, and the fresh troops won the day for the allies.

hey, verdun, long time no see! busy at work?

Hi God...It is always a pleasure to read your post. For myself, I am very busy with my kids and my work. Hope I will find more time to post. Already 2 feets of snow here. Do you miss it? Regards.

In the 1920s The German Reichstag under the Weimer Republic investigated the reasons for Germany's defeat. One major, often overlooked factor, was Britain's highly effective naval blockade. In addition, the Germans were surprised that the American soldiers were as good as they were, and that the U Boats were wholly ineffective in preventing the Americans from landing in France. If the war continued the Germans faced the prospect of opposing millions of American troops in 1919. The fact that the German Army in 1918 was ready to collapse was the result of the sacrifices of the French, and British, and to a lesser extent the Russian, armies from 1914 on. Vera Britton a British nurse said she could always pick out American soldiers at an aid station because they looked so big and healthy. Unfortunately the British and French equivalents of these big healthy Americans died at the Somme, the Marne, Verdun, Paschendale etc.