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The military history of France represents a massive panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years over areas encompassing modern France, Europe, and European territorial possessions overseas. Such lengthy periods of warfare have allowed peoples of France to often be at the forefront of military developments, and as a result military trends emerging in France have had a decisive impact on European and world history.

Gallo-Roman conflict predominated from 400 BC to 50 BC, with the Romans emerging victorious in the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. With the decline of the Roman Empire, a Germanic tribe known as the Franks took control of Gaul by defeating competing tribes. The "land of Francia," from which France gets its name, had high points of expansion under kings Clovis I and Charlemagne. In the Middle Ages, rivalries with England and the Holy Roman Empire prompted major conflicts such as the Hundred Years War. With an increasingly centralized monarchy and the first standing army since Roman times, France came out of the Middle Ages as the most powerful nation in Europe, only to lose that status to Spain following defeat in the Italian Wars. The Wars of Religion crippled France in the late 16th century, but a major victory over Spain in the Thirty Years War, with help from Sweden, made France the most powerful nation on the continent once more. The wars of Louis XIV in the 17th and early 18th century left France territorially larger and bankrupt.

In the 18th century, global competition with Britain led to defeat in the French and Indian War, where France lost its North American holdings and India, but revenge came in the form of the American Revolutionary War, where massive French aid led to America's independence. Internal political upheaval eventually lead to 23 years of nearly continuous war in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars; France reached the zenith of its power during this period, but by 1815 it had been restored to its pre-Revolutionary borders. The rest of the 19th century witnessed the growth of the French colonial empire and wars with Russia, Austria, and Prussia. Following defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, Franco-German rivalry reasserted itself again in World War I, this time France coming out on the winning side. Anger over the Versailles Treaty, however, led to the Second World War, where France was humiliated in the Battle of France. It eventually emerged victorious over the Germans, however, and was given an occupation zone in Germany. The trauma of the two world wars destroyed Franco-German rivalry and paved the way for European integration, economically, politically, and militarily. Today, French military intervention is most often seen in its former colonies and with its NATO allies in hotspots around the world.

Themes in French military history

The defense of both its own territory and its citizens overseas in later eras was driven by several military rivalries that often re-asserted themselves after other military objectives had been accomplished. These rivalries and objectives can often give a better understanding of French military history than a mere chronological listing.

European conflicts

French strategic thinking has often been driven by the need to attain or preserve the so-called "natural frontiers," the Pyrenees to the southwest, the Alps to the southeast, and the Rhine River to the east. Starting with Clovis, 1,500 years of warfare has witnessed the accomplishment of most of these objectives, with modern-day France lacking only about two-thirds of the Rhine, which is in Germany. Nevertheless, France is territorially the largest nation-state in Western Europe.

Warfare with other European powers was not always determined by these considerations, and often peoples in France extended their continental authority far beyond these barriers, most notably under Charlemagne, Louis XIV, and Napoleon. These periods of heavily militaristic activity were characterized by their own peculiar sociopolitical and war-related conventions, but all required strong central leadership in order to permit the extension of French rule.

Perhaps some of the most celebrated military rivalries in human history have come about as a result of conflict between French peoples and other European powers. Anglo-French rivalry, for pre-eminence in Europe and around the world, continued for centuries, while the more recent Franco-German rivalry required two world wars to stabilize. French involvement in these protracted geostrategic clashes was both successful and unsuccessful. The wars themselves had a complex political dimension, often involving alliance systems that rarely remained static and that yielded dynamic solutions on the battlefield.

France's imperial objectives

Starting in the early 16th century, much of France's military efforts were put behind securing its overseas possessions and putting down dissent among both French colonists and native populations. French troops were spread all across its empire, primarily to deal with the local population. This phase of French militarism only came to an end with its failed attempt to subdue Algerian nationalists in the late 1950s. However, even in the 21st century, many former French colonies still expect France to provide assistance to put down revolutionary activity.

Post-colonial status

Since World War II, France's efforts have been directed at maintaining its status as a great power and its influence on the UN Security Council, despite the fact its military capability is being overtaken by the rising power of the People's Republic of China and India, among others. However, France has also been instrumental in attempting to unite the armed forces of Europe for their own defense in order to both balance the power of Russia and to lessen European military dependence on the United States. For example, for some time France withdrew from NATO over complaints that its role in the organization was being subordinated to the demands of the United States.

French objectives in this era have undergone major shifts. Unencumbered by continental wars or intricate alliances, France now deploys its military forces as part of international peacekeeping operations, security-enforcers in former colonies, or maintains them combat-ready and mobilized to respond to threats from rogue states. France is a nuclear power with the largest nuclear arsenal in Europe, and its nuclear capabilities, just like its conventional forces, are being restructured to rapidly deal with emerging threats.

Gauls

The region of Gaul consisted of modern-day France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and parts of Switzerland. Gallo-Roman conflict had been occurring for centuries prior to Caesar's invasion. In either 390 BC or 387 BC, a Gallic army under Brennus destroyed a Roman force at the Battle of the Allia, which led to the sacking of Rome and the destruction of all Roman historical records prior to that period.

Growing professionalism in the Roman army eventually led to victories, most noticeably at the Battle of Sentinum and the Battle of Telamon, over their Gallic counterparts, whose tactics and weapons changed little over the years. However, in order to permanently end the Gallic threat, a consistent effort was required by the Romans, and this was finally provided by Julius Caesar.

Caesar's conquest of Gaul was met with little resistance initially. The 60 or so tribes that made up Gaul were unable to unite and defeat the Roman army, something Caesar exploited by pitting one tribe against another.

Important milestones in Caesar's conquest:

• 58 B.C Caesar defeats the Germanic tribe of the Suebi, led by Ariovistus.
• 57 B.C. Caesar conquers the Belgian Gauls after claiming they were conspiring against Rome.
• 56 B.C. The Veneti of Brittany are routed in a naval battle. Survivors flee to Britain.
• 53-51 B.C. Gallic resistance movement opposing Roman rule.
  • Roman businessmen killed at Genabum (Orléans). The resistance becomes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix.
  • Caesar lays siege to the town of Avaricum (Bourges), which had been fortified by Vercingetorix. After 21 days, the defences are broken through and only 800 of the 40,000 inhabitants manage to escape.
  • Siege at Gergovia, Vercingetorix's home town. Holds out against Caesar and causes him the loss of 700 men. Vercingetorix's greatest victory.
  • Caesar's Lieutenant, Labienus, conquers Lutetia Parisiorum (Paris), fighting against Camulogenus.
  • Vercingetorix's last battle at Alesia (Alise-Sainte-Reine). The townspeople are starved into submission by Caesar's siege. Despite a massive relief force of many Gauls from various tribes, Caesar's well-planned defences enable him to defeat them. Vercingetorix turns himself over to Caesar.
  • Remaining area of resistance in central France, at Uxellodunnum. The defenders are starved out and Caesar orders the right hand of all the Gauls who had fought to be cut off.

The Franks

As Roman power weakened in the 4th and 5th centuries, a Germanic tribe, the Franks, overran large areas that today form modern France. Under King Clovis I in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, Frankish dominions quadrupled as they managed to defeat successive opponents for control of Gaul. In 486, the Frankish armies under Clovis triumphed over Syagrius, the last Roman official in Northern Gaul, at the Battle of Soissons. In 491, Clovis defeated Thuringians east of his territories. In 496, he trounced the Alamanni at the Battle of Tolbiac. In 507, he scored the most impressive victory in his career, prevailing at the Battle of Vouillé against the Visigoths, who were led by Alaric II, the conqueror of Spain.

Pre-Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire

Immediately prior to Charlemagne, the Franks were preoccupied with Islamic invasions across the Pyrenees and up the Rhone Valley. Two key battles during this period in the early 8th century were the Battle of Toulouse and the Battle of Tours, both won by the Franks, and both instrumental in slowing Islamic incursions. Claims that these victories permitted the independent development of European civilization seem exaggerated, but nonetheless they were major symbolic triumphs over the "Islamic hordes."

Under Charlemagne, the Franks reached the zenith of their power. After campaigns against Lombards, Avars, Saxons, and Basques, the resulting Carolingian Empire stretched from the Pyrenees to Central Germany, from the North Sea to the Adriatic. In 800, the Pope made Charlemagne Emperor of the West in return for protection of the Church. The Carolingian Empire was a conscious effort to recreate a central administration modeled on that of the Roman Empire, but the motivations behind military expansion differed. Charlemagne hoped to provide his nobles an incentive to fight by encouraging looting on campaign. Plunder and spoils of war were stronger temptations than imperial expansion, and several regions were invaded over and over in order to bolster the coffers of Frankish nobility. Cavalry dominated the battlefields, and the high costs associated with equipping horse and horse-rider helped limit their numbers, but Carolingian armies maintained a decent size of 20,000 (average) by recruiting infantry from imperial territories near theaters of operation. The Empire lasted from 800 to 843, when, following Frankish tradition, it was split between the sons of Louis the Pious by the Treaty of Verdun.

Middle Ages

It could be said that French military history during this period paralleled the rise and eventual fall of the armored knight. In approximately the 10th century, iron armor started to replace the use of other materials like leather or bronze. At the same time, the development of agricultural techniques allowed the nations of Western Europe to radically increase food production, allowing the support of a large aristocracy. Although all the nations of Western Europe benefited from these advances, France had a particularly favorable climate which facilitated the growth of a large aristocracy with sophisticated and increasingly more expensive and more impenetrable armor.

By the time of the Crusades, there were in fact more armored knights in France than land to support them. It could be claimed that one of the driving forces behind the Crusades was an attempt by such landless knights to find land overseas, without causing the type of internecine warfare that would largely damage France's increasing military strength. However, such historiographical work on the Crusades is being challenged and rejected by a large part of the historical community. The ultimate motivation or motivations for any one individual are difficult to know, but regardless, nobles and knights from France generally formed very sizeable contingents (often a majority) of crusading expeditions.

In the 11th century, French knights would be fortunate to have large link chain mail, and a horse barely capable of carrying the knight's weight. Those warriors they were able to field were more than a match for England, and their overwhelming victory at the Battle of Hastings simply cemented their power and influence. By the 15th century, France could easily field over 10,000 knights in full plate mail, with a large number of those on heavy warhorses with their own armor. A knight on horseback would most likely have felt invincible, except to another knight on horseback.

However, by the late 14th century and the early 15th, French military power declined because of the sudden obsolescence of men in armor. New weapons and tactics made the knight more of a sitting target than an effective battle force. The slaughter of knights at the Battle of Agincourt was only the worst example of this carnage. The French were able to field about 20,000 men-at-arms against a much smaller British force with only a few hundred men-at-arms and virtually no cavalry, however with several thousand longbowmen. Despite this, the French suffered about 5,000 casualties compared to a few hundred for the English. Indeed, given the successes of Henry V, the French could consider themselves lucky that they recovered virtually all their territory by the end of the Hundred Years War.

Popular conceptions of the victory in the final stages of the Hundred Years War are often dominated by Joan of Arc, but there were far deeper reasons for the French triumph. The main step was taken by King Charles VII, who, with the Compagnies d'Ordonnance, 20 companies of 600 men each, created the first standing army in the Western world since Roman times, giving the French a considerable edge in professionalism and discipline. Additionally, developments in artillery made it the finest arm of the French army, and the resounding victories at the battles of Formigny and Castillon, both significantly attributable to artillery, were so decisive that the war ended then and there. By 1453, the only English possession in mainland France was Calais.

See also: Medieval France, Medieval warfare

Ancien Régime

The French Renaissance and the beginning of the Ancien Régime, normally marked by the reign of Francis I, saw the nation become far more unified under the monarch. The power of the nobles was diminished as a national army was created. With England expelled from the continent and being consumed by the Wars of the Roses, France's main rival was the Holy Roman Empire. This threat to France became alarming in 1516, when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V also became king of Spain. France was all but surrounded with Spain, Germany, and the Low Countries all controlled by the Habsburgs. The lengthy Italian Wars that took place during this period resulted in defeat for France and established Catholic Spain, which formed a branch of the Habsburg holdings, as the most powerful nation in Europe. Later in the 16th century, France was weakened internally by the Wars of Religion. As nobles managed to raise their own private armies, these conflicts between Huguenots and Catholics all but demolished centralization and monarchical authority, hence precluding France from remaining a powerful force in European affairs.

While France could do little to challenge the dominance of the Holy Roman Empire, the Empire itself faced many challenges. From the east it was severely endangered by the Ottoman Empire, with whom the French sometimes cooperated. The vast Habsburg empire also proved impossible to manage effectively, and the crown was soon divided between the Spanish and Austrian holdings. In 1568 the Dutch declared independence, launching a war that would take decades and illustrate the weaknesses of Habsburg power. Finally in the 17th century the empire began to be torn apart by the same religious violence that had beset France a century earlier. At first France sat on the sidelines, but under Cardinal Mazarin it saw an opportunity to advance its own interests at the expense of the Habsburgs. Despite France's staunch Catholicism, it intervened on the side of the Protestants. The Thirty Years' War was long and extremely bloody, but France emerged victorious and for the next century it was the undisputed great power of Europe.

The long reign of Louis XIV saw a series of conflicts: the War of Devolution, the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the Reunions, the Nine Years War, and the War of the Spanish Succession. Wars in this era consisted of sieges and movements that were rarely decisive. Few of Louis' wars were either clear victories or definite defeats, but inexorably France's borders expanded. The west bank of the Rhine, much of the Spanish Netherlands, and a good deal of Luxembourg were annexed while the War of the Spanish Succession saw a fellow Bourbon placed on the throne of Spain. To stop France's advance, several European powers formed coalitions. During Louis' long reign, the English re-emerged as France's great rivals, allied to the Habsburgs. While they could not stand up to France on land, the British Royal Navy dominated the seas and France lost many of its colonial holdings. The British economy also became Europe's most powerful, and British money funded the campaigns of their continental allies.

The armies of Louis XIV were some of the most impressive in French history, their quality reflecting militaristic as well political developments. In the mid-17th century, royal power reasserted itself and the army became a tool through which the King could wield authority, replacing older systems of mercenary units and the private forces of recalcitrant nobles. Military administration also made gigantic progress as food supply, clothing, equipment, and armaments were provided in a regulairty never before equaled. In fact, the French cemented this standardization by becoming the first army to give their soldiers national uniforms in the 1680s and 1690s.

The 18th century saw France remain the dominant power in Europe, but begin to falter largely because of internal problems. The country engaged in a long series of wars, such as the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the War of the Polish Succession, and the War of the Austrian Succession, but these conflicts gained France little. Meanwhile, Britain's power steadily increased, and a new force, Prussia, became a major threat. This change in the balance of power led to the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, when France and the Habsburgs forged an alliance after centuries of animosity. This alliance proved less than effective in the Seven Year's War, but in the American War of Independence the French inflicted a major defeat on the British.

See also: France under the Ancien Régime, Early modern warfare

Revolutionary France

The French Revolution, true to its name, revolutionized nearly all aspects of French and European life. The powerful sociopolitical forces unleashed by a people seeking liberté, égalité, and fraternité made certain that even warfare was not spared this upheaval. 18th century armies, with their rigid protocols, quasi-static operational strategy, unenthusiastic soldiers, and aristocratic officer classes, underwent massive remodeling as the French monarchy and nobility gave way to liberal assemblies obsessed with external threats.

In 1791, the Legislative Assembly passed the "Drill-Book" legislation, implementing a series of infantry doctrines created by French theorists because of their defeat to the Prussians in the Seven Years War. These emphasized columnar tactics that would provide shock, preceded by a murderous hail of skirmishers (see "Formations and Tactics" in La Grande Armée). The new developments hoped to exploit the intrinsic bravery of the French soldier, made even more powerful by the explosive nationalist forces of the Revolution. The changes also placed a faith on the ordinary soldier that would be completely unacceptable in earlier times; French troops were expected to harass the enemy and remain loyal enough to not desert, a benefit other ancien régime armies did not have.

Following the declaration of war in 1792, an imposing array of enemies converging on French borders prompted the government in Paris to adopt radical measures. August 23, 1793 would become a historic day in military history; on that date, the National Convention called a levée en masse, or mass conscription, for the first time in human history. By spring of the following year, French armies numbered some 800,000 and began to deal blows to their European enemies. Armies during the Revolution became noticeably larger than their Roman counterparts and, combined with the new enthusiasm of the soldiery, the tactical and strategic opportunities became almost limitless. By 1797, the French had defeated the First Coalition, occupied the Low Countries, the west bank of the Rhine, and Northern Italy, objectives which had defied the Valois and Bourbon dynasties for centuries. Unsatisfied with the results, many European powers formed a Second Coalition, but by 1801 this too had been decisively beaten.

Another key aspect of French success were the changes wrought in the officer classes. Traditionally, European armies left major command positions to those who could be trusted, namely the aristocracy. The hectic nature of the French Revolution, however, tore apart France's old army, meaning new men were required to become officers and commanders. As a result of political pressure, competition, promotion, and constant campaigning, France emerged out of the Revolutionary Wars with the best officers in Europe, a very helpful feature during the later Napoleonic Wars. The fluid officer class introduced by the Revolution would be adopted by all European armies in the 18th century, and for that fact, the French Revolution can be seen as having brought the world the first professional armies.

Besides opening a flood of tactical and strategic opportunities, the Revolutionary Wars also laid the foundation for modern military theory. Later authors that wrote about "nations in arms" drew their inspiration from the French Revolution, where dire circumstances seemingly mobilized the entire French nation for war. Although the reality of war in the France of 1795 would be different from that in the France of 1915, conceptions and mentalities of war evolved significantly. Clausewitz correctly analyzed the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras to give posterity a thorough and complete theory of war that emphasized struggles between nations occurring everywhere from the battlefield to the legislative assemblies and to the very way that people think. War now emerged as a vast panorama of physical and psychical forces heading for victory or defeat.

See also: French Revolutionary Army

Napoleonic France

The Napoleonic Era saw France's influence and power reach immense heights, but just as quickly it collapsed back to its old borders at an immense cost to the French people. The reasons for the success are varied, but a few points do survive analysis. In the century and a half preceding the Revolutionary Era, France had transformed demographic leverage to military and political weight; the French population went from 20 million in 1700 to nearly 30 million in 1800, a spectacular boom. These numbers permitted France to raise armies at a rapid pace should the need arise. Furthermore, military innovations carried out during the Revolution and the Consulate, evidenced by improvements in artillery and cavalry capabilities on top of better army and staff organization, gave the French army a decisive advantage in the initial stages of the Napoleonic Wars. Another ingredient of success was Napoleon Bonaparte himself - intelligent, charismatic, and a military genius, Napoleon absorbed the latest military theories of the day and applied them in the battlefield with deadly effect.

At the height of Napoleon's power, France dominated Europe politically and militarily. During this period, only Britain's naval superiority prevented larger French encroachments over other areas of the world.

Napoleon changed warfare profoundly. The use of mercenaries had all but died out by the late 17th century, and the New Model Army developed to such an effect by Oliver Cromwell had taken root throughout Europe. Most armies of the early 18th century were small, well trained, made up of regular well paid troops, and were seldom used due to the cost of replacing losses. However, Napoleon could rely on little of this conservation, as many of France's broken pre-Revolutionary forces had to be replaced by new soldiers and officers.

Napoleon developed an army based on conscription using huge masses of poorly trained troops that could usually be readily replaced, led by a few elite units, like the Imperial Guard. What his armies lacked in skill it made up for in bulk. Indeed, the huge losses suffered by Napoleon during the disastrous Russia campaign would have destroyed any professional commander of the day, but those losses were quickly replaced with new draftees. Against the smaller professional armies of the day, wars of attrition were something other European armies simply could not afford.

After Napoleon, nations planned for huge armies with professional leadership and a constant supply of new soldiers, which had huge human costs when improved weapons like the rifled musket replaced the inaccurate muskets of Napoleon's day during the American Civil War.

This large size came at a cost, as the logistics of feeding a huge army made them especially dependent on supplies. Most armies of the day relied on the supply convoy system established during the Thirty Years War by Gustavus. This limited mobility since the soldiers had to wait for the convoys, but it did keep possibly mutinous troops from deserting, and thus helped preserve an army's composure. However, Napoleon's armies were so large that feeding them using the old method proved ineffective, and consequently French troops were allowed to live off the land. Infused with new concepts of nation and service, French soldiers proved reliable enough to pillage Europe without "going native." Napoleon often attempted to wage decisive, quick campaigns so that he could allow his men to live off the land. The French army did use a convoy system, but it was stocked with very few days worth of food; Napoleon's troops were expected to march quickly, effect a decision on the battlefield, then disperse to feed. For the Russian campaign, the French did store 24 days worth of food before beginning active operations, but this campaign was the exception, not the rule.

Napoleon's campaigns had a worldwide effect, and the fact that British troops were tied down in Europe probably contributed to the American decision to invade Canada during the War of 1812. It is clear that Britain's decision to stop American ships in international water in order to recapture deserters was also driven by their need to replace losses caused by Napoleon. In any event, Napoleon's decision to sell his Louisiana territories to the United States was most likely driven by his need for cash to wage war.

Napoleon's biggest influence in the military sphere was in the conduct of warfare. Weapons and technology remained largely static through the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras, but 18th century operational strategy underwent massive restructuring. Sieges became infrequent to the point of near-irrelevance, a new emphasis towards the destruction, not just outmaneuvering, of enemy armies emerged, and invasions of enemy territory occurred over broader fronts, thus introducing a plethora of strategic opportunities that made wars costlier and, just as importantly, more decisive. Defeat for a European power now meant much more than losing isolated enclaves; near-Carthaginian peaces intertwined whole national efforts, sociopolitical, economic, and militaristic, into gargantuan collisions that severely upset international conventions as understood at the time. It can be argued that Napoleon's initial success sowed the seeds for his downfall. Not used to such catastrophic defeats in the rigid power system of 18th century Europe, many nations found existence under the French yoke difficult, sparking revolts, wars, and general instability that plagued the continent until 1815, when the forces of reaction finally triumphed.

Modern Period

After the exile of Napoleon, France was the beneficiary of a long period of European peace. This allowed it to focus on the expansion of its overseas empire, particularly in Africa and Asia. These areas of the world had generally resisted European colonialism until the start of the 19th century, but advances in weapons technology allowed small numbers of European troops to overcome much larger bodies of native warriors.

In Europe, post-Napoleonic France remained a powerful force in continental affairs, inflicting a defeat on the Habsburgs in the Franco-Austrian War of 1859, a defeat which led to the independence of Italy in 1861, after having triumphed over Russia with other allies in the Crimean War. Detrimentally, however, the French army emerged from these victories in a very overconfident and complacent state. France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, essentially a dispute over areas of France with large German speaking minorities, led to the loss of Alsace-Lorraine and the creation of a united German Empire, both results representing major failures in long-term French foreign policy.

Nevertheless, the French, with British assistance, managed to hold on for four years and defeat the Germans in World War I. After major conflicts such as the Battle of the Frontiers, the First Battle of the Marne, and the Second Battle of the Aisne, the latter failure causing widespread mutinies throughout the French army, the French remained enough of a cohesive fighting force to counter-attack and defeat the Germans at the Second Battle of the Marne, the first in what would become a string of Allied victories that ended the war. The Treaty of Versailles eventually returned Alsace-Lorraine back to France.

However, a variety of factors (ranging from technology to low population growth) crippled France's effort in the 1940 Battle of France. In addition (and in many ways as a result), by 1960, it had lost its influence over all of its empire, suffering defeats in Indochina and Algeria. Moreover, the military had lost status with the population, first because of the widely publicized Dreyfus Affair, and later because of the collaboration of the Vichy government with the occupying forces of Nazi Germany during World War II.

Despite having one of the largest standing armies in Europe, and the money to support it, France consistently lost out on the development of new military technologies and new tactics. For example, Charles De Gaulle had foreseen the importance of armored warfare after World War I, but his theories were widely ignored in France, only to be taken up by the Germans who used them to such effect with Blitzkrieg. Furthermore, low population growth forced the French government to extend conscription terms and made military life more unpopular. Prior to the Battle of France, there were sentiments among many Allied soldiers, French and British, of pointless repetition; they viewed the war with dread since they had already beaten the Germans once, and images of that first major conflict were still poignant in military circles.

Historically, the military had sided with the monarchy and the Catholic Church, but their struggles over the 20th century eventually allowed the Republican and secular forces that had first come to the fore during the French Revolution to cement their hold over French politics. The last attempt by the military to set its own policy came during the Algerian War of Independence, when French forces took the suppression of rebellious Algerians into their own hands, against the directions of then President De Gaulle. Eventually, De Gaulle distanced himself from the military and appealed to public support, resulting in the establishment of the Fifth Republic. However, this also had the effect of lessening France's military standing in the world to the point where De Gaulle often believed that France had little control over its own military destiny. Today, despite having some of the best trained and best equipped military forces in the world, and being a nuclear power, France's role is seen in terms of coalition interventions, peacekeeping, and minor disputes.

See also: Free French Forces, France in modern times, Modern warfare

French Colonial Empire

The history of French colonial imperialism can be divided into two major eras, the first from the early 17th century to the middle of the 18th century, and the second from the early 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. In the first phase of expansion, France concentrated its efforts mainly in North America and India, setting up commercial ventures that were backed by military force. Following defeat to the British in the French and Indian War, France lost its possessions in North America and India, but it did manage to keep the wealthy Caribbean islands. The second stage found France heavily involved in Africa and Southeast Asia, where it established control over regions that are today covered by modern countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Chad, Madagascar, Djibouti, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. In 1914, France had an empire stretching over 10,000,000 km² (over 4,000,000 sq. miles) of land and about 60 million people. Following victory in World War I, Cameroon was also added to French possessions, and Syria and Lebanon became French protectorates. From 1870 to 1945, France was territorially the third largest nation on Earth, after Britain and Russia (later the Soviet Union), and had the most overseas possessions following Britain. Following the Second World War, visceral struggles ensued to preserve French territories in Vietnam and Algeria, but France lost both wars. Today, France still maintains a number of overseas territories, but their collective size is barely a shadow of the old French colonial empire.

French Air Force

Many consider the Armée de l'Air to have been the first professional air force in the world. The French took active interest in developing their air force and had the first figher pilots of World War I. During the interwar years, however, particularly in the 1930s, the quality fell when compared with the Luftwaffe, which crushed both the French and British air forces during the Battle of France. In the post-World War II era, the French made a concerted and successful effort to develop a home-grown industry for aircraft production. Dassault Aviation led the way forward with their unique and effective delta-wing designs which formed the basis for the famous Mirage series of jet fighters. The Mirage repeatedly demonstrated its deadly abilities in the Six-Day War and the Gulf War, becoming one of the most popular and well-sold aircraft in the history of military aviation along the way. Currently, the French Air Force is expanding and replacing. The French are awaiting the A400M military transport aircract, which is still in developmental stages, and the integration of the new Rafale jet fighter, whose first squadron is expected to become operational in 2006 at Saint-Dizier.

French Navy

Although the history of the French Navy goes back to the Middle Ages, when it was defeated by the English at the Battle of Sluys and, with Castilian help, managed to beat the English at La Rochelle, it did not become a consistent instrument of national power until the 17th century with Louis XIV. Under the tutelage of the 'Sun King,' the French Navy was well financed and equipped, managing to score several early victories in the Nine Years War against the Royal Navy and the Dutch Navy. Financial troubles, however, forced the navy back to port and allowed the English and the Dutch to regain the initiative.

A perennial problem for the French Navy was France's strategic priorities, which were first and foremost tied to its European ambitions. This meant the army was often treated better than the navy, and as a result the latter suffered in training and operational performance. The 18th century century saw the beginning of domination by the Royal Navy, which managed to inflict a number of significant defeats on the French. However, in a very impressive effort, the French under de Grasse managed to defeat an English fleet at the Battle of the Chesapeake in 1781, thus ensuring that the Franco-American ground forces would win the ongoing Battle of Yorktown. Beyond that, there was not much more good news. The French Revolution all but crippled the French Navy, and efforts to make it into a powerful force under Napoleon were dashed at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, where the British all but annihilated a combined Franco-Spanish fleet. The disaster guaranteed British naval domination until World War II.

Later in the 19th century, the navy recovered and became the second-finest in the world after the Royal Navy. It conducted a successful blockade of Mexico in the Pastry War of 1838 and obliterated the Chinese navy at the Battle of Foochow in 1884. It also served as an effective link between the growing parts of the French empire. The navy performed well in World War I, but the defeat of France in World War II forced the British to destroy it at Mers-el-Kebir in order to prevent its fall to the Germans. Currently, French naval doctrine calls for two aircraft carriers, but the French only have one, the Charles de Gaulle, due to restructuring. Indeed, the navy is in the midst of major technological and procurement changes; newer submarines and a second aircraft carrier have been ordered on top of the Rafales (the naval version) replacing older aircraft.

List of French military institutions

• La Grande Armée (1804-1814)
• French Imperial Guard (1804-1815)
• French Foreign Legion (1831-present)
• Zouaves (19th and 20th century)

List of French military alliances

• Auld Alliance (1295-1746)
• Triple Alliance (1717)
• Entente Cordiale (1904-present)
• Triple Entente (1907-1917)
• North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (1949-present)

List of famous French military leaders

See also Marshals of France

French military linguistic influence

Historically, many French military terms have been influential and adopted by other languages besides English, like Spanish or German.

French naval terms adopted by the English language: trophy and pilot (as in the English steersman).

French general military terms adopted by the English language: aide-de-camp, bivouac, brigade, cartouche, cartridge, Colonel, corps, détente,enfilade, envoy, infantry, lieutenant, mêlée, pioneer, platoon, sergeant, terrain, and volley.

See also

• Military of France
• Gallic Empire
• French peace treaties
• List of battles (geographic)
• List of wars

Notes

1. The Grand Empire
2. Brooks, Richard (editor), Atlas of World Military History. p. 101. "Washington's success in keeping the army together deprived the British of victory, but French intervention won the war."
3. Modern French nuclear doctrine
4. Controversy regarding the date
5. Brooks, Richard (editor), Atlas of World Military History. p. 30
6. Brooks p. 31. In De Bello Gallico, Caesar claims a Gallif relief force of 250,000 men, but the logistical requirements for such a huge army were beyond anything the Gauls could procure. It is likely that Caesar inflated the figures to make his victory seem more impressive.
7. Cowley, Robert, What If? Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been. p. 73, p. 87. The latter page carries an account by historian Edward Gibbon, "A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland: the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Mahomet."
8. Brooks, Richard (editor), Atlas of World Military History. p. 43. The above claims seem to be more rhetoric than possible historical reality. No contemporaries viewed the battle as decisive and Arab raids continued for much longer after the Battle of Tours. What is indisputable is the battle's huge symbolic significance, since in one of the first major fights between the Christian West and Islam, the former managed to prevail.
9. J.M. Roberts, History of the World. p. 384
10. Brooks, Richard (editor), Atlas of World Military History. p. 46
11. Brooks p. 47
12. Andrew Jotischky, Crusading and the Crusader States. p. 37. The theory that argues for sociological and economic rather than spiritual motivation provides regional examples where noble fathers would give their lands to the oldest surviving son, meaning younger sons would be left landless and looking for somewhere to go (the Crusades, in this case). Problems with the theory include, but are not limited to, the fact that there is no proof that younger sons formed the majority of the crusaders, the response to the crusading movement was just as strong in areas with equitable inheritance systems, and, since they were in many ways bound to the wishes and the decisions of their nobles, knights often had little individual choice in whether they would participate in a crusade.
13. John A. Lynn, The Wars of Louis XIV. p. 8
14. John A. Lynn, Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715. p. 16 (preface)
15. Lynn p. 16 (preface)
16. Brooks, Richard (editor), Atlas of World Military History. p. 84
17. David G. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon. p. 136
18. Demographics of France
19. David G. Chandler, The Campaigns of Napoleon. p. 758
20. Chandler p. 162
21. Brooks, Richard (editor), Atlas of World Military History. p. 129
22. Hew Strachan, The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War. p. 280
23. Articles 27-30 Boundaries of Germany in the Versailles Treaty
24. Paul Marie de la Gorce, The French Army: A Military-Political History p. 48. Lessened militarism in French culture was actually evident before the Dreyfus Affair, and the scandal only served to deepen the wounds.
25. John Keegan, The Second World War. p. 64
26. Information on French colonization

References

• Blanning, T.C.W. The French Revolutionary Wars, 1787-1802. Hodder Arnold Publication, 1996. ISBN 0340569115
• Brooks, Richard (editor). Atlas of World Military History. London: HarperCollins, 2000. ISBN 0760720258
• Chandler, David G. The Campaigns of Napoleon. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1995. ISBN 0025236601
• Cowley, Robert (editor). What If? Eminent Historians Imagine What Might Have Been. New York: Penguing Group, 1999. ISBN 0399152385
• de la Gorce, Paul Marie. The French Army: A Military-Political History. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1963. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 6310401
• Jotischky, Andrew. Crusading and the Crusader States. Pearson Education Limited, 2004. ISBN 0582418518
• Keegan, John. The Second World War. New York: Penguin Group, 1989. ISBN 0670823597
• Lynn, John A. Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. ISBN 0521572738
• Lynn, John A. The Wars of Louis XIV. London: Longman, 1999. ISBN 0582056292
• Roberts, J.M. History of the World. New York: Penguin Group, 1992. ISBN 0195210433
• Strachan, Hew. The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0192893254

External links

• French Military Terms Adopted by the English Language
• French military participation from 1800 to 1999
• An excellent guide to French Medieval warfare
• France in the American Revolution

• Military history of France