@JOL Hmmm, more than a thousand year of warfare between squabbling monarchs, religious turmoil, revolutionary struggle, Napoleonic foolhardy and general involvement in most of the ≃70 major European wars on the continent and France is still the third largest country in Europe beside Russia and Ukraine (and about twice the initial spread of West Francia’s territory). Surely there is more to the french military record than 100 years war and the assist of American Independence (which may be seen as a really great success from an American point off view but was really much more a little side-war, just to spite the British without too much military involvement —still soundly depleted the royal treasure at the time and probably stirred the French revolution some time later but… well… defeating the Albion in a NAVAL battle ? Totally worth it.)
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@JOL Hmmm, more than a thousand year of warfare between squabbling monarchs, religious turmoil, revolutionary struggle, Napoleonic foolhardy and general involvement in most of the ≃70 major European wars on the continent and France is still the third largest country in Europe beside Russia and Ukraine (and about twice the initial spread of West Francia’s territory). Surely there is more to the french military record than 100 years war and the assist of American Independence (which may be seen as a really great success from an American point off view but was really much more a little side-war, just to spite the British without too much military involvement —still soundly depleted the royal treasure at the time and probably stirred the French revolution some time later but… well… defeating the Albion in a NAVAL battle ? Totally worth it.)