Best American General of All Time?

[Montegriffo]

...and watch ''Battle of Algiers''.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058946/
Accurate enough to be banned in France.
Shows the guerilla warfare against the Paratroopers in the casbah of Algiers.

[Smitty-48]

Didn't the French Army send paratroopers in a coup?

Was a right wing paramilitary junta called the Secret Armed Organization.

The paratroopers were not Army. Foreign Legion. 1st Foreign Parachute Regiment.

Why was France so unstable after WW2, as compared to say Britain? I'm not even sure what number Republic France is on at this point...

It was unstable since 1789. It's still unstable now.

[Smitty-48]

Britain wasn't that stable, the IRA was a civil war.

[heydaralon]

...and watch ''Battle of Algiers''.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058946/
Accurate enough to be banned in France.
Shows the guerilla warfare against the Paratroopers in the casbah of Algiers.

I saw that one too in High School.


I thought the French actually handled that conflict well as far as colonial wars went. They put electrified fences everywhere and Massu actually ran a fairly effective counter-insurgency campaign, but he probably wouldn't have gotten any awards from Amnesty International. Idk why they lost, though from my understanding the French had a sizable amount of citizens living and born in Algeria, and they considered it a part of France, the same way that Luanda had a bunch of people who viewed it as being part of civilized Portugal. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, especially after Vietnam. Had to fight, but the political ground was shifting beneath their feet.

[Montegriffo]

Why was France so unstable after WW2, as compared to say Britain? I'm not even sure what number Republic France is on at this point...

Being occupied for 5 years and run by the Nazis in the North and the Vichy in the South is enough to destabilize any country.
Resistance fighting is one of their fortes as a result.
Lots of WWII expertise still around in the 50's and 60's.

[Smitty-48]

Frances problem was that they had been defeated and the only reason they got Indochina and Algeria back was that De Gaulle leveraged America into giving it all back, lest France might have to "fall within the Soviet sphere" as he put it.

[heydaralon]

Frances problem was that they had been defeated and the only reason they got Indochina and Algeria back was that De Gaulle leveraged America into giving it all back, lest France might have to "fall within the Soviet sphere" as he put it.

lol well they pawned off fighting one of those wars on us, and left us holding a bag of shit. De Gaulle was a sack of shit.

[Smitty-48]

The internal left v right FLN v OAS aspect, was a backlash against the right, because the right had collaborated with the Nazis.

Vichy incited the left back into the drivers seat. They had the wind at their backs.

[Montegriffo]

...and watch ''Battle of Algiers''.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058946/
Accurate enough to be banned in France.
Shows the guerilla warfare against the Paratroopers in the casbah of Algiers.

I saw that one too in High School.


I thought the French actually handled that conflict well as far as colonial wars went. They put electrified fences everywhere and Massu actually ran a fairly effective counter-insurgency campaign, but he probably wouldn't have gotten any awards from Amnesty International. Idk why they lost, though from my understanding the French had a sizable amount of citizens living and born in Algeria, and they considered it a part of France, the same way that Luanda had a bunch of people who viewed it as being part of civilized Portugal. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, especially after Vietnam. Had to fight, but the political ground was shifting beneath their feet.

The French felt it was too sympathetic towards the ''terrorists'' and banned it for 5 years.
Didn't stop them watching it in underground screenings of the film which was smuggled into the country of course.
French people tend to view rules as optional.

[Smitty-48]

Frances problem was that they had been defeated and the only reason they got Indochina and Algeria back was that De Gaulle leveraged America into giving it all back, lest France might have to "fall within the Soviet sphere" as he put it.

lol well they pawned off fighting one of those wars on us, and left us holding a bag of shit. De Gaulle was a sack of shit.

It was Eisenhower.

Domino Theory.

Culture is destiny.