Inhabitants of what is today France have been renowned for an exceptional martial culture from at least the time of the Gauls (before Roman conquest), to the Frankish Empire, to Napoleon, and France was a major power throughout the Imperial Age until the Great War (and still is, one of the worlds strongest military- and nuclear powers).
Germany rolled over France in the Franco-Prussian War and in WWII, and America (which owes its existance in no small part to France), and much of Europe seeing a recent display of the shift in mainland power balance, have had a social trend to categorize them as cowards ever since the Blitzkrieg, where in truth probably no country in the world could hope to stand against the top-modern tactics, equipment and personnel of the German army anno 1940, if being so unfortunate as to share borders with the Third Reich.
Francophobia in the US stems from the 2003 French refusal to join the illegal war against Iraq ('freedom fries'), and has also been inherited from the English.
true true. in the end it comes down to a country preparing a war for ten years vs countries having a prep phase of a few weeks, months tops, because all of europe hoped it wouldnt come to a second great war : /
also the french were completely stunned by chocolate chip cookiees attacking plan on the west front, they had their main forces deployed in the boarder regions and got take by surprise of the benelux blitz.
crpg related fact concidering the german-francophone tank war: germans where first to have on board radio, allied tanks still used flag signals like ships at ww2s beginning. its like having a coordinated +3 tincan army on ts vs non loomed randomers
in the end it comes down to the fun of teasing each other as nations (the only thing nations are good for anyway, is the humor arising with that
)
germans, scottisch, french, english, americans, canadians, indians, pakistani, chinese, we all have sth funny to say about them without meaning it : )
