Jumbo to take some of your points...

Yes are many reasons to look at the French in the way we do.

Their harsh treatment of Germany in the inter war years, beatings of German citizens in French occupied areas etc...All went on, no one can deny..

The country had lost any pretence at middle of the road politics by the start of ww2, there were not many middle ground views around, you were either Left or right wing. The socialists had seen to this with their policies in the inter war years.

This permeated down to the defence industries as well as the rest, and to the soldiers that were to fight any war that was to come. Thats why I say the Battle of France was lost long before a shot was fired in anger at the Germans.

But a few points you raise.

The soldiers who returned to France after their evacuation from Dunkirk..

France was still fighting after Dunkirk, many wanted to rejoin that fight, to some the evacuation was just a means of being moved back to the battle.

We could envisage even what would have happened if Britain had been invaded, the fleet off to Canada or Carribean or other empire area...Certain troops overseas to carry on as the Free British... Do you honestly think that after a time or given the choice that Britians servicemen the majority maybe navy given the choice to fight on oversees for an unknown maybe endless period would have reacted any differently?

Ho many would have opted to return home to an occupied land as did the French.

There were enough better reds than dead in the cold war years of 70s and 80s in this country and in 1940 Britain had its own who would have collaborated and enforced a vichy Midlands, Scotland/Wales if asked. We were not as far down the road as the French politcally on its knees in the inter war years, but how can you be sure there would have not been a vichy setup in Britian, the whole country was not standing ready with pitchforks and US rifles ready to die and bleed with Winston at 10 Downing st.

Britain had seen its Mosley blackshirts before during and after the war who would have had no qualms in the main with any such setup, and there were many politicians of the time that could have worked with a Nazi occupation force in good faith.

Not all Frenchmen can be tainted with our present day views of the French at the time. Otherwise there would have not been a Free French, A certain man with a moustache, or a Maquis.

The French fought well at Lille covering a Brtishi withdrawal, not for the British I know but for themselves. They refused to be evacuated and fought until they could fight no more.

If we look at Frances failure we should also look at ourselves and the arguing of a British feild force for France that even up to the near start of World war 2 we were not committed to sending a force of more than 2 divisions to any Euorpean mainland war.

The view across the channel in our direction must have been somewhat sceptical in those years too.

__________________
Prepare to repel borders...William Mcgonagle US Liberty.