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They got decisively trounced in 1870-1 by a technologically superior and much more aggressive military machine; breech-loading steel cannons are much better than muzzle-loading brass ones, and a larger standing army always has a better chance, especially when on the attack.
The French Army maintained 80% of the Western Front during World War 1, and if you need examples of heroism, look at Verdun. Hitler thought that the French were the best soldiers in Europe; he knew because he fought them as a combat infantryman. You'll note that the Allies won the Great War, and I note that it's conveniently off your list.
The whole argument by wiseacres trashing the French for their military performance is World War 2, and it's one of extreme ignorance. The Poles were overwhelmed in September of '39, and the allies hadn't learned to counteract the combined-arms of the blitzkrieg when the Germans attacked France in the spring of '40. The French and British had no concentrated armor, and were caught off-guard and never recovered. They did figure it out and effectively counterattack, but too late.
Why does nobody ever slag the British for their performance in May of '40? They were there and gave no better showing for themselves. It was an awfully valiant defense at Dunkirk, and 330K men escaped, although largely because Goring was an idiot and the land commanders were restrained.
Still, the allies didn't figure out how to counteract the German combined arms, and from March to November of '41, Commonwealth troops got the snot kicked out of them by Rommel. From that point on (roughly starting with Operation Crusader) the 8th Army started began to sort it out.
Still the allies didn't figure out how to deal with the Germans, as the Russians amply proved starting in June of 41. Now, a lot of this is excusable, and the excuse is the learning curve. EVERY country got its ass kicked by the Germans the first few times they encountered them; unfortunately the French had to do it on their own soil.
So what excuse does the American Army have for getting an absolutely embarrasing drubbing at Kasserine Pass, Tunisia in FEBRUARY '43? Hell, that's almost three-and-a-half years after the Germans showed their tricks the first time. The only reason we weren't totally shredded and encircled was that Von Arnim had control of most of the best tanks, and he withdrew them from Rommel right in the jaws of victory. WE, the self-proclaimed geniuses of combat got laughingly humiliated when we first met the Germans and Italians in major combat, and we had much less excuse than our predecessors.
Little mention is made of the heroic and crucial performance of the Free French forces at places like Bir Hachiem in May-June of '42. The simple truth is that if this Brigade hadn't held out for so long, encircled, that the Germans would have taken Tobruk much quicker and been able to punch through at El Alamein. (The first battles at Alamein in July were decided by a hair's-breadth, and that was the last defense; if you get past the Quattara Depression, there's an open flank and Alexandria and Cairo fall.) The Free French forces and the resistance were tenacious, heroic and critical to the Allies' success.
The World War 2 argument against the French is ignorant taunting and nothing more.
Let's talk Vietnam: we got our asses kicked there too, lest you forget, so we can take that one off the table.
Let's talk Suez: that was just a completely bungled clusterfuck on everyone's part, more a diplomatic and political mistake than a military one. It was a command issue, not a military issue, and if you notice from my post, I'm talking about their military.
Algeria was an orderly, planned withdrawal. This was an insurgency fought with the understanding that the future was certain: they would leave. This is not a defeat.
Let's talk hardware. Ask the sailors from the U.S.S. Stark if the exocet missile is a toy or not; the Iraqis almost sank her with one. Ask the sailors from the H.M.S. Sheffield and the merchant ship Atlantic Conveyor how much fun it's to be sunk by one. The plane launching them in each case was French.
Let's talk special forces. Remember the airliner taken by storm in Marseille? Damn good job.
Professional militaries around the world hold the French services in very high regard, and their history bears this out.
Sorry to get so crabby here, but this is a ridiculous argument that I hear over and over again, mostly from right-wingers with no knowledge of history, and I hate it. Those of us graced by wide oceans to protect us don't have to endure an endless history of war, and it's offensive to the rest of the world to hear our crowing. In the two world wars, we sat it out and let everyone else bloody themselves, then we entered to beat up on the already exhausted and claim it as some kind of equal fight. For every death the United States experienced in World War 2, the Soviets lost about 65.
Back to the French. They've got a very good and integrated military and a damned good record.
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