Topic: *Britain-France 4

godofthunder9010 · February 2nd, 2006

I think that any listing of Top 20 Best Militaries in the World, should list Britain and France right next to each other. By that I mean:

5.) France
6.) Great Britain

or

4.) Great Britain
5.) France

As I said from the start, the two run fairly equally. Both have excellent military tech, superb training and strong navies. Its a pretty tough choice.

Bulgar Soldja · February 2nd, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMacbeth

well, Britain has great technology and is armed quite well. Russia and China? well, not that great of technology and not as good as the quality of Britain, but they surely got overwhelming numbers which will, after time, proove to be better(maybe).

But I dont know who has got better quality, France or Britain..

Russia has good technology mate. Russias tanks are pretty **** but they r still cummin up with new tech.

Rabs · February 2nd, 2006

Quote:

Russia has good technology mate. Russias tanks are pretty **** but they r still cummin up with new tech.

Some sure, but you cant deny that there lacking behind the US/EU now days.

Shadowalker · February 3rd, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whispering Death

I think England has the edge due to greater ability to project its power. They have a strong carrier fleet, good logistical support, and modern powerfull ground forces. In addition they have much more combat experience than their french counterparts.

France is building up well, however. They have a nice tank in the Leclerc and if they can create a carrier that was what the DuGaulle should have been, they will be well on their way.

If you are ever in the prescence of welsh or scottish people, dont refer to Britain as England, you wont make any friends...

Britain has 3 carriers although only 2 are fully operational now, when we get the 2 new carriers then I think we will have a much better navy then the french, as with the new astute submarines and type 45 destroyers then most of our equipment will be newer and more powerful. Hopefully we will get the F-35 otherwise the Rafale will be more advanced. We have a bigger amphibious fleet then the french and our marines are second to none.
As for the army its small and the SA80 has its critics but other than that it has seen more combat experience against better armed opponents then the french. the Challenger 2 has combat experience and our special forces are best in the world.
The french airforce has possibly better fighters than the british until the Typhoon is introduced, but other than that we have a larger transport fleet. Probably 3rd most capable after the USA and Russia. But i believe the french have the ability to drop nuclear bombs but we only have nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles now.

mmarsh · February 3rd, 2006

Shadowalker

Carriers...

Thats true, but they are SVTOL carriers while the French carrier are a traditional CVN. CVN's are vastly superior and the French have 50 years experiance of using them. The Royal navy stopped using them in the 1960s in what was a terriable idea. SVTOL has its place it supporting ground troops, but it cannot compete against traditional fighters. However The RN and FN just last month agreed to co-devolop a new type of CV (or CVN). The Brits get 2 the French get 1. So that both countries each have 2. The only catch is that the RN want to use the F-35 SVTOL which is slightly inferior to the USAF/USN F-35. I think this gives the French an edge as they will stick to the Rafale.

Subs...
SSBN are about the same, the French 4 of which are the newest Triophante class the rest are the older Redoubtable/Inflexible class. These boats tend to be larger and heavier then the British Vanguard and Resolution class. The final Vanguard is still under construction I believe...

Ships...
We have a bigger amphibious fleet then the french and our marines are second to none.

This is true, but its a difference of strategy. The French are not big supporters of traditional naval amphibious assault, they are helicopter (smaller units, special forces, etc...) focused as opposed to traditional troopship/Hovercraft etc...

Infantry
As for the army its small and the SA80 has its critics but other than that it has seen more combat experience against better armed opponents then the french. the Challenger 2 has combat experience and our special forces are best in the world.

The French have far more combat experiance since WWII. Suez (with the UK) Vietnam, Algeria and various on again-off again battles in the ME, Africa and various peacekeepng missions. The British Suez, the Falkland Islands, Desert Storm, Desert Storm II. The French wars were much nastier. As for Tanks the French use the LeClerc which is on-par with the Challenger 2. Challenger 2 is a slighter better tank IMHO, but I dont think the difference is big. The French use th FAMAS which is a good design, I have never fired one, but from what I read its on par with the SA80 or Steyr AUG.

The French abandoned its Silo based Missiles in 1995. But they have both aircraft launched, and submarine launched Missiles as well as convention nuclear bombs such as the Hades bomb.

Where i do give the British Army standsout is on training. I think its 2nd to none on the training of its men and its officier corps. I would even go as far as to say better than the U.S on this point.

sven hassell · February 3rd, 2006

Have any of you considered the fact that the best French regiment,
Their elite 2nd REP has a fair number of Englishmen(yes,Welsh,Scots and Irish included) in it .
The S.A.S. or S.B.S. dont have an equivelent number of frenchmen in their ranks.

godofthunder9010 · February 3rd, 2006

mmarsh A comment on combat experience: The French may have seen more combat since WW2, but only things as recent as 10-15 years are where you gain usable Vetran experience to your Armed Forces. I don't keep track of France's military endeavors, so there may have been something major within that timeframe, but I'm not aware of any.

Shadowalker · February 4th, 2006

Yes the french sarrier fleet is probably better than the british right now, when both have 2 carriers then i doubt there will b much between them.
I believe the vanguard is larger than the French SSBN, the vanguard class is only 3000t smaller than the Ohio class.
The British have the same strategy as the french for amphibious assault, i.e using helicopters, in Suez helicopters were used by both the french and british and we have built a dedicated helicopter carrier HMS Ocean.
You have missed a few wars for the british army such as Oman, Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and the Balkans where the french were to.

MightyMacbeth · February 8th, 2006

What about the Special Forces?

Britain got the SAS and the Royal Marines. And France has got a few, most notably, the GIGN or something..

tomtom22 · February 8th, 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by MightyMacbeth

What about the Special Forces?

Britain got the SAS and the Royal Marines. And France has got a few, most notably, the GIGN or something..

What is GIGN?

February 2nd, 2006	Post 31
godofthunder9010 Tribunus Laticlavius Gear	I think that any listing of Top 20 Best Militaries in the World, should list Britain and France right next to each other. By that I mean: 5.) France 6.) Great Britain or 4.) Great Britain 5.) France As I said from the start, the two run fairly equally. Both have excellent military tech, superb training and strong navies. Its a pretty tough choice. __________________ "It is well that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it." - General Robert E. Lee Warning, critical pebkac error in the iD10t!! pebkac\wtflolurpwnzd\snafuroflmao.exe called iD10t, iD10t failed to respond!! System in danger!! "It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong. I am NOT a big man." -Chevy Chase

February 3rd, 2006	Post 35
mmarsh Tribunus Laticlavius Gear	Shadowalker Carriers... Thats true, but they are SVTOL carriers while the French carrier are a traditional CVN. CVN's are vastly superior and the French have 50 years experiance of using them. The Royal navy stopped using them in the 1960s in what was a terriable idea. SVTOL has its place it supporting ground troops, but it cannot compete against traditional fighters. However The RN and FN just last month agreed to co-devolop a new type of CV (or CVN). The Brits get 2 the French get 1. So that both countries each have 2. The only catch is that the RN want to use the F-35 SVTOL which is slightly inferior to the USAF/USN F-35. I think this gives the French an edge as they will stick to the Rafale. Subs... SSBN are about the same, the French 4 of which are the newest Triophante class the rest are the older Redoubtable/Inflexible class. These boats tend to be larger and heavier then the British Vanguard and Resolution class. The final Vanguard is still under construction I believe... Ships... We have a bigger amphibious fleet then the french and our marines are second to none. This is true, but its a difference of strategy. The French are not big supporters of traditional naval amphibious assault, they are helicopter (smaller units, special forces, etc...) focused as opposed to traditional troopship/Hovercraft etc... Infantry As for the army its small and the SA80 has its critics but other than that it has seen more combat experience against better armed opponents then the french. the Challenger 2 has combat experience and our special forces are best in the world. The French have far more combat experiance since WWII. Suez (with the UK) Vietnam, Algeria and various on again-off again battles in the ME, Africa and various peacekeepng missions. The British Suez, the Falkland Islands, Desert Storm, Desert Storm II. The French wars were much nastier. As for Tanks the French use the LeClerc which is on-par with the Challenger 2. Challenger 2 is a slighter better tank IMHO, but I dont think the difference is big. The French use th FAMAS which is a good design, I have never fired one, but from what I read its on par with the SA80 or Steyr AUG. The French abandoned its Silo based Missiles in 1995. But they have both aircraft launched, and submarine launched Missiles as well as convention nuclear bombs such as the Hades bomb. Where i do give the British Army standsout is on training. I think its 2nd to none on the training of its men and its officier corps. I would even go as far as to say better than the U.S on this point. Last edited by mmarsh; February 3rd, 2006 at 19:50.

February 3rd, 2006	Post 36
sven hassell Centurion	Have any of you considered the fact that the best French regiment, Their elite 2nd REP has a fair number of Englishmen(yes,Welsh,Scots and Irish included) in it . The S.A.S. or S.B.S. dont have an equivelent number of frenchmen in their ranks. __________________

February 3rd, 2006	Post 37
godofthunder9010 Tribunus Laticlavius Gear	mmarsh A comment on combat experience: The French may have seen more combat since WW2, but only things as recent as 10-15 years are where you gain usable Vetran experience to your Armed Forces. I don't keep track of France's military endeavors, so there may have been something major within that timeframe, but I'm not aware of any. Last edited by godofthunder9010; February 3rd, 2006 at 22:43.

February 8th, 2006	Post 39
MightyMacbeth I am Honor Gear	What about the Special Forces? Britain got the SAS and the Royal Marines. And France has got a few, most notably, the GIGN or something.. __________________ ~when a man does his best, what else is there? Gen.George S.Patton

February 4th, 2006	Post 38
Shadowalker Primus Pilus	Yes the french sarrier fleet is probably better than the british right now, when both have 2 carriers then i doubt there will b much between them. I believe the vanguard is larger than the French SSBN, the vanguard class is only 3000t smaller than the Ohio class. The British have the same strategy as the french for amphibious assault, i.e using helicopters, in Suez helicopters were used by both the french and british and we have built a dedicated helicopter carrier HMS Ocean. You have missed a few wars for the british army such as Oman, Malaysia, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and the Balkans where the french were to.