The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 6, Issue 1, Winter 2017 | Page 14

1914 at Mons, the British would make a two hundred plus mile retreat under their
commander Field Marshall Sir John French to the sea. Historically, from the
Hundred Years’ War onward, the British Army used the Royal Navy as an escape
valve. The climax of the hatred sowed during the Hundred Years’ War came with
Operation Catapult, the Battle of Mers-el-Kébir. On 3 July 1940, the Royal Navy
bombarded the French Fleet at its Algerian base of Mers El Kébir. This action by
Prime Minister Winston Churchill against his former ally of less than a month
before caused the death of the hundreds of French sailors and cemented the French
view of Perfidious Albion. Even with the recent Brexit vote by the British, it is
possible to see traces of this still simmering dislike of the British for continental
entanglements.
Ultimately, it is difficult to conceive that the Hundred Years’ War could
have ended with any different result other than England’s expulsion from France.
Much like the Third Reich’s gamble to conquer Europe, England—like the Third
Reich—was simply over taxed in terms of its resources. It lacked the manpower to
hold France, as the available manpower in England simply was not enough to
conquer and hold the domain of France. Unlike the later British Empire, the
English did not have a technological prowess that gave them a force multiplier. No,
the sides were equal in the technology of arms. With the early death of Henry V,
England lost its best and perhaps only opportunity to bend France to its knee.
Henry died of dysentery a month before Charles VII died, meaning that Henry
would have succeeded to the throne of both England and France, a consequence of
the earlier Peace Treaty of Troyes. It would be interesting to speculate what could
have happened had Henry not died and instead had twenty strong years as regent of
both France and England. However, his death coupled with the rise of the Maid of
Orleans—who in her short lifetime gave France a holy mission—brought forth a
new France, a France for the French. Vercingetorix’s dream of a united Gaul may
have died at Alesia, but from Orleans arose a new France and its monarchy began
to move out of the Feudal Period.
Conclusion
Much like the Third Reich, England won all the famed battles. It was like
the heady days of 1941-1942 for the German Heer in Russia—crushing all in its
path. Agincourt, Crecy, Poitiers . . . yet like the Heer, the English were vanquished.
The world of the English in France fell. In its loss of World War One, Imperial
Germany focused on the reason for its loss both externally and internally. Never
beaten on the battlefield, Germany propagated the myth that it was defeated due to
the stab in the back, wielded by leftists and Jews, who poisoned the German body
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