> The trenches of WWI were horrific, and the slaughter unimaginable. <
Yes, indeed. The average French soldier performed heroically in WW 1.
But he was poorly lead.
The average French soldier performed heroically in WW 2.
But again, he was poorly lead.
The unfortunate (and false) narrative of French cowardice comes from France’s quick collapse in 1940. That had nothing to do with the average French soldier. France was simply beat by superior German strategy.
As strange as it sounds, thank god they did, or all of Europe would have been under the Soviet boot.