"Tu n'iras pas plus loin" monument

[Reverend Conehead]

I would like to visit Barcy, France. It's a small town, but it's of great historical importance. In World War I, the German's had advanced into France and were confident they would go all the way to Paris and win the war. However, what happened was the French army stopped them at Barcy. They never advanced any farther for the rest of the war, and, as you know, Germany lost. In Barcy, the French erected a monument where German troops were stopped by French forces. The statue's caption is “Tu n'iras pas plus loin,” which translates to, “You will go no farther.” Here's a page where you can see it:

http://www.prierenfamille.com/index...article&id=1293:tuniraspasplusloin&Itemid=484

It's in French, but you'll still be able to see the photos, and you can always use Google translate.

In searching the web for info on WWI, I came across a list of French soldiers who died in a battle. One had the first name of Pierre and my last name. My last name is a somewhat unusual German last name, and I do have a great uncle who left Switzerland and immigrated to France. So that French soldier with my last name might be related to me. I need to do further research to find out if he is. If that's the case, then that “Tu n'iras pas plus loin” monument is even more meaningful to me. Because of my great uncle who moved to France, I do have relatives in that country, but I've never met them. I'm doing research to try to find them. It's one of my goals to find them and then visit that country to meet them. For the past 4 years approximately I've been learning French and am at about an upper intermediate level. I still have plenty of room for improvement, but my French is definitely good enough to communicate well. This would be a big deal for me because my grandfather somehow lost contact with his brother in France. Over the years our family has kept in contact with our Swiss relatives, but we've lost contact with the French ones. It would be huge if I could reestablish contact with them. For all I know, I may be related to a French soldier who helped to stop the German advance at Barcy. I do have an uncle who fought in the Pacific for the US against Japan. On my mom's side of the family, a family member fought for the Union at Fredericksburg, and possibly some other battles, but we don't know for sure.

Wish me luck in finding out more info about my French relatives and maybe getting to meet them. Maybe some of them could even go with me to the “Tu n'iras pas plus loin” monument.

 

[Ranching]

I like French fries.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Sorry but no disrespect to you or your heritage but the first thing I thought of was the old joke about a French Army rifle for sale.

 

[arglebargle]

The French and the Americans are often at loggerheads because each is absolutely convinced that they are the center of the universe.

Great family history research. Hope it works out well.

 

[haleyrules]

Sorry but no disrespect to you or your heritage but the first thing I thought of was the old joke about a French Army rifle for sale.

Or the French Battle Flag.....being a bedsheet!! lol.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

Or the French Battle Flag.....being a bedsheet!! lol.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

All right, I need to address some misconceptions that Americans often have about the French. This is intended as a respectful rebuttal, not an attempt at any kind of flame war. Because of the events of the two world wars, many Americans have the impression that the French do a poor job defending their country. The truth is the French have a proud military tradition and have put tremendous effort into defending their country. They've never lazily left it up to other countries. In fact, it's a big reason why we won the American Revolution. Yes, General Washington won battles against the odds by being a good tactician, but that would not have been enough without the backing of the French Navy.

In World War I, the French did not lay down and die. In fact, as I wrote in my original post, they successfully stopped the German invasion at Barcy. We did repay them the favor of help in our revolution, and they had help from the British also, but it was primarily French soldiers that stopped the Germans at Barcy. Germany at the time was a formidable fighting force, and for a long time it looked like Germany would win. Even so, the French stood up to them successfully in the First World War.

After World War I, the French vigorously prepared to defend itself from another German invasion. They poured massive resources into a defense system named the Maginot Line. It was along the border with Germany and was heavily fortified. It was a strategy that ended up failing, mainly because the strategy was based on World War I technology and didn't take into account Germany's new Blitzkrieg strategy. If France is guilty of anything, it's of demanding that the treaty ending World War I be too punitive and of using dated military strategy. Most French soldiers themselves were not guilty of being cowards who threw down their guns and ran at the first sign of trouble. That's a stereotype, and an unfair one.

**** Germany was the world's superpower at the time. It was so powerful, it took an alliance of multiple countries to stop them. It is not realistic to expect France alone to have been able to stop them. We didn't stop them alone either. The defeat of the Third Reich was a collaboration of multiple countries, including the US, the USSR, Britain, Canada, Australia, the Free French, and others. Another truth: France stood up to the ***** when we didn't. In 1939 when the ***** invaded Poland, it was France and Great Britain who declared war on them while we remained neutral. The Soviet Union stayed out of it at first as well. Stalin had a peace treaty with Hitler (one that Hitler broke later).

Again, I'm not writing this to be a jerk or to bash people. I just wanted to rebut the unfounded stereotype of the French being too lazy to defend their country. The truth is, they've been militarily successful throughout most of their history, especially under Napoleon. Their World War I strategy worked. Their World War II strategy didn't work at the time, but any country would have struggled against the **** Blitzkrieg. Their strategies worked well in our own revolutionary war, helping us get our independence. I understand that those were jokes, but the sub-text of the jokes about the French being too lazy to defend their country is about as far from the truth as it can be, and is therefore one we should just discard.

 

[robbieruff]

All right, I need to address some misconceptions that Americans often have about the French. This is intended as a respectful rebuttal, not an attempt at any kind of flame war. Because of the events of the two world wars, many Americans have the impression that the French do a poor job defending their country. The truth is the French have a proud military tradition and have put tremendous effort into defending their country. They've never lazily left it up to other countries. In fact, it's a big reason why we won the American Revolution. Yes, General Washington won battles against the odds by being a good tactician, but that would not have been enough without the backing of the French Navy.

In World War I, the French did not lay down and die. In fact, as I wrote in my original post, they successfully stopped the German invasion at Barcy. We did repay them the favor of help in our revolution, and they had help from the British also, but it was primarily French soldiers that stopped the Germans at Barcy. Germany at the time was a formidable fighting force, and for a long time it looked like Germany would win. Even so, the French stood up to them successfully in the First World War.

After World War I, the French vigorously prepared to defend itself from another German invasion. They poured massive resources into a defense system named the Maginot Line. It was along the border with Germany and was heavily fortified. It was a strategy that ended up failing, mainly because the strategy was based on World War I technology and didn't take into account Germany's new Blitzkrieg strategy. If France is guilty of anything, it's of demanding that the treaty ending World War I be too punitive and of using dated military strategy. Most French soldiers themselves were not guilty of being cowards who threw down their guns and ran at the first sign of trouble. That's a stereotype, and an unfair one.

**** Germany was the world's superpower at the time. It was so powerful, it took an alliance of multiple countries to stop them. It is not realistic to expect France alone to have been able to stop them. We didn't stop them alone either. The defeat of the Third Reich was a collaboration of multiple countries, including the US, the USSR, Britain, Canada, Australia, the Free French, and others. Another truth: France stood up to the ***** when we didn't. In 1939 when the ***** invaded Poland, it was France and Great Britain who declared war on them while we remained neutral. The Soviet Union stayed out of it at first as well. Stalin had a peace treaty with Hitler (one that Hitler broke later).

Again, I'm not writing this to be a jerk or to bash people. I just wanted to rebut the unfounded stereotype of the French being too lazy to defend their country. The truth is, they've been militarily successful throughout most of their history, especially under Napoleon. Their World War I strategy worked. Their World War II strategy didn't work at the time, but any country would have struggled against the **** Blitzkrieg. Their strategies worked well in our own revolutionary war, helping us get our independence. I understand that those were jokes, but the sub-text of the jokes about the French being too lazy to defend their country is about as far from the truth as it can be, and is therefore one we should just discard.

Au courage! Vive La France! J'espere que votre recherche produit des résultats!

 

[JoeKing]

I've been a student of history my whole life and as such I salute you. Your telling of the French is accurate. America would not be America today without them but as you said, we did repay the favor.

I've had the pleasure of traveling through out Europe. About 10 years ago I traveled to Paris with some German friends of mine. We had a splendid time of it until we were at one tavern where the bar keep was curiously inquiring where every one was from. After I told the man I was from America, the civility in that establishment completely changed. Customer service when out the window and my friends and I were encouraged to go out the door. We took the not so subtle hint and left. We finally found another drinking establishment were my broken German became became much better. It still puzzles me why the French treat Americans so poorly. I respect the French and admire their long proud history.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

I've been a student of history my whole life and as such I salute you. Your telling of the French is accurate. America would not be America today without them but as you said, we did repay the favor.

I've had the pleasure of traveling through out Europe. About 10 years ago I traveled to Paris with some German friends of mine. We had a splendid time of it until we were at one tavern where the bar keep was curiously inquiring where every one was from. After I told the man I was from America, the civility in that establishment completely changed. Customer service when out the window and my friends and I were encouraged to go out the door. We took the not so subtle hint and left. We finally found another drinking establishment were my broken German became became much better. It still puzzles me why the French treat Americans so poorly. I respect the French and admire their long proud history.

I'm told Paris is France's rude city, much like NYC is our rude one, and that you'll meet much nicer people in other parts of the country.

 

[JoeKing]

I'm told Paris is France's rude city, much like NYC is our rude one, and that you'll meet much nicer people in other parts of the country.

Noted my friend. I haven't given up on the French. I'm planning another European trip next summer but Paris is not on the itinerary. I hear good things about Strasbourg.

 

[Silver Surfer]

..... One had the first name of Pierre and my last name. ......

Wish me luck in finding out more info about my French relatives and maybe getting to meet them. Maybe some of them could even go with me to the “Tu n'iras pas plus loin” monument.

Must be cool to see the name Pierre Conehead listed among the soldiers.

If you're trying to find some relatives, you should start with the French phonebook. There's probably not a lot of Coneheads in there; so chances are if you see a listing, you're related. Hope this helps.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

Must be cool to see the name Pierre Conehead listed among the soldiers.

If you're trying to find some relatives, you should start with the French phonebook. There's probably not a lot of Coneheads in there; so chances are if you see a listing, you're related. Hope this helps.

LOL. Thanks for the tip, although "Conehead" is not my real last name. I have a German-sounding last name since my grandparents were Swiss. It's an unusual name, so that might help. I also know the married name of the daughter of my Great Uncle who moved to France. It is a little bizarre to see Pierre + German last name as a soldier fighting for France. Stranger things have happened. Hitler's nephew, William Patrick Hitler, immigrated to the US and fought for the US Navy against his uncle, whom he despised.

 

[YosemiteSam]

I'm told Paris is France's rude city, much like NYC is our rude one, and that you'll meet much nicer people in other parts of the country.

France is a rude city, I've been there.

That said, Dallas is far worse than NYC in the rude category. (I've live in the NYC area for 12 years and I lved in D/FW for well over 30 years) Dallas is overflowing with ***holes.

 

[Them]

.Good luck in you quest Conehead!.....

 

[Reverend Conehead]

France is a rude city, I've been there.

That said, Dallas is far worse than NYC in the rude category. (I've live in the NYC area for 12 years and I lved in D/FW for well over 30 years) Dallas is overflowing with ***holes.

sorry to hear that about Dallas. I've always thought of Texas as the land of very friendly and polite people, at least that's how it was for me as a kid growing up in a small Texas town.

 

[YosemiteSam]

sorry to hear that about Dallas. I've always thought of Texas as the land of very friendly and polite people, at least that's how it was for me as a kid growing up in a small Texas town.

If you leave the big towns and go into the country. You can walk down the street and people you don't even know would invite you in for dinner. It's the jerks in the bigger cities that are the problem.

 

[Reverend Conehead]

If you leave the big towns and go into the country. You can walk down the street and people you don't even know would invite you in for dinner. It's the jerks in the bigger cities that are the problem.

Good to know, thanks.