In 1914, the French went into World War I with the hidebound belief that their National temperament made them irresistible when they flung themselves upon the enemy with bayonets outstretched. This legend of French elan had been exposed in 1870 when it had owed its existence to the politically easily won victories of 1859 against the Austrians in Italy. Before that, French successes in the Crimea against the moribund Russians had been based upon triumphs over courageous but ill-armed Arab in North Africa. But the shaky edifice rested on Grande Armee traditions that owed much to the moral ascendancy of Napoleon over the leaders and armies of discouraged European nations. Back to Table of Contents -- Wargamer's Newsletter # 163 To Wargamer's Newsletter List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1975 by Donald Featherstone. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com