Musée de l'Armée

We breezed through the Museum of the Army in a couple hours, concentrating on the more recent stuff. Knowing a bit of military history--well, knowing your own country's version or versions--always makes for interesting experiences. I have been looking at war museums here and there for many years, but I think it has been since 1979 that I was at the Musee de l'Armee here in Paris. I was pleased with the coverage, extensiveness, fairness, and willingness to address some of the difficult parts of the story. Here are a few of the scores of pix I took.

They lost the Franco-Prussian War largely because they were still wearing silly hats

1890s nationalistic board game 

One of the Paris taxis commandeered for the Battle of the Marne; their
importance in the battle has been exaggerated,the display said

Rifles developed for trench warfare; "over the top" meant something very
different then

The account of American involvement in WWI was generous,
I thought

War posters were everywhere and good; propaganda is always
a big part of the story for me

Thus

Then came another war

And another hero emerged

After France's surrender, the French fleet withdrew to neutral or African ports;
Churchill  feared it would eventually fall into German hands, and, after due
warning, ordered it sunk

Axis depiction of Churchill after the above; thousands of
French were killed and the wounds between allies took some
time to heal

There is ample attention to the American war effort, in the Pacific as well as
in Europe; here, a great model of the old carrier Enterprise, c. 1944 (Grumman
Avenger torpedo bombers and Curtis-Wright Helldiver bombers ready for
take-off), somewhere in the central Pacific

Rome, not Tipperary

One of those episodes you hear rather less about sometimes: in 1942, 6,000
Canadian troops were sent to land and attack the fortified Normandy port of
Dieppe; the point and purpose of all this is rather shrouded in military and
political history and intrigue; half the Canadians were killed or captured, the
other half barely got back to Britain; more unhappiness among the allies;
Churchill was in Moscow trying desperately to keep Russia in the war

Two years later, over Normandy

Liberation of Paris