French Military Victories

With a history dating as far back as the Roman Empire (as the Gauls and later as the Franks), the French military exploits (and forgettable moments) can cover hundreds of years. This always-growing listing showcases the ups and downs of the French empire - the empire that established the knight as the mounted chivalric warrior, produced military tacticians such as Joan of Arc and Napoleon Bonaparte and the nation that would go on to earn military victories against many of the principalities governing Europe and the Middle East. This listing provides an indication of those victories, draws and defeats of one of the oldest regional superpowers in Europe.

NOTE: The Gauls are sometimes not considered under French victories in some publications though their tribes governed much of what is today France, and were a major cause of the Roman Army growth in that time. We have decided to include the Gauls here to offer up a complete picture of "French" power in the region. Additionally, the Franks were actually the beginnings of both the French and German peoples. As such, those victories are often claimed by both sides.

Icon Legend VICTORY Indicates a victory for France and / or combined allied forces over an opponent. DRAW Indicates a draw, meaning perhaps a tactical victory, ensuing stalemate or inconclusive result. DEFEAT Indicates a defeat or surrender for France (and corresponding allied forces) at the hands of an opponent.

Currently Tracking Victories: 109 | Draws: 10 | Defeats: 49

"...and a certain unconscious brutality of hurry and gesture in the men is related to their inexhaustible and extraordinary military courage. (…) Let a fool hate France."
- G.K. Chesterton, French and English

"The French soldiers are grand. They are grand. There is no other word to express it."
- Arthur Conan Doyle, A visit to three fronts (1916)

"Their business is war, and they do their business."
- R. Kipling, France at war (1915)

French Military Victories, Draws and Defeats

OUTCOME	YEAR	DESCRIPTION
VICTORY	387 B.C.	Battle of Allia - 387 B.C. The Gauls led by Brennus defeat the army of the Roman Republic led by Quintus Sulpicius and go on to sack Rome itself.
DEFEAT	295 B.C.	Battle of Sentinum - 295 B.C. The Gauls and Samniums under Egnatius are defeated by Decius Mus and Fabius Maximus Rullianus of the Roman Republic.
DEFEAT	224 B.C.	Battle of Telamon - 224 B.C. The out-numbered Gauls led by Concolitanus and Aneorestus are defeated by Atiliua Regulus and Aemilius Papus of the Roman Republic.
VICTORY	52 B.C.	Battle of Gergovia - 52 B.C. The Gallic Tribes led by Vercingetorix defeat the Roman Republic army of Julius Caesar.
VICTORY	486 A.D.	Battle of Soissons - 486 A.D. The Franks led by King Clovis I defeat Syagrius and the remains of the Western Roman Empire.
VICTORY	496	Battle of Tolbaic - 496 The Franks led by Clovis I are victorious over the Alamanni.
VICTORY	507	Battle of Vouille - 507 The Franks led by Clovis I defeat Alaric II (the conqueror of Spain) and his Visigoths in a decisive victory.
VICTORY	732	Battle of Tours - 732 The Franks, led by Charles Martel, decidedly defeat a large invading Muslim force
VICTORY	773	Battle of Pavia - 773 Charlemagne and his Frankish forces utterly defeat King Desiderius of the Lombards.
VICTORY	885-886	Battle for Paris - 885-886 The Franks are victorious over the invading barbarian hordes, which had lay seige to the city.
VICTORY	1047	Battle of Val-es-Dunes - 1047 William, the Duke of Normandy and King Henry I of France are victorious against the rebel Normans led by Guy of Burgundy.
VICTORY	1066	Battle of Hastings - October 14, 1066 The Normans led by William the Conquerer defeat King Harold II and his Anglo-Saxon army. William would go on to conquer all of England.
VICTORY	1097	Battle of Dorylaeum - 1097 Unified Christian Crusaders defeat the Seljuk Turks.
VICTORY	1099	Battle of Ascalon - 1099 Godfrey de Bouillon and his Crusader army defeat the Fatimids.
DEFEAT	1119	Battle of Bremule - 1119 Louis VI of France and his invasion force is defeated by Henry I of England.
VICTORY	1177	Battle of Montgisard (1177) King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald de Chatillon gain a major victory over Saladin.
DEFEAT	1198	Battle of Gisors - September 27, 1198 Richard I of England is victorious over Philip Augustus of France.
DEFEAT	1213	Battle of Damme - May 30-31, 1213 In a preemptive strike, King John of England sends William de Longespee to attack the harbor of Damme, finding only light resistance, whilst King Philip II of France and his army is away in Flanders.
VICTORY	1214	Battle of Bouvines - July 27, 1214 Philip Augustus of France overwhelmingly defeat Germany's Otto IV and Count Ferrand of Flanders.
DEFEAT	1217	Battle of Lincoln - May 20, 1217 Louis VIII of France is beaten by King Henry III of England.
DEFEAT	1340	Battle of Sluys - June 24, 1340 The English, led by Edward III of England, are victorious over the French, led by Hugues Quieret and Nicolas Behuchet.
VICTORY	1342	Battle of Morlaix - 1342 French forces beat back the attacking English and force a retreat.
DEFEAT	1345	Battle of Auberoche - October 21, 1345 The French led by Louis of Poiters are defeated by the English led by Henry, the Earl of Derby.
DEFEAT	1346	Battle of Saint-Pol-de-Leon - June 9, 1346 The House of Blois allied with France (Charles of Blois) are defeated by the House of Montfort allied with England (Sir Thomas Dagworth).
DEFEAT	1346	Battle of Caen - July 26, 1346 The French and Raoul II of Brienne lose Caen to the British and Edward III of England.
DEFEAT	1346	Battle of Blanchetaque - August 24, 1346 The French and Gudemar du Foy fail to stop the English river crossing of the Somme led by Edward III.
DEFEAT	1346	Battle of Crecy - August 26, 1346 Philip VI of France falls to Edward III of England.
DEFEAT	1347	The Siege of Calais - September 4, 1346 - August 3, 1347 The French and Jean de Fosseux surrender after nearly a year-long seige by Edward III and the English.
DEFEAT	1347	Battle of La Roche-Derrien - 1347 The French and Duke Charles of Blois are defeated by the English and Sir Thomas Dagworth.
DRAW	1349	Battle of Lunalonge - 1349 French forces force the withdrawal of the combined Anglo-Gascons.
VICTORY	1351	Battle of Ardres - 1351 French forces lead victorious over the English.
DEFEAT	1352	Battle of Mauron - 1352 The French come up losers as a combined Anglo-Breton force earns the victory.
DEFEAT	1356	Battle of Poitiers - September 19, 1356 John II of France is thoroughly beaten by Edward, the Black Prince of England.
VICTORY	1364	Battle of Cocherel - May 16, 1364 The French and Bertrand du Guesclin find victory against Charles II of Navarre.
DEFEAT	1364	Battle of Auray - September 29, 1364 Charles of Blois falls to Sir John Chandos of England and John de Montfort of France.
DEFEAT	1367	Battle of Najera - April 3, 1367 Pedro the Cruel and his English allies are victorious over brother Henry of Trastamara and his French allies.
VICTORY	1369	Battle of Montiel - 1369 The Franco-Castilian combined forces led by Henry II of Castile find victory against a conglomerate of Portuguese, Jewish, Granadine and Marinid forces led by Pedro of Castile.
VICTORY	1372	Battle of La Rochelle - June 22, 1372 The French-Castilion fleet wins control of the Channel after a decisive victory over the English.
VICTORY	1373	Battle of Chiset - 1373 French forces, whilst laying siege to Chiset, repel an English relief force.
VICTORY	1382	Battle of Roosebeke - November 27, 1382 Louis II of Flanders and Philip the Bold lay waste to Philip Van Artevelde and the Flemish.
DEFEAT	1396	Battle of Nicopolis - September 25, 1396 The French Crusaders fall to the Ottoman Turks near Nicopolis.
DEFEAT	1415	Battle of Agincourt - October 25, 1415 Jean Le Maingre and Charles d'Albret fall to Henry V of England in what would become a massacre of their men-at-arms knights.
DEFEAT	1419	Siege of Rouen - July 1418-January 1419 The city of Rouen and Guy le Bouteiller fall to the English siege.
VICTORY	1421	Battle of Bauge - March 21, 1421 A combined force from France and Scotland defeat the English in one of the earliest English defeats of the Hundred Years' War.
DEFEAT	1421	Siege of Meaux - March 21, 1421 The city of Meaux falls to the English.
DEFEAT	1423	Battle of Cravant - July 31, 1423 Comte de Vendome of France falls to Thomas Montacute of England in a renewel of English-Franco hostilities.
DEFEAT	1424	Battle of Verneuil - August 17, 1424 England and John, the Duke of Bedford, is victorious over a combined Franco-Scotish force led by Viscount Aumale.
VICTORY	1429	Siege of Orleans - October 12, 1428-May 8, 1429 Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc), Gilles de Rais and Jean d'Orleans of France defeat the Earl of Shrewsbury, the Earl of Salisbury and the Duke of Suffolk.
VICTORY	1429	Battle of Jargeau - June 11-12, 1429 Jeanne d'Arc for France leads victorious against William de la Pole of England.
VICTORY	1429	Battle of Beaugency - June 16-17, 1429 Jeanne d'Arc delivers another French victory over the English.
VICTORY	1429	Battle of Patay - June 18, 1429 La Hire and Poton de Xaintrailles of France defeat Sir John Fastolf of England, effectively turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War.
VICTORY	1429	Siege of Compiegne - June 18, 1429 Though Jeanne d'Arc is taken prisoner (and ultimately executed), the French resist the English siege from Philip the Good and John II of Luxembourg.
VICTORY	1435	Battle of Gerbevoy - 1435 French forces led by commander La Hire and Jean Poton Xaintrailles defeat the English.
DEFEAT	1444	Battle of St. Jakob an der Birs - August 26, 1444 French forces are forced to retreat at the hands of the determined Swiss Pikemen.
VICTORY	1450	Battle of Formigny - April 15, 1450 Comte de Clermont and Comte de Richemont of France defeat Thomas Kyriell of England.
VICTORY	1453	Battle of Castillon - July 17, 1453 Charles VII of France defeats John Talbot of England.
VICTORY	1509	Battle of Agnadello - 1509 French forces are decidedly victorious over the Venetians.
VICTORY	1515	Battle of Marignano - 1515 Francis I and his French forces defeat the Swiss.
VICTORY	1544	Battle of Ceresole - 1544 French forces defeat the Spanish Imperial Army.
VICTORY	1643	Battle of Rocroi - 1643 French forces are victorious over the Spanish.
VICTORY	1645	Battle of Nordlingen - 1645 French forces are victorious over an army fielded by the Holy Roman Empire.
VICTORY	1648	Battle of Lens - 1648 French forces, once again, defeat the Holy Roman Empire's Imperial fielding.
VICTORY	1658	Battle of Dunes - 1658 A combined Anglo-French army is victorious over the Spanish.
VICTORY	1690	Battle of Fleurus - 1690 This naval battle sees the French victorious over the Anglo-Dutch.
VICTORY	1690	Battle of Beachy Head - 1690 Another naval battle sees the French victorious over their Anglo-Dutch counterparts.
VICTORY	1693	Battle of Landen - 1693 Marshal Luxembourg and his French forces decidedly defeat an Anglo-Dutch contingent.
DEFEAT	1708	Battle of Oudenarde - July 11, 1708 The Duke of Burgundy and the Duc de Vendome fall to the coalition of nations between Britain, the Netherlands and the Holy Roman Empire.
VICTORY	1712	Battle of Denain - 1712 French forces led by Marshal Villars are victorious over the Austrian and Dutch forces.
VICTORY	1742	April 20th, 1742 French forces successfully take Eger.
DEFEAT	1743	Battle of Dettingen - June 16th, 1743 As the War of Austrian Succession, an alliance of British, Hanover and Hesse forces defeat the French Army.
VICTORY	1745	Battle of Fontenoy - May 11th, 1745 Maurice de Saxe and his French army defeat a contingent of Anglo-Austrian-Dutch-Hano troops.
VICTORY	1746	Battle of Roucoux - 1746 Maurice de Saxe is once again victorious over the Anglo-Austrian-Dutch-Hano forces.
VICTORY	1747	Battle of Lauffeld - 1747 Maurice de Saxe is, yet again, victorious over the Anglo-Austrian-Dutch-Hano forces.
VICTORY	1747	April 20th, 1756 The Galissonniere at Minorca secure the landing of Richelieu by defeating the British Navy led by Admiral Byng.
VICTORY	1757	Battle of Hastenbeck - 1757 French forces in Germany defeat an English army.
VICTORY	1758	Battle of Carillon - 1758 General Montcalm and his vastly outnumbered French forces are victorious over the British.
VICTORY	1781	Battle of Yorktown - 1781 French forces, allied with the Americans, are victorious over Cornwallis and his English army.
VICTORY	1781	Battle of the Chesapeake - September 5, 1781 France, coming the aid of America's George Washington, defeats the British in a strategic victory.
VICTORY	1792	Battle of Valmy - September 20, 1792 France defeats the invading armies of Prussia and Austria.
VICTORY	1794	Battle of Fleurus - 1794 Jourdan and his French forces are victorious over the Austrians.
VICTORY	1794	Battle of the Vosges - July 13, 1794 France defeats a coalition of Prussian, Austrian and Saxon troops.
VICTORY	1796	April 21st, 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte is victorious over the Piedmontese in Mondovi.
VICTORY	1796	Battle of Lodi - 1796 The French beat back another force of Austrians.
VICTORY	1796	Battle of Castiglione - 1796 The French are victorious over the Austrians yet again.
VICTORY	1796	Battle of the Bridge of Arcole - November 17, 1796 Napoleon Bonaparte I of France leads victorious over the Austrians.
VICTORY	1797	Battle of Diersheim, April 20th, 1797 French General Moreau is victorious against Austrian General Staray.
VICTORY	1797	Battle of Rivoli - 1797 Napoleon's French forces win over the Austrian forces once again.
VICTORY	1798	Battle of the Pyramids - 1798 French forces route Egyptian Mamelukes.
VICTORY	1799	Battle of Mount Tabor - 1799 Outnumbered French forces decimate a much larger Turkish force.
DEFEAT	1799	Battle of Trebia - June 19, 1799 French General Macdonald loses to the Russians led by General Suvorov.
DEFEAT	1799	Battle of Novi - August 15, 1799 General Barthelemy Catherine Joubert loses to the combined forces of Austria and Russia led by Fieldmarshal Alexander Suvorov.
VICTORY	1799	Battle of Abukir - 1799 Napoleon's French forces defeat another Turkish force in Egypt.
VICTORY	1799	Second Battle of Zurich - 1799 Massena and his French force routes the Russians in Switzerland.
VICTORY	1800	Battle of Marengo - 1800 Napoleon's French forces are victorious over Melas and his Austrians.
VICTORY	1800	Battle of Hohenlinden - December 3, 1800 A decisive French victory by General Moreau over the Austrian Empire led by Archduke John.
DEFEAT	1803	Haitian Independence - November 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte's army, led by Charles LeClerc is defeated by the Haitian indigenous army, led by Dessalines.
DEFEAT	1805	Battle of Trafalgar - October 21, 1805 Pierre Charles Silvestre de Villeneuve and his combined Franco-Spanish fleet of 33 ships is defeated by Viscount Horatio Nelson and his smaller band of 27 British ships in this decisive naval battle of the Napoleonic Wars.
VICTORY	1805	Battle of Austerlitz - December 2, 1805 Napoleon I of France is decidedly victorious over Russia and the Austrian Empire.
VICTORY	1806	Battle of Jena - 1806 The French beat the Prussians.
VICTORY	1806	Battle of Jena-Auerstedt - October 14, 1806 Napoleon I of France is victorious over Frederick William III of Prussia.
DRAW	1806	Battle of Pultusk - December 26, 1806 Marshal Lannes of France leads against General Bennigsen of Russia in this inconclusive engagement.
DRAW	1807	Battle of Eylau - February 7-8, 1807 The battle results are inconclusive as Napoleon of France combating the powers of Russia and Prussia led by Bennigsen.
VICTORY	1807	Battle of Friedland - June 14, 1807 Napoleon Bonaparte is victorious against General Bennigsen's Russians.
DEFEAT	1808	Battle of Bailen - July 18-22, 1808 Pierre DuPont of France loses to Francisco Castanos of Spain.
VICTORY	1808	Battle of Tudela - November 23, 1808 Jean Lannes of France is victorious over Francisco Castanos of Spain.
VICTORY	1809	Battle of Ucles - January 13, 1809 General Victor of France is victorious over General Venegas of Spain.
VICTORY	1809	April 21st, 1809 Napoleon Bonaparte defeats Austrian forces in Landshut.
DRAW	1809	Battle of Corunna - January 16, 1809 Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult is unable to prevent the British evacuation of British troops from Spain led by englishman John Moore.
DEFEAT	1809	Battle of Aspern-Essling - May 22, 1809 In Napoleon's first major defeat, he loses out to the determined Austrians under Archduke Charles.
VICTORY	1809	Battle of Ciudad-Real - March 27, 1809 A French victory for General Sebastiani against Spain under direction from General Cartojal.
VICTORY	1809	April 20th, 1809 Napoleon and his French forces are victorious over the Austrians in Abensberg.
VICTORY	1809	Battle of Eckmuhl - April 21st, 1809 The French under Davout defeat Archduke Charles and his Austrian army.
VICTORY	1809	Battle of Wagram - July 5-6, 1809 A decisive victory for Napoleon Bonaparte over Austria's Archduke Charles.
VICTORY	1809	Battle of Medellin - 1809 Marshal Victor and his French troops decidedly defeat Cuesta and his Spanish army.
VICTORY	1809	Battle of Ocana - 1809 Marshal Soult and his outnumbered French forces crush the Spanish army yet again.
VICTORY	1810	April 21st, 1810 The French win a victory in Astorga.
DEFEAT	1811	Battle of Albuera - May 16, 1811 France led by Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult falls to the coalition of nations made up of Britain, Portugal and Spain.
DEFEAT	1812	Battle of Badajoz - March 16-April 6, 1812 Surrender and retreat by the French garrison to a force of Anglo-Portuguese is one of the bloodiest sieges of the Napoleonic Wars.
DEFEAT	1812	Battle of Salamanca - July 22, 1812 A major French defeat for Auguste Marmont against the Anglo-Portuguese-Spanish Alliance.
VICTORY	1812	Battle of Smolensk - August 17, 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte of France is victorious against Russia led by Prince Bagration.
VICTORY	1812	Battle of Borodino - September 7, 1812 Napoleon Bonaparte of the First French Empire is victorious against Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov of the Russian Empire.
DRAW	1812	Battle of Maloyaroslavets - October 24, 1812 General Delzons of France claims a victory over the Russians led by Marshal Kutuzov. Russians claim a strategic victory. Napoleon's stepson Eugene de Beauharnais is involved in the battle.
VICTORY	1813	Battle of Dresden - 1813 The outnumbered French route a larger multi-national contingent.
VICTORY	1813	Battle of Lutzen - May 2, 1813 Napoleon I of France is victorious against Germany's Gebhard von Blucher, Peter Wittgenstein and Gerhard von Scharnhorst
DEFEAT	1813	Battle of Vitoria - June 21, 1813 France led by Jean-Baptiste Jourdan and Joseph Bonaparte lose out to the Anglo-Spanish coalition led by Arthur Wellesley
DEFEAT	1813	Battle of Klum - August 30, 1813 General Dominique Vandamme of France loses to the allied forces of Austria, Russia, and Prussian led by Field-Marshal Barclay de Tolly.
DEFEAT	1813	Battle of Leipzig - October 16-19, 1813 Napoleon I of France loses decisively to the coalition of Britain, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Prussia, Austria, Sweden and several German states.
VICTORY	1814	Battle of Vauchamps - February 14, 1814 Napoleon and his band of 18,000 Frenchmen defeat 30,000 Prussian troops in the final battle of the Six Days Campaign.
VICTORY	1815	Battle of Ligny - 1815 Standing as Napoleon's final victory, French forces find success over the Prussians.
DEFEAT	1815	Battle of Waterloo - June 18, 1815 In Napoleon's last battle, he loses out to a coalition consisting of England, Russia, Austria and Prussia.
VICTORY	1823	Battle of Trocadero - 1823 The French defeat the Spanish.
VICTORY	1827	Battle of Navarino - October 20, 1827 A coalition force of French, British, Irish, Italian, Belgium, United States, Dutch and Russian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire and Egypt in this large-scale sea battle.
VICTORY	1830	Invasion of Algeria - 1830 French forces invade and conquer the North African country of Algeria.
VICTORY	1854	Battle of Balaclava - October 25, 1854 A coalition of French, British and Turkish troops defeat Russia during this Crimean War engagement.
VICTORY	1855	Battle of Malakoff - 1855 French forces help in overtaking the Russians.
VICTORY	1859	Battle of Solferino - 1859 The French are victorious over the Austrians.
DEFEAT	1870	Battle of Worth - August 6, 1870 Patrice MacMahon of France falls to Crown Prince Frederich Wilhelm.
DRAW	1870	Battle of Gravelotte - August 18, 1870 The battle results in a draw as Francois Achille Bazaine of France secures a tactical victory and Helmuth von Moltke of Prussia secures a strategic victory.
DEFEAT	1870	Battle of Sedan - September 1, 1870 Napoleon III, Patrice MacMahon and Auguste-Alexandre Ducrot of France fall to the Germans led by Wilhelm I and Helmuth von Moltke.
VICTORY	1884	Battle of Foochow - 1884 French navy forces utterly destroy the Chinese navy.
VICTORY	1914	First Battle of the Marne - 1914 In a battle of millions, Anglo-French forces defeat the Germans.
DEFEAT	1914	Battle of the Frontiers - August 14-24, 1914 French and British forces fall to the Germans.
DEFEAT	1914	Battle of the Ardennes - August 21-23, 1914 France, led by Pierre Ruffey and Fernand de Langle de Cary lose to Germany and Albrecht, the Duke of Wurttemberg and Crown Prince Wilhelm.
VICTORY	1914	Togoland - August 26, 1914 A Franco-British force successfully invades the German West African protectorate of Togoland.
VICTORY	1914	First Battle of the Marne - September 5-10, 1914 A Franco-British force led by Joseph Joffre and John French defeat Germany led by Helmuth von Moltke and Karl von Bulow.
DRAW	1914	First Battle of the Aisne - September 12-15, 1914 French and British troop actions end in a draw with the Germans.
VICTORY	1914	Battle of Ypres - October 19-November 22, 1914 French and British forces gain a victory against Germany.
DRAW	1915	Third Battle of Artois - September 15-November 4, 1915 France and Britain earn a draw against Germany and Crown Prince Rupprecht.
VICTORY	1916	Battle of Verdun - 1916 Casualties mount on both sides but French forces push back the German tide.
DRAW	1916	Battle of the Somme - July 1, 1916-November 18, 1916 The battle, like many others in World War I, results in a draw between French forces and German forces.
VICTORY	1917	Battle of Vimy Ridge - April 9-12, 1917 Though not fought by French forces, the combined Canadian and British forces gain the advantage against the Germans on French soil.
DEFEAT	1917	Second Battle of the Aisne - April 16-May 9, 1917 French forces led by Robert Neville fall to Germany and Fritz von Below.
VICTORY	1918	Second Battle of the Marne - 1918 A lead-French force beats back the German advance with help from British, Italian and American forces.
DRAW