Troop quality, leadership, and France's defeat

Calling Allied troops poor also diminishes the quality of the German soldiers who had to overcome them. British, French, and German formations could all fight effectively even when senior commanders placed them badly or pursued flawed strategy. In France, communications weaknesses, senior leaders' expectation of defeat, and the scars left by the First World War mattered more than any failure of ordinary French soldiers. The troops continued fighting hard while knowing that their positions could not be held indefinitely, which separates institutional failure from battlefield courage.