I did say they "did get beat sometimes" -- but yes, that's a pretty interesting idea. But then -- had they won a significant part of North America, would the events of the 20th century have happened as they did? and AngryAmerican -- you should care about them -- not only are they a next-door neighbor, but are a large enough population to make them something to watch.

Crecy, Poitiers, Agincourt - the French didn't have it all their own way in Western Europe before Waterloo... I did say that at the time of the Battle of Puebla, the French had the largest, best-equipped army in the world. Puebla was a fluke, and the French went on the conquer Mexico and install a puppet Emperor to rule there. There are theories that the French hoped to use Mexico as a staging ground to move north in support of the Confederacy during the US Civil War. They supposedly wanted to split the United States in order to prevent the rise of a New World military power that was greater than they were. Good thing they didn't succeed, given 20th-century events...

OK, it's funny, though it's French-bashing - but it's true, at least the part about the military victory. On 5 May, 1862, Mexican forces defeated a French army at the battle of Puebla; however, the French - who at the time had the largest, best-equipped army in the world - went on to conquer Mexico, installing Archduke Maximilian of Austria on the throne of the Second Mexican Empire, which lasted until 1867. Cinco de Mayo is a minor holiday in Mexico; it is celebrated in the United States as a Mexican-American cultural holiday.