Don - You've clearly been lucky enough not to be within earshot of the ignorant people (or the ignorant periodicals) of which I am speaking, people who enjoy characterizing the French as cowards and who rave on about "freedom fries" when they are under stress. ;-)

There is a similar myth, by the way, about Italian cowardice in WWII, and that one was created by Allied propaganda. The Italian soldiers, airmen, and naval personnel generally fought with great courage....but their country was lacking in some vital things which you need in wartime:

1. intelligent leadership
2. a large enough economy to fight that war effectively
3. enough modern and competitive equipment

Their navy was courageous and had fine ships, but it lacked radar, and it lacked aircraft carriers and a naval aviation arm. This rendered it extremely vulnerable in the Battle of the Mediterranean. It also lacked sufficient fuel to conduct operations after about the halfway point in the conflict, so the ships mostly sat helplessly in harbour after that.

Their air force again was very courageous in combat, but many of the Italian aircraft were obsolescent, and the more modern planes they had were not available in sufficient numbers.

Their army was courageous on an individual basis, but they lacked the modern equipment they needed to win battles. Their tanks were hopelessly outclassed by the Allied tanks. Their artillery was not adequate.

The presence of the German Afrika Korps alongside the Italian army gave the Italians much-needed assistance, as the German equipment was far superior, but it wasn't enough in the end...as we all know.

*****

The MCC song about the southern town is a really beautiful song, captures the feel of those sleepy towns perfectly.