Franco-Polish alliance
The Franco-Polish Alliance was the military alliance between Poland and France that was active between the early 1920s and the outbreak of the Second World War. The initial agreements were signed in February 1921 and formally took effect in 1923. During the interwar period the alliance with Poland was one of the cornerstones of French foreign policy.
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- Revolutions of 1917–1923
- Aftermath of World War I 1918–1939
- Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War 1918–1925
- Province of the Sudetenland 1918–1920
- 1918–1920 unrest in Split
- Soviet westward offensive of 1918–1919
- Heimosodat 1918–1922
- Austro-Slovene conflict in Carinthia 1918–1919
- Hungarian–Romanian War 1918–1919
- Hungarian–Czechoslovak War 1918–1919
- 1919 Egyptian Revolution
- Christmas Uprising 1919
- Irish War of Independence 1919
- Comintern World Congresses 1919–1935
- Treaty of Versailles 1919
- Shandong Problem 1919–1922
- Polish–Soviet War 1919–1921
- Polish–Czechoslovak War 1919
- Polish–Lithuanian War 1919–1920
- Silesian Uprisings 1919–1921
- Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye 1919
- Turkish War of Independence 1919–1923
- Venizelos–Tittoni agreement 1919
- Italian Regency of Carnaro 1919–1920
- Iraqi Revolt 1920
- Treaty of Trianon 1920
- Vlora War 1920
- Treaty of Rapallo 1920
- Little Entente 1920–1938
- Treaty of Tartu (Finland–Russia) 1920–1938
- Mongolian Revolution of 1921
- Soviet intervention in Mongolia 1921–1924
- Uprising in West Hungary 1921–1922
- Franco-Polish alliance 1921–1940
- Polish–Romanian alliance 1921–1939
- Genoa Conference (1922)
- Treaty of Rapallo (1922)
- March on Rome 1922
- Sun–Joffe Manifesto 1923
- Corfu incident 1923
- Occupation of the Ruhr 1923–1925
- Treaty of Lausanne 1923–1924
- Mein Kampf 1925
- Second Italo-Senussi War 1923–1932
- First United Front 1923–1927
- Dawes Plan 1924
- Treaty of Rome (1924)
- Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention 1925
- German–Polish customs war 1925–1934
- Treaty of Nettuno 1925
- Locarno Treaties 1925
- Anti-Fengtian War 1925–1926
- Treaty of Berlin (1926)
- May Coup (Poland) 1926
- Northern Expedition 1926–1928
- Nanking incident of 1927
- Chinese Civil War 1927–1937
- Jinan incident 1928
- Huanggutun incident 1928
- Italo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1928
- Chinese reunification 1928
- Lateran Treaty 1928
- Central Plains War 1929–1930
- Young Plan 1929
- Sino-Soviet conflict (1929)
- Great Depression 1929
- London Naval Treaty 1930
- Kumul Rebellion 1931–1934
- Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931
- Pacification of Manchukuo 1931–1942
- January 28 incident 1932
- Soviet–Japanese border conflicts 1932–1939
- Geneva Conference 1932–1934
- May 15 incident 1932
- Lausanne Conference of 1932
- Soviet–Polish Non-Aggression Pact 1932
- Soviet–Finnish Non-Aggression Pact 1932
- Proclamation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 1932
- Defense of the Great Wall 1933
- Battle of Rehe 1933
- Nazis' rise to power in Germany 1933
- Reichskonkordat 1933
- Tanggu Truce 1933
- Italo-Soviet Pact 1933
- Inner Mongolian Campaign 1933–1936
- Austrian Civil War 1934
- Balkan Pact 1934–1940
- July Putsch 1934
- German–Polish declaration of non-aggression 1934–1939
- Baltic Entente 1934–1939
- 1934 Montreux Fascist conference
- Stresa Front 1935
- Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance 1935
- Soviet–Czechoslovakia Treaty of Mutual Assistance 1935
- He–Umezu Agreement 1935
- Anglo-German Naval Agreement 1935
- December 9th Movement
- Second Italo-Ethiopian War 1935–1936
- February 26 incident 1936
- Remilitarization of the Rhineland 1936
- Soviet-Mongolian alliance 1936
- Arab revolt in Palestine 1936–1939
- Spanish Civil War 1936–1939
- Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936
- Italo-German "Axis" protocol 1936
- Anti-Comintern Pact 1936
- Suiyuan campaign 1936
- Xi'an Incident 1936
- Second Sino-Japanese War 1937–1945
- USS Panay incident 1937
- Anschluss Mar. 1938
- 1938 Polish ultimatum to Lithuania Mar. 1938
- Easter Accords April 1938
- May Crisis May 1938
- Battle of Lake Khasan July–Aug. 1938
- Salonika Agreement July 1938
- Bled Agreement Aug. 1938
- Undeclared German–Czechoslovak War Sep. 1938
- Munich Agreement Sep. 1938
- First Vienna Award Nov. 1938
- German occupation of Czechoslovakia Mar. 1939
- Hungarian invasion of Carpatho-Ukraine Mar. 1939
- German ultimatum to Lithuania Mar. 1939
- Slovak–Hungarian War Mar. 1939
- Final offensive of the Spanish Civil War Mar.–Apr. 1939
- Danzig crisis Mar.–Aug. 1939
- British guarantee to Poland Mar. 1939
- Italian invasion of Albania Apr. 1939
- Soviet–British–French Moscow negotiations Apr.–Aug. 1939
- Pact of Steel May 1939
- Battles of Khalkhin Gol May–Sep. 1939
- Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact Aug. 1939
- Invasion of Poland Sep. 1939
Background
During the France-Habsburg rivalry, which began in the 16th century, France tried to find allies to the east of Austria, hoping to ally with Poland. Polish King Jan III Sobieski also had the intention to ally with France against the threat of Austria, but the greater threat posed by the Muslim-led Ottoman Empire made him fight for the Christian cause in the Battle of Vienna. In the 18th century, Poland was partitioned by Russia, Prussia and Austria, but Napoleon recreated the Polish state in the Duchy of Warsaw. With the rise of a united German Empire in the 19th century, France and Poland found a new common enemy.
Interwar period
During the Polish–Soviet War of 1920, France, one of the most active supporters of Poland, sent the French Military Mission to Poland to aid the Polish army. In early February in Paris, three pacts were discussed by Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski and French President Alexandre Millerand: political, military and economic.
The political alliance was signed there on February 19, 1921 by Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Count Eustachy Sapieha and French Minister of Foreign Affairs Aristide Briand, in the background of the negotiations that ended the Polish–Soviet War by the Treaty of Riga. The agreement assumed a common foreign policy, the promotion of bilateral economical contacts, the consultation of new pacts concerning Central and Eastern Europe and assistance in case one of the signatories became a victim of an "unprovoked" attack. As such, it was a defensive alliance.[1] The secret military pact was signed two days later, on February 21, 1921, and clarified that the agreement was aimed at possible threats from both Germany and the Soviet Union.[2] An attack on Poland would make France keep lines of communication free and Germany in check but not require it to send troops or to declare war.[3] Both political and military pacts were legally not in force until the economic pact was ratified,[3] which occurred on August 2, 1923.[4]
The alliance was further extended by the Franco–Polish Warrant Agreement, signed on October 16, 1925 in Locarno, as part of the Locarno Treaties. The new treaty subscribed all previously-signed Polish–French agreements to the system of mutual pacts of the League of Nations.[5]
The alliance was closely tied with the Franco-Czechoslovakian Alliance. France's alliances with Poland and Czechoslovakia were aimed at deterring Germany from the use of force to achieve a revision of the postwar settlement and ensuring that German forces would be confronted with significant combined strength of its neighbours. Although Czechoslovakia had a significant economy and industry and Poland had a strong army, the French–Polish–Czechoslovakian triangle never reached its full potential. Czechoslovakian foreign policy, under Edvard Beneš, avoided signing a formal alliance with Poland, which would force Czechoslovakia to take sides in Polish–German territorial disputes. Czechoslovakia's influence was weakened by the doubts of its allies as to the trustworthiness of its army, and Poland's influence was undermined by fighting between supporters and opponents of Józef Piłsudski. France's reluctance to invest in its allies' industry (especially Poland's), improve trade relations by buying their agricultural products and share military expertise further weakened the alliance.[6]
In the 1930s, the alliance remained mostly inactive and its only effect was to keep the French Military Mission to Poland, which had worked with the Polish General Staff ever since the Polish–Soviet War of 1919–1920. However, with the German threat becoming increasingly visible in the latter part of the decade, both countries started to seek a new pact to guarantee the independence of all contracting parties and military co-operation in case of a war with Germany.
1939
Finally, a new alliance started to be formed in 1939. The Kasprzycki–Gamelin Convention was signed May 19, 1939 in Paris. It was named after Polish Minister of War Affairs General Tadeusz Kasprzycki and Commander of the French Army Maurice Gamelin.[7] The military convention was army-to-army, not state-to-state, and was not in force legally, as it was dependent on signing and ratification of the political convention.[8] It obliged both armies to provide help to each other in case of a war with Germany. In May, Gamelin promised a "bold relief offensive" within three weeks of a German attack.[9]
The treaty was ratified by France on September 4, 1939, on the fourth day of German offensive on Poland.
However, France provided only token help to Poland during the war in the form of the Saar Offensive, which has often been considered an example of Western betrayal. However, the political convention was the basis of the recreation of the Polish Army in France.
Piotr Zychowicz quoted the memoirs of the French ambassador to Poland, Léon Noël, who wrote as early as October 1938, "It is of utmost importance that we remove from our obligations everything that would deprive French government the freedom of decision on the day when Poland finds itself in war with Germany". Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet reassured Noel by writing that "our agreement with Poland is full of gaps, needed to keep our country away from war".[10]
See also
References
- Umowa polityczna francusko–polska, podpisana w Paryżu 19 lutego 1921 r. (Dz.U. 1922 nr 63 poz. 563), registration July 2, 1923: France and Poland - Political Agreement, signed at Paris, February 19, 1921 (1923 LNTSer 87; 18 LNTS 11)
- Accord militaire franco–polonais Paris, 19 février 1921: Documents Diplomatiques Francais: 1921 - Tome I (16 Janvier - 30 Juin), Secret Milit Convention between France and Poland
- Piotr Stefan Wandycz (1 January 1962). France and Her Eastern Allies, 1919–1925: French–Czechoslovak–Polish Relations from the Paris Peace Conference to Locarno. U of Minnesota Press. pp. 217–. ISBN 978-0-8166-5886-2.
- Dz.U. 1923 nr 106 poz. 833
- Traktat Gwarancyjny pomiędzy Polską a Francją, podpisany w Londynie 1 grudnia 1925 r. (Dz.U. 1926 nr 114 poz. 660), registration September 14, 1926: France and Poland - Treaty of Mutual Guarantee, done at Locarno, October 16, 1925 (1926 LNTSer 250; 54 LNTS 353)
- This paragraph is based on a review of Zandycz book by Detlef Brandes, from Slavic Review, Fall 1990 issue
- Protocole Franco–Polonais 1939 Gamelin-Kasprzycki : Contre-témoignage sur une catastrophe, Protokół końcowy francusko–polskich rozmów sztabowych 15–17 maja 1939
- Anita J. Prazmowska (12 February 2004). Britain, Poland and the Eastern Front, 1939. Cambridge University Press. pp. 103–. ISBN 978-0-521-52938-9.
- Nicole Jordan (22 August 2002). The Popular Front and Central Europe: The Dilemmas of French Impotence 1918–1940. Cambridge University Press. pp. 294–. ISBN 978-0-521-52242-7.
- pages 279-280
External links
Further reading
- Jan Ciałowicz (1970). Polsko-francuski sojusz wojskowy 1921–1939 (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.