Everything about Franco-polish Military Alliance totally explained
The term
Franco-Polish Military Alliance mainly refers to the
military alliance between
Poland and
France that was active between
1921 and
1940.
Background
Already during the
France-Habsburg rivalry that started in the 16th century, France tried to find allies east of
Austria, namely Poland.
Jan III Sobieski allegedly also had the intention to ally with France against Austria, but the threat by the
Ottoman Empire made him fight for the Christian cause in the
Battle of Vienna. In 1795 Poland ceased to exist as a nation with its
partition by
Russia,
Prussia and
Austria, but the Emperor
Napoleon I of France recreated a Polish state in the
Grand Duchy of Warsaw. With the rise of the united
German Empire, both France and Poland found a new common enemy.
Interwar
During the
interwar period it was one of the cornerstones of the
French foreign policy. Near the end of that period, along with the
Franco-British Alliance, it was the basis for creation of the
Allies of World War II. During the
Polish-Soviet War, France was one of the most active supporters of Poland, and sent the
French Military Mission to Poland to aid the Polish army.
The pact was discussed by
Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski and
French President Alexandre Millerand in early February in Paris and signed there on
February 19,
1921 by
Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Count
Eustachy Sapieha and his
French counterpart Aristide Briand, in the background of the negotiations that ended the
Polish-Soviet War (
Treaty of Riga). The agreement assumed common foreign policies, promotion of bilateral economical contacts, consultation of new pacts concerning Central and Eastern Europe as well as help in case one of the signataries is attacked. As such it was a
defensive alliance. The pact was amended
February 21,
1921, with a secret military convention, which precised that the alliance is aimed at all possible threats from both
Germany and the
Soviet Union.
The alliance was further extended by the
Franco-Polish Warrant Agreement signed
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.
This alliance was closely tied with the
Franco-Czech Alliance. The alliances of France with Poland and
Czechoslovakia were aimed at deterring Germany from the use of force to achieve a revision of the postwar settlement or ensuring that German forces would be confronted with significant combined strength of its neighbours. Although Czechoslovakia had a significant economy and industry, and Poland a strong army, the French-Polish-Czechoslovakian triangle never reached its full potential. The Czechoslovakian foreign policy under
Edvard Beneš shied however from signing a formal alliance with Poland that would force Czechoslovakia to take sides in the
Polish-German territorial disputes. Czechoslovakia's influence was weakened by the doubts of its allies as to the trustworthiness of its army, Poland's influence was in turn undermined by the infighting between supporters and opponents of
Józef Piłsudski. French reluctance to invest in its allies (especially Polish) industry, strengthening trade relations (buying their agricultural products) and sharing military expertise further weakened the alliance.
In the 1930's the Franco-Polish alliance remained mostly inactive and its only effect was the
French Military Mission to Poland, which continued to work with the Polish General Staff ever since the
Polish-Bolshevik War of
1919-
1920. However, with the
Nazi threat becoming increasingly visible, in the later part of the decade both countries started to seek new pact, that wouldn't only guarantee the independence of all contracting parties, but would also ensure military cooperation in case of a
war with Germany.
1939
Finally, a new alliance was signed in
1939. The so-called
Kasprzycki-Gamelin Convention signed
May 19,
1939 in
Paris (named after the
Polish Minister of War Affairs General
Tadeusz Kasprzycki and the commander of the
French Army Maurice Gamelin) obliged both countries to provide military help to each other in case of a war with
Nazi Germany. In May Gamelin promised a "bold relief offensive" within three weeks of German's attack.
(External Link
) Later staff talks and consultation between both armies' commands were also included in the treaty. Finally, it was enhanced with a political convention, signed in
Paris on
September 4,
1939.
Despite all the obligations of the treaties, the alliance was never fulfilled by France, which provided only token help to Poland during the
Polish Defensive War of
1939, in the form of the
Saar Offensive. This is often considered an example of
Western betrayal. However, the political part of it was a basis of recreation of the
Polish Army in France in 1939.
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