TY - JOUR
TI - The French general staffs and Poland, 1938–1939
AU - Catros, Simon
TI - The French general staffs and Poland, 1938–1939
AB - 
	The weakness and uselessness of the French offensive in Saarland to assist Poland is a sensitive point in the history of the French-Polish relations. This offensive has long been analysed as a demonstration of tactical and operational misconceptions of the French high command in the 1930s. We propose here a new analysis of this offensive on the basis of a study of the relationships between the French general staffs and Poland in the years 1938–1939 and their consequences in strategic conceptions. This study focuses on the role the rapid developments of the strategic balance of power and the diplomatic situation in Europe played during the eighteen months preceding the Second World War. As a result, it is possible to understand the decisive role of the disappearance of the Czechoslovak military factor and the reappraisal of the Soviet military factor in the evolution of the role of Poland in the future conflict as assigned by the French general staffs, and especially by general Gamelin, Chief of Staff for the National Defence. 
VL - 2017
IS - Issue 144 (4)
PY - 2017
SN - 0083-4351
C1 - 2084-4069
SP - 669
EP - 689
DO - 10.4467/20844069PH.17.036.6951
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/prace-historyczne/article/les-etats-majors-generaux-francais-et-la-pologne-en-1938-1939
KW - Poland
KW - France
KW - French-Polish relations
KW - USSR
KW - Second World War
KW - general staffs
KW - international relations
KW - strategy
KW - General Gamelin.