Britain, France and Appeasement: Anglo-French Relations in the Popular Front Era PDF
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Britain, France and Appeasement Britain, France and Appeasement Anglo-French Relations in the Popular Front Era Martin Thomas BERG Oxford • New York First published in 1996 by Berg Editorial offices: 150 Cowley Road, Oxford, 0X4 1JJ, UK 70 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012, USA © Martin Thomas 1996 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of Berg. Berg is an imprint of Oxford International Publishers Ltd. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalogue for this book is available from the Library of Congress. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 1 85973 187 2 (Cloth) 1 85973 192 9 (Paper) Typeset by JS Typesetting, Wellingborough, Northants. Printed in the United Kingdom by WBC Book Manufacturers, Bridgend, Mid Glamorgan. Contents Acknowledgements vi Abbreviations viii Introduction 1 1 Sources of Tension in Ànglo-French Relations, 1918-1936 6 2 Anglo-French Relations in the Aftermath of the Rhineland Crisis, March-May 1936 25 3 The Election of the Front Populaire and Entente Planning for Talks with Germany, May—December 1936 54 4 The Anglo-French Response to the Spanish Civil War and Talks with Italy, July 1936-January 1937 89 5 Economic Appeasement and Negotiations on Colonies, January—May 1937 115 6 Anglo-French Rearmament and Defence Co-operation in the Popular Front Era 145 7 The Failure of the Western Pact and French Eastern Diplomacy in 1937 177 8 Exit Blum — Enter Chautemps: Entente Diplomacy, May 1937-March 1938 204 Conclusion: The End of the Popular Front Era 229 Bibliography 236 Index 261 Acknowledgements During the research and writing of this book I have been reliant upon the support of several organizations, libraries and individuals on both sides of the Channel. It is a pleasure to acknowledge this help here. I com pleted the early research for this work as part of my D.Phil. studies at Oxford. During this period I was assisted by overseas research grants from the Arnold, Bryce and Reed fund, the Zacharoff fund, and the Exeter College research grant committee. The British Academy also provided funds which allowed me to travel regularly to the Public Record Office. Work in archives tends to pose almost as many questions as it answers. Hence, the search for research support has to be a continuing one. I am grateful to the Scouloudi Foundation for providing grants for research in Paris and Aix-en-Provence. The British Academy also gave additional support to this end. The Université d’Aix-en-Provence generously provided me with excellent accommodation. Finally, the Humanities Faculty Research Committee at the University of the West of England has provided indispensable help on several occasions. Throughout my work, I have been capably assisted by the pro fessional staffs of archives and libraries. I am indebted to the archivists and staff of the Public Record Office at Kew who increasingly work under considerable pressure. Quotations from Crown Copyright material are with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. I am also grateful to the Keeper of Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian Library, and to the staff of the Room 132 archive, for per mission to quote from the Viscount Simon, the Francis Hemming and the Horace Rumbold papers. I also thank the University of Cambridge Library for its support, and for permission to quote from the Stanley Baldwin and Viscount Templewood papers. At the Special Collections Library of the University of Birmingham I was guided in work upon the Neville Chamberlain and Earl of Avon papers by Dr B.S. Benedikz. The archive staff at Churchill College, Cambridge were generous with their time and encouragement. My thanks for permission to quote from the many collections in their care. I am grateful to the National Maritime Museum Archive for sanction to quote from Lord Chatfield’s papers, and to St Antony’s College’s Middle East Centre in Oxford for authority to quote from the papers of the First Baron Killeam. The librarians at the University of the West of England, St Matthias Library have also been unfailingly helpful. Acknowledgements In France I have been assisted by a number of people. The personnel of the Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères at the Quai d’Orsay have always been welcoming. On the other side of town, I have found work at the Services Historiques of the Château de Vincennes a great pleasure. My thanks to all the personnel of the three Services Histor iques Archives for their advice and support, not least in producing heavy cartons without complaint. At the rue de Bercy archive, the staff of the Service des Archives Economiques et Financières helped me find my way through the Finance Ministry records. Everyone at the Archives Nationales Centre des Archives d’Outre-Mer proved equally helpful during a sweltering July in Aix-en-Provence. Work at the Centre des Archives Diplomatiques in Nantes was also made much easier by the affability of everyone I met there. For their assistance, accommodation and friendship I am deeply grateful to Collette Martignon, Annie Moer- lon, and Christine and André Frézal and their family. Many friends and colleagues have helped me to complete the writing of this book. My thanks to Kathryn Earle at Berg for much sound advice and free beer, and to Nigel Hope for his meticulous copy-editing. For agreeing to look over drafts, my thanks go to Zara Steiner, Martin Alexander, Anthony Adamthwaite, Mike Dockrill and Robert Boyce. Alan Sharp also provided much kind encouragement. Through his comments and suggestions, Peter Jackson has added considerably to my understanding of the concerns of French army intelligence. At the University of the West of England I have been fortunate enough to work with friends who have also been able critics. Kent Fedorowich, Glyn Stone and Christian Leitz have all helped me a great deal in completing this project. Alistair Parker of the Queen’s College, Oxford, set me off on my research travels. His insight and enthusiasm continues to be an inspiration. Writing can be a lonely affair. That this has not been the case for me is primarily due to my wife and family. I owe my parents an enormous debt for their constant support and good humour. To Suzy my debts are priceless, and it is to her that I dedicate the book. Abbreviations Ministries/Organizations ADM Admiralty AIR Air Ministry CAB Cabinet Office Papers CGPF Confédération générale du patronat français CGT Confédération générale du travail CO Colonial Office FO Foreign Office IIC Industrial Intelligence Centre (Department of Overseas Trade) NIC Non-Intervention Committee PCF Parti communiste français SFIO Section française de l’internationale ouvrière WO War Office French ministries were frequently identified by their location within Paris. Those most commonly used in this study are as follows. Boulevard Victor Air Ministry Hôtel Matignon Prime Minister’s Office Quai d’Orsay Foreign Ministry Rue de Rivoli Finance Ministry Rue Saint Dominique War Ministry Wilhelmstrasse German Foreign Ministry Military-British CID Committee of Imperial Defence CIGS Chief of the Imperial General Staff COS Chiefs of Staff Abbreviations DPR Defence Policy and Requirements Committee DRC Defence Requirements Committee D(P)C Defence (Plans) Committee Military — French CPDN Comité permanent de la défense nationale CSA Conseil supérieur de l’air CSDN Conseil supérieur de la défense nationale CSG Conseil supérieur de la guerre CSM Conseil supérieur de la marine EMA Etat-Major de l’armée (army staff) EMAA Etat-Major de l’armée de l’air (air staff) EMM Etat-Major de la marine (naval staff) HCM Haut comité militaire Archives/Published Documents ANCOM Archives Nationales Centre des Archives d’Outre-Mer BDFA British Documents on Foreign Affairs CADN Centre des Archives Diplomatiques, Nantes DBFP Documents on British Foreign Policy DDB Documents Diplomatiques Belges DDF Documents Diplomatiques Français DGFP Documents on German Foreign Policy MAE Ministère des affaires étrangères archive PRO Public Record Office SAEF Service des Archives Economiques et Financières-Finance Ministry SHAA Service Historique de l’Armée de l’Air SHAT Service Historique de l’Armée de Terre SHM Service Historique de la Marine Journals EHQ European History Quarterly EHR English Historical Review FHS French Historical Studies HJ Historical Journal JCH Journal of Contemporary History JMH Journal of Modern History — IX — Abbreviations JSS Journal of Strategie Studies IHR International History Review INS Intelligence and National Security RD Revue Diplorhatique RHA Revue Historique des Armées RHMC Revue d Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine RHDGM Revue d Histoire de la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale
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