France is a staunch ally of Poland that fulfills its obligations? In light of the events of September 1939, it sounds ridiculous. But it's time to honestly admit that two decades ago the French behaved very differently ...
Recently I wrote about how, in August 1920, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George did everything in his power to get Poland into Bolshevik hands. Hardly anyone remembers that his colleague from the Seine - Alexandre Millerand was at the opposite extreme then. At a critical moment for Poland, he made it clear that he had no intention of betraying his ally. As emphasized by prof. Andrzej Nowak in the book Fri. "West's first betrayal. 1920. Forgotten appeasement ”his uncompromising attitude almost led to a break in relations between Paris and London. But let's start from the beginning.
We can't do anything else
Just two days after talks with Bolshevik representatives in London, during which Lloyd George proposed a truce putting Poland at the mercy of Lenin, the British politician went to seaside Hythe, where he was to meet French Prime Minister Alexander Millerand at Lympne Castle.
A Bolshevik poster showing what was supposed to await the Polish "lords" and General Wrangel (source:public domain).
During the planned talks, he wanted to convince the statesman from the Seine that it was high time to abandon the Poles and share his influence in Europe with the Bolsheviks. However, he had no signals from Moscow that the Kremlin authorities really wanted negotiations, so - as Prof. Nowak:
the strategy of persuading the French to further talks with the Soviet delegation could in this situation be limited only to stating that Poland has already collapsed - through its own fault, while the Allies there is nothing they can do to change it .
It is worth mentioning here a few statements made by Lloyd George on August 8 in Lympne.
David Lloyd George in August 1920 was sure that Poland's fate was doomed (source:public domain).
Quoted in the work of prof. Nowak, the prime minister of the JKM government said then, inter alia, that the Western allies:
they have to face the fact of the final collapse of Poland that neither France, as he understands, nor Great Britain can send troops [to help Poland] . [...] In a sense, the Poles are the most dangerous enemies of the Allies . For example, who places any trust in Piłsudski? […]
The problem is that Poles cannot be trusted, and Piłsudski is so powerful that he cannot be removed. […] Moreover, Poles do not put up any resistance [the Bolshevik invasion] , they don't even try to fight.
I bet on Piłsudski
As we can see, the British politician was extremely consistent in his anti-Polish attitude, the best proof of which was reaching for completely bogus "arguments". Fortunately, his arguments completely missed Millerand. The French Prime Minister strongly opposed writing Poland down . At the same time, he precisely scored the Bolshevik diplomatic and propaganda game.
David Lloyd George, wanting to convince the French prime minister, tried to present Józef Piłsudski and the Polish military effort in general in the worst possible light (source:public domain).
He also demanded the expulsion of the Soviet delegates from London, Lev Kamenev and Leonid Krasin. It was supposed to be the first decisive step , indicating the determination of the Allies against the Soviet aggression against Poland . As emphasized by prof. Nowak, the French made it clear: you have to choose between Piłsudski and Kamieniew - and there was no doubt that he chose Piłsudski after all.
Lloyd George was inconsolable at this attitude. There was nothing he could do but say that while he disagreed with the arguments, he would consult them with Rome, Brussels and Tokyo and, most importantly, the British House of Commons. Ultimately it was agreed that if the Bolsheviks did not conclude an agreement with Poland by August 15, then their representatives would have to leave London.
Let's not tell Paris about it
Postponing the case in time did not help the Republic of Poland in any way. The Red Army was just reaching the Vistula River and Lenin did not leave the Poles any room for negotiation. The demands to Warsaw were simple:consent to the complete Sovietization of the country or further war. The British Prime Minister, who found out about them on August 10, applauded it without batting an eye. He even decided to announce:
the Polish government, through the British envoy in Warsaw, that His Majesty's Government recommends accepting the Soviet conditions, any commitment to help.
At the same time, he stated that there was no need to consult this statement with Paris, and that should even conceal the Soviet ultimatum for Poland from the French because there is a high probability that the Millerand government could reject them. He added that:
France is furiously anti-Bolshevik, and the French once had an experience of communism. The current case [i.e. the Soviet invasion of Poland] has nothing to do with communism.
Don't bargain with the Bolsheviks
When on August 11 in Warsaw the position of the British government was found out, it was obviously considered a total betrayal in the face of Bolshevik aggression. Also on the Seine, the official "council" of Lloyd George caused a real shock.
David Lloyd George was ready to give Poland over to Lenin with a light hand. This almost led to a break in British-French relations (source:public domain).
But Millerand wasn't about to bow. He sent an unambiguous instruction to the envoy in Warsaw: the British government recommends Poland to accept the Soviet conditions, we - no, these conditions in fact mean the handing over of Poland to the Bolsheviks .
Further relations on the Paris-London line literally hung in the balance, and although in the following days the diplomats of both powers did a lot to alleviate this conflict, as Prof. Nowak:
it was only the actual resolution of the first crisis of Polish independence - not in diplomatic offices, but on the battlefield of Warsaw - that helped to weaken the fatal impression that this division left behind.
Finally, it should be made clear that the attitude of the French prime minister did not result from some exaggerated sympathy for Poland, but from his extremely anti-Bolshevik attitude and sober judgment of the situation . The French, unlike the British, realized that the victory of the Red Army would be a real catastrophe not only for Poland, but for the entire continent. That is why in August 1920 he stood firmly by our side and made it clear that he was not betraying his allies.
Alexandre Millerand was not entirely persuaded by the British Prime Minister (source:public domain).
This was confirmed by, inter alia, sending hundreds of officers to the Vistula River as advisers. Among them was, for example, Charles de Gaulle, who was even awarded the Silver Cross of the Order of Virtuti Militari for his attitude on the battlefield. We cannot forget about the invaluable material and equipment help. During the Polish-Bolshevik war, the Polish Army received thousands of weapons wagons, planes, cars and the necessary artillery equipment from French warehouses.
Also be sure to read the article about how the British tried to sell us in 1920.
Sources:
Basic:
- Andrzej Nowak, The West's first betrayal. 1920 - the forgotten appeasement , Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krakow 2015.
Complementary:
- Janusz R. Kowalczyk, Virtuti Militari de Gaulle , "Rzeczpospolita" November 9, 2011.
- Wojciech Roszkowski, The Latest History of Poland 1914-1945 , Vol. 1, 1914-1945 . The world of books 2003.