USSR and the Red Army through the Eyes of the French Military Attaché E. Mendras (1933–1934)

Abstract

The article, largely based on new documents from Russian and French archives, examines an important aspect of Franco-Soviet relations on the eve of the Second World War: the interaction between the militaries of the two countries. The question of cooperation between the two armies was raised immediately after the signing of the Franco-Soviet non-aggression pact in 1932. The following year, the first French military attaché, E. Mendras, arrived in Moscow. A proponent of the revival of the Franco-Russian alliance, he explored Soviet reality to determine the real potential of the USSR as a possible ally. Despite a number of shortcomings of the Soviet socio-political system, Mendras came to the conclusion that the political regime in the country was quite stable, and its armed forces had the necessary resources to conduct a European war. At the same time, he questioned Moscow’s foreign policy goals and was critical of Soviet ideology as a factor in political decision-making. At first, the military attaché recommended that the French leadership enhance the alliance with the USSR. However, his attitude gradually changed against the background of a lack of complete mutual understanding with the Soviets and contradictions on the issue of rapprochement with Moscow, which cleaved the military-political leadership in Paris. In 1934, Mendras was skeptical about the prospects for cooperation with the USSR. This turn, in many ways, reflects a general change in the vector in Soviet-French relations in the mid-1930s, which led to their deterioration on the eve of the Second World War.