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. © 2021 Saint-Petersburg State University. All rights reserved.