Posted on 06/13/2009 5:08:57 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Kuhn does not get the subtle point that sending a low level envoy like Strang will make an alliance less likely than it already is.
Indeed. The Chamberlain government's lack of urgency in this matter is so striking it begs for more explanation. I suspect something along the following lines:
As of June 1939, the Brits believed their duty was to support the threatened government of Poland. And since Poles rightly feared Russians as much as Germans, Brits were in no hurry to jump into bed with Stalin. They rightly understood that Stalin, at best, would expect tangible rewards (i.e., Eastern Europe) in exchange for going to war against Hitler. At worst, Stalin's disdain for Brits & French could send their envoys packing, as it happened.
What the Brits could not possibly understand in June 1939, was that Poland had already become a lost cause -- no way could Poland survive a major war. It was only a question of who would be their new master -- Hitler or Stalin?
And as of June 1939 it was not yet clear which might be the worst new master -- many believed Hitler could save Europe from the evils of Communism.
As it turned out, the poor Poles suffered the worst of all possible outcomes -- first Hitler, then Stalin.
To carry out his plan, Brauchitsch set up two army groups Army Group South, consisting of the Eighth, Tenth and Fourteenth armies, and Army Group North, made up of the Third and Fourth armies. The southern army group, under the command of General von Rundstedt, was to attack from Silesia in the general direction of Warsaw, scatter opposing Polish forces and occupy as early as possible with forces as strong as possible the Vistula on both sides of Warsaw with the aim of destroying the Polish forces still holding out in western Poland in co-operation with Army Group North. The first mission of the latter group was to establish connection between the Reich and East Prussia by driving across the Corridor. Detailed objectives of the various armies were outlined as well as those for the Air Force and Navy. Danzig, said Brauchitsch, would be declared German territory on the first day of hostilities and would be secured by local forces under German command.
A supplemental directive issued at the same time stipulated that the order of deployment for White would be put into operation on August 20. All preparations, it laid down, must be concluded by that date.
William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich
Case White update at #5.
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