[Zhang Fei]

[But in most cases allies don’t plan on going to war with each other.

Hitler and Stalin both knew they would eventually clash.]

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Poland and Germany “allied” over the division of Czechoslovakia. I think traditionally, most allies have viewed these ties as purely transactional. NATO has been a huge exception, but the West (and maybe Japan) saw the end of the empire-building impulse at the end of WWII. Bottom line is that the average Western country would no more conquer and annex another country than it would revert to cannibalism. But that’s just the West (and maybe Japan).

[dfwgator]

Poland and Germany “allied” over the division of Czechoslovakia.

Ahhhh somebody brought that up. Let me give you a hypothetical that could very well come to be. Let's say that Russia threatens Western Ukraine, and Poland steps in and takes the part of Ukraine that belonged to them before WWII (Lwów), to protect the people there from the Russians. And let's say that the Russians then backoff from taking on the Poles and let them have the area. Would you then say that Poland and Russia were allies?