Imperial Defence or Diversionary Attack? Anglo-French Strategic Planning in the Near East, 1936–40
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20044787 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Martin Thomas (0000-0002-2261-5888, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2002 |
| Pages | 157-185 |
| Publication date | 2002-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Anglo-French Defence Relations Between the Wars (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan UK (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1057/9780230554481_7 |
| OpenAlex | W2502863281 |
| ISBN | 9780230554481 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
From the escalation of the Abyssinian crisis in 1935 until the authorities in French-controlled Syria and Lebanon declared their loyalty to the Vichy government in July 1940, the eastern Mediterranean and its Near East margins were a focal point of Anglo-French defence co-operation. From Egypt in the south through the western arc of the Middle East to Turkey and Greece in the north, British and French imperial and strategic interests were entwined. The western powers confronted similar problems across the region. The signature of an Anglo-Egyptian treaty of alliance on 26 August 1936 was echoed some weeks later by the long-delayed conclusion of French draft treaties promising full selfgovernment in their Levant mandates. In both cases, faltering implementation of treaty pledges caused bitter dispute. The outbreak of the Arab revolt in Palestine fed nationalist dissent in Syria, and the neighbouring British and French mandatory administrations were hard-pressed to maintain imperial control between 1936 and 1939. Yet, by 1939, the presence of substantial British and French military forces in Egypt, Palestine and the Levant territories — albeit substantially devoted to imperial policing during the preceding three years — presented an opportunity for limited operations against the Axis powers mounted from the Middle East
Alliance · Ancient history · Diplomacy · Dissent · Economic history · Economy · Geography · Government (linguistics) · Middle East · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Treaty · African history and culture analysis · African history and culture studies · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law
Britain and the Middle East in the 1930s
Law, Order and Riots in Mandatory Palestine, 1928–35
Syria and the French Mandate
Britain’s War in the Middle East
The Republic in Danger
The Anglo‐Italian war trade negotiations, contraband control and the failure to appease Mussolini, 1939–40
Living in the Past
Protecting the Jugular Vein of Empire
Mulitlateral strategy and diplomacy
Turkish foreign and strategic policy 1934–42
The politics of the Arab rebellion in Palestine 1936–39
The Turkish straits in the second world war, 1939–45
Toward War with Russia
The Compact Minorities and the Syrian State, 1918-45
East of Malta, West of Suez
The Land Question in Palestine, 1917-1939
The Great Powers in the Middle East, 1919-1939
The French Navy and the Appeasement of Italy,1937-9
French Military Intelligence and the Franco-Italian Alliance, 1933–1939
The Parity That Meant Superiority
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |