France and the Nazi Threat: The Collapse of French Diplomacy 1932-1939 (92 page)

  
77
.
    
In another article: *Ageron, Ch.-R., “L’idée d’Eurafrique et le débat colonial franco-allemand dans l’entre-deux-guerres,”
RHMC
, July-September 1975, pp. 446–475.

  
78
.
    
Delavignette, R., “Équipe eurafricaine: place pour l’Europe,”
Esprit
, 1 November 1938, quoted by Ageron, quoted article, p. 473.

Chapter VIII

E
LUSIVE
S
ECURITY

    
1
.
    
*Beaufre, General André,
Le drame de 1940
, Paris, 1965, pp. 57–58.

    
2
.
    
Besides Mysyrowicz, op. cit., see the more recent *Young, Robert.
In command of France. French Foreign Policy and military training, 1933–1940
, Cambridge, 1978. Pertinax,
Les Fossoyeurs
, Vol. I, “Gamelin.”

    
3
.
    
*Bloch, Marc,
L’étrange défaite
, Paris, 1946, p.166. *Martel, André, in an illuminating paper at the
Colloque Daladier
(December 1975), “Le poids de la stratégie. Controverses et données contestées,” has justifiably underscored this excellent text.

    
4
.
    
*Ducasse, André, Meyer, Jacques and Perreux, Gabriel,
Vie et mort des Français
, 1962, p. 38.

    
5
.
    
*Tournoux, General Paul-Émile,
Haut-Commandement: gouvernement et défense des frontières du Nord et de l’Est, 1919–1939
, 1960.

    
6
.
    
*Debeney, General
Sur la securité militaire de la France
, 1930, pp. 58–65.

    
7
.
    
Regarding the origins of the law the most important book is by Tournoux, op. cit., to be completed with the short book by *Hughes, Judith, M.,
To the Maginot Line. The Politics of French Military Preparation in the 1920s
, Cambridge, Mass. 1971.

    
8
.
    
See Tournoux, op. cit., Chapter VII, the technical and financial description by Paoli, Colonel François-André,
L’armée française de 1919 à 1939
, II.
La fin des illusions, 1930–1935
, SHA, n.d., p. 197. *Dutailly, Lt. Colonel,
Les problèmes de l’armée de terre française 1935–1939
, SHA, 1980.

    
9
.
    
Michalon and Vernet, quoted report, 1977, p. 20.

  
10
.
    
See above, Chapter II.

  
11
.
    
See the excellent comparative study *Vial, General, “Doctrine militaire française et allemande au lendemain de la première guerre,”
Colloque de l’École de guerre
, 1976, p. 25.

  
12
.
    
Quoted article, p. 22.

  
13
.
    
Ibid., p. 22.

  
14
.
    
Quoted work, see above note 11.

  
15
.
    
I am referring to Michalon and Vernet, op. cit., p. 11.

  
16
.
    
The quotation is in Michalon and Vernet, op. cit., p. 13. The underlined part of the text is their excerpt of the actual text of the plan.

  
17
.
    
For all this I am closely following the excellent study by General Christienne and D. Bouffotot, “L’armée de l’air française et la crise du 7 mars 1936,”
Colloque franco-allemand
, mars 1977. I am also using an excellent master’s thesis, which I directed: *Boussard, Dominique,
Un problème de défense nationale. L’aéronautique militaire au Parlement, 1928–1940
, 1977, where all the transcripts of the parliamentary commissions have been checked.

  
18
.
    
Note from the inspector general of the Air Forces to Weygand, 19 May 1932. Quoted in Christienne and Buffotot, op. cit., p. 3.

  
19
.
    
SHA, D. 309. See *Vauthier, Colonel P.,
La doctrine de guerre du general Douhet
, 1935. Preface by Marshal Pétain and writing opposing Douhet by the naval engineer Camille Rougeron quoted in *Le Goyet, Colonel, “Evolution de la doctrine d’emploi de l’aviation française entre 1919 et 1939,” RHDGM January 1969, pp. 1–41.

  
20
.
    
Note of 26 November 1934 regarding initial cooperative air force needs, quoted by
id
., p. 4.

  
21
.
    
See below, § III.

  
22
.
    
Dans *Debeney, General,
La guerre et les hommes
, pp. 87–88. Debeney stated that he was delighted with the BCR. See, Mysyrowicz, op. cit., p. 181.

  
23
.
    
Prepared by Air Minster Pierre Cot, and General Denain, chief of staff, passed a vote in Parliament on 6 July 1934.

  
24
.
    
“La marine française et la crise de mars 1936,”
Colloque franco-allemand
, March 1977.

  
25
.
    
Masson, op. cit., pp. 1–2.

  
26
.
    
Numbers in Michalon and Vernet, op. cit., pp. 11–12.

  
27
.
    
Paoli, op. cit., p. 110.

  
28
.
    
Ibid., pp. 110–111.

  
29
.
    
Ibid., p. 181.

  
30
.
    
Beaufre,
Le drame de 1940
, op. cit., pp. 82–85.

  
31
.
    
Op. cit., p. 28. As of 1 January 1936, the
Deuxième Bureau
found that there were 750 German airplanes instead of 864.

  
32
.
    
In this case I have used the master’s thesis which I dircted by *Belugou, Sylvie,
Les Français et l’aviation militaire 1936-1939
, 1973. Boussard, op. cit., p. 139, shows the optimism of Pierre Cot in July 1937. In December 1937 he was more optimistic when facing the full Chamber than within the commission, see pp. 140–141.

  
33
.
    
Mysyrowicz, op. cit., p. 177. Quoting *Cot, Pierre,
L’armée de l’air, 1936–1938
, 1939, p. 50, and *Hebrard, General H.,
25 années d’aviation
.

  
34
.
    
JODP
, Chambre, 12 December 1937, quoted in *Friedenson, Patrick and Lecuir, Jean,
La France et la Grande-Bretagne face aux problèmes aériens (1935–May 1940)
, 1976.

  
35
.
    
Interview of Déat in
Paris-Soir
, 6 March 1936.

  
36
.
    
L’armée de l’air, 1936–1938
, op. cit.

  
37
.
    
Op. cit., p. 14.

  
38
.
    
No. 5, May 1938, “Pour une armée de l’air plus forte.” Cité par Le Goyet, op. cit., p. 29. Boussard, op. cit., p. 140, montre bien l’extrême pessimisme de Vuillemin en janvier 1938.

  
39
.
    
Masson, T. as quoted.

  
40
.
    
André Martel, in a lecture at Montpellier in 1975, spoke of the “unchanged and heaviness of the French military system.”

  
41
.
    
See Christienne and Buffotot, op. cit., p. 16.

  
42
.
    
Quoted in Paoli, op. cit., pp. 24–25.

  
43
.
    
On this issue I have a written note by Jean-Marie d’Hoop based upon the archives of the SHA and SHM regarding the High Military Committee and another on the Permanent Committee of National Defense.

  
44
.
    
Above chap. IV.

  
45
.
    
See d’Hoop, quoted note.

  
46
.
    
See below, chap. XI.

  
47
.
    
According to *Weygand (Jacques),
Weygand mon père
, p. 239. Quoted by Le Goyet, op. cit., p. 71.

  
48
.
    
Ibid., pp. 70–71.

  
49
.
    
Ibid., p. 70.

  
50
.
    
Ibid., p. 70.

  
51
.
    
Who owed his career to Weygand, and whose direct collaborator he was for a number of years.

  
52
.
    
See his biography, *Weygand, General,
Le général Frère, un chef, un héros, un martyr
, Paris, 1949.

  
53
.
    
Weygand,
Mirages et réalités
, p. 313.

  
54
.
    
Ibid., p. 311.

  
55
.
    
His 1976 centennial was the occasion of an important colloquium, which I am using. It was published in 1977 for the most part.

  
56
.
    
Loustaunau-Lacau, op. cit., pp. 54–59.

  
57
.
    
See in
Centenaire
, the study by General de Boissieu, son in law of General de Gaulle, on “à l’ École de guerre.”

  
58
.
    
In
Centenaire
.

  
59
.
    
In
Centenaire
.

  
60
.
    
Op. cit., p. 60.

  
61
.
    
Op. cit., p. 62.

  
62
.
    
Op. cit., p. 64.

  
63
.
    
Quoted by Mysyrowicz, op. cit., p. 224.

  
64
.
    
Centenaire
, “La doctrine militaire francaise entre 1919 et 1939.”

  
65
.
    
Mysyrowicz, op. cit., p. 220
sq
.

  
66
.
    
See *Tournoux, J.-R.,
Pétain et de Gaulle
, p. 102
sq
.

  
67
.
    
A very lively debate was taking place for several years in France on a professional army. See the excellent analysis by Mysyrowicz, op. cit., pp. 201–278.

  
68
.
    
Mysyrowicz, op. cit., p. 213.

  
69
.
    
Paul Reynaud felt that the book’s title lacked caution. See
La France a sauvé l’Europe
, I, p. 313.

  
70
.
    
Mysyrowicz, op. cit., p. 264.

  
71
.
    
Reynaud, op. cit., p. 319.

  
72
.
    
Reynaud, op. cit., p. 322.

  
73
.
    
RDM
, 1 March 1935.

  
74
.
    
Tournoux, J.-R.,
Pétain et de Gaulle
, pp.174–175; *Werth, Alexander,
De Gaulle
(British edition), 1965, p. 87.

  
75
.
    
Mysyrowicz, op. cit., pp. 258–264.

  
76
.
    
Pertinax,
Les Fossoyeurs
, I, p. 30.

  
77
.
    
In the first chapter of a small book published in 1955 *Weygand, General,
En lisant les mémoires de guerre du général de Gaulle
, Weygand denies having been against armored units.

  
78
.
    
*Castex, Admiral Raoul,
Mélanges stratégiques
, 1976. Preface by Rear Admiral Lepotier, p. II.

  
79
.
    
His main work, *Castex, Admiral Raoul,
Théories stratégiques
, was in five volumes, published from 1930 to 1935.

  
80
.
    
Chap. VIII, pp. 321–373.