End of the Affair

The Collapse of the Anglo-French Alliance, 1939 - 40

Eleanor M. Gates

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN:
  9780520309333
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780520313712
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Eleanor M. Gates's End of the Affair: The Collapse of the Anglo-French Alliance, 1939-40 offers a meticulous diplomatic and military history that probes one of World War II's most consequential ruptures: the breakdown of cooperation between Britain and France in the face of German aggression. Spanning from the uncertain early months of the war through France's collapse in 1940, Gates reconstructs how strategic disagreements, mismatched military expectations, diplomatic misfires, and political pressure conspired to undermine the wartime alliance. She draws on previously unpublished documents, cabinet minutes, military plans, and diplomatic correspondence to examine: differences in war aims; conflicts over strategy (especially defense vs. offense); France's internal political fragility; British hesitation; and the cumulative effects of distrust and unmet commitments. The narrative tracks moments like the Supreme War Council meetings, the French political debates over armistice versus resistance, and the fateful decisions about the French fleet and colonial positions. More than a recounting of foreign policy failure, End of the Affair illuminates how alliance politics, national character, and military capacity intertwine under stress. Gates argues that Britain and France entered the conflict with incompatible assumptions about how a modern war should be waged, and that each underestimated the internal challenges the other faced—France's political divisions, fear of defeat, and Britain's constraints in resources and resolve. The book underscores that the collapse of the alliance was not inevitable, but the result of avoidable miscalculations, communication breakdowns, and shifting domestic politics. For scholars of World War II, diplomatic history, and strategic studies, Gates's work remains indispensable: it not only fills gaps in archival evidence, but also serves as a warning about how alliances may fracture even among formally committed partners. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1981.

Many titles in the Voices Revived program are also newly available as ebooks, offered at a discounted price to support wider access to scholarly work.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations Used in Appendices and Notes
• Comincia la Commedia
• The Separate Slide Over the Precipice
• The Reluctant Allies
• Slouching into War: Poland
• The Politics of Pessimism
• Disparities, Divisions, and the Search for Diversions
• Finland: The Alliance Makes Its Debut
• Dress Rehearsal in Norway
• All Quiet on the Western Front
• The Allied Balance Sheet
• Tightening the Knot
• Trial by Fire in the North
• Breakthrough on the Meuse
• The Battle for Air Support
• The Looming Contingency
• Paper Tiger: The Counterattack Manqué
• A Chill Descends
• Giving Up the Ghost
• Dunkirk
• The Growing Rift Between the Allies
• "A Certain Eventuality"
• The French Temptation
• The Problem Posed
• May 26: The Crisis Contained
• Stiffening the French
• Always Hungry Always Asking for More
• The Battle Lost
• Crisis Over the Armistice
• The Opening Phase. June 12
• Paul Reynaud at Tburs: June 13
• Cange II: June 13
• June 14:
• The Slide Downhill:
• June 16: Britain’s Conditional Acceptance
• June 16: The Proposal of Union
• The Government’s Collapse
• The Question of the French Fleet
• The Telegrams Resurface
• Promises, Promises
• To Leave or Not to Leave
• The Bordeaux Conversations
• Hitler’s Terms
• Sir Ronald’s Vigil: Diplomatic Confusion
• Diplomatie Conclusions
• Towards a Final Break
• The Politics of Intimidation
• North Africa: Its Role in British Policy
• North Africa: The French View
• Caution Cast Off
• Straws in the Wind
• The Enigma of Admiral Darlan
• British Planning and the French Fleet
• Operation Catapult
• Mers-el-Kébir: Analysis and Aftermath
• End of the Affair
• When All Is Said and Done
• The Nature of the Problem
• Resolution and Inevitability
• Apendices
• Leopold’s Surrender
• Churchill, Weygand, and the Breton Redoubt
• Mme Hélène de Portes
• Reynaud’s Last Appeal to Roosevelt
• The Possibility of a Coup in Bordeaux
• Behind the Chautemps Proposal
• The Case of the Elusive Telegrams
• Reynaud’s Cabinet: Rundown on the Armistice
• Reynaud's Resignation
• Reynaud and the American Embassy
• The Republic's Three Presidents
• Churchill, Roosevelt, and the British Fleet
• Notes and References
• Bibliography
• Index