With hindsight, should Britain and France have tried harder to create an alliance with the USSR in 1939?
Anyway, I voted Yes. While Britain and France might have feared the consequences of the Soviet military advancing into Central Europe, this ultimately ended up happening anyway, but with a lot more Soviet and Jewish deaths than would have been the case had Britain and France allied with the Soviet Union back in 1939. Also, with the USSR being in the war as early as 1939, the odds of France ever falling probably go down--perhaps way down. In addition, while the Americans might not be happy with such an alliance, Britain and France can tell the Americans that they were left with no choice as a result of US isolationism.
With the Soviet Union being neutral, Britain and France would have had to take much more casualties to defeat the Germans in the event of a long war since there wouldn't be an Eastern Front to put pressure on the Germans. Indeed, it is worth noting that there was a risk of a long war even if anti-Nazis in the German military would have overthrown Hitler and the Nazis sometime after war would have broken out due to the fact that even anti-Nazis in the German military and elsewhere don't appear to have been particularly eager or willing to return Germany to its August 1939 borders. There would have been a possibility of anti-Nazis overthrowing Hitler and the Nazis before the war would have broken out had an Anglo-French-Soviet alliance been created and announced before the war, though; in such a case, war would have likely been avoided.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this?
Anyway, I voted Yes. While Britain and France might have feared the consequences of the Soviet military advancing into Central Europe, this ultimately ended up happening anyway, but with a lot more Soviet and Jewish deaths than would have been the case had Britain and France allied with the Soviet Union back in 1939. Also, with the USSR being in the war as early as 1939, the odds of France ever falling probably go down--perhaps way down. In addition, while the Americans might not be happy with such an alliance, Britain and France can tell the Americans that they were left with no choice as a result of US isolationism.
With the Soviet Union being neutral, Britain and France would have had to take much more casualties to defeat the Germans in the event of a long war since there wouldn't be an Eastern Front to put pressure on the Germans. Indeed, it is worth noting that there was a risk of a long war even if anti-Nazis in the German military would have overthrown Hitler and the Nazis sometime after war would have broken out due to the fact that even anti-Nazis in the German military and elsewhere don't appear to have been particularly eager or willing to return Germany to its August 1939 borders. There would have been a possibility of anti-Nazis overthrowing Hitler and the Nazis before the war would have broken out had an Anglo-French-Soviet alliance been created and announced before the war, though; in such a case, war would have likely been avoided.
Anyway, what are your thoughts on this?