Abstract
The outbreak of war increased the importance of the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean for Britain. For the British, it was a continuation of a very old strategic policy going back to the days of the Eastern Question in the nineteenth century, and like it in many ways since Russia, now in the shape of the Soviet Union, remained a concern. Their French ally had, as we shall see, other concerns, including the establishment of a new front in Salonika, designed to be part of a diversionary campaign in the Balkans. From France’s point of view, this was also traditional — they had done something similar in the First World War, and wished to maintain their predominant position in the Levant. A clash between Britain, with a Turcocentric policy based upon limited resources at home, and France’s more forward policy, thus became inevitable.
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© 2003 Christopher Catherwood
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Catherwood, C. (2003). Autumn 1939. In: The Balkans in World War Two. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230285880_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230285880_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-41001-9
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-28588-0
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