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At the beginning of WW2, although they were slow in actually attacking Germany, Britain and France did declare war against it after Germany invaded Poland. The reason for this was the treaty where they guaranteed Poland against foreign invasion. However, the Soviet Union also invaded Poland during this period, yet there is no ultimatum (as far as I know) or declaration of war.

Was there a legitimate reason for this inconsistency? I don't think the Soviets were allied to France and Britain back then.

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5 Answers

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The political reasons of both France and Britain are well explained in other answers, so I just stick to the legal matter.

France was not legally obliged by any pact to attack Soviet Union or to send troops to Poland to help. The 1921 Franco-Polish treaty specified the extent of help, which amounted to keeping the communication lines free between France and Poland (France and her Eastern Allies, 1919-1925). The 1939 pact, already ratified on September 4, was strictly against Germany, and had no provisions against Soviet Union (Britain, Poland and the Eastern Front, 1939).

Britain, on the other hand, was legally obliged to attack Soviet Union, literally "at once" and to provide "all the support and assistance in its power", per the 1939 pact. There was no legal trick that allowed Britain to avoid this. Britain recognized Poland as a country, and the pact obviously didn't require Poland to be recognized by attacking enemy. The pact did not require Poland to declare war on attacking enemy. Moreover, ambassador Raczyński requested such help from Britain as soon as Soviet Union attacked, and Halifax declined without any meaningful reason (Britain and Poland 1939-1943: The Betrayed Ally). Halifax said, 'As regards Soviet aggression we were free to take our own decision and to decide whether to declare war on the USSR or not.' (Britain and Poland 1939-1943: The Betrayed Ally)

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Thanks. The British-Polish pact says among other: "The methods of applying the undertakings of mutual assistance provided for by the present Agreement are established between the competent naval, military and air authorities of the Contracting Parties. ", I think it means there were other agreements to it. – Anixx Sep 7 '12 at 11:21
Also the pact did not require the declaration of war on the USSR, it only required that Brittain provided all possible assistance to Poland, and it did so already. – Anixx Sep 8 '12 at 23:52
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My opinion is that Britain neither provided "all the support and assistance in its power" in case of German invasion or in case of USSR invasion. Your opinion may differ. – kubanczyk Sep 9 '12 at 10:58
up vote 3 down vote

Britain and France regarded Germany (Hitler) as the greatest evil, and had their hands full with him Declaring war on the Soviet Union, and forcing it into a permanent alliance with Hitler would have been a big mistake. Probably they hoped that Germany and the Soviet Union would have a falling out, and the latter would become their ally. Which, in fact is what happened, leading to the defeat of Germany.

It's something every boy learns on the playground: "You don't want to be the odd man out in a three way fight."

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It might be true.. But given their insistence about Germany, wasn't there at least an official/legitimate reason for not honoring the treaty in case of the Soviets? – Louis Rhys Sep 4 '12 at 9:42
@Louis Rhys, as I already pointed out, since Poland herself did not declare war on the USSR, they had not need any excuse for not declaring war on the USSR in turn. – Anixx Sep 4 '12 at 15:12
up vote 1 down vote

I do not know for factual reasons, possibly others will answer, but if to speak formally, they had no legal pretext for doing so because Poland itself did not declare war on the USSR.

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On the day of the invasion Soviet ministry of foreign affairs officially stated that Polish state no longer exists. Considering that, any formal declaration of war would be pointless, or actually, impossible. – Jake Jay Sep 3 '12 at 17:11
@Jake J from the Polish side it would be possible. – Anixx Sep 4 '12 at 7:01
How would that be possible if Soviet authorities didn't recognize Polish authorities from that point onwards? Anyway, did Poland formally declare war on Germany? – Jake Jay Sep 4 '12 at 19:18
The USSR did recognize Polish government in exile till mid-1940s but this does not matter. What matters is that Poland recognized the USSR. Regarding Germany I am sure Germany declared war on Poland upon invasion. – Anixx Sep 4 '12 at 19:33
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@Jake J This does not make impossible for Poland to declare war on the USSR. – Anixx Sep 4 '12 at 19:54
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up vote 0 down vote

They could not fight Germany alone because they were wartorn nations. They knew that the territories of Poland, Germany, and the USSR would have a war and they would destroy each other. Then, there would be no compitition for them left in Europe.

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Welcome to History SE. I've edited to improve your grammar. Feel free to edit it again if I've altered it from your original intent. – Luke Sep 23 '12 at 17:13
up vote -1 down vote

This is because the USSR claimed that its non-aggression treaty with Nazi Germany was strictly defensive in nature, and was not directed at any country. It was only after the USSR ended its war with Japan that the USSR invaded Poland. Even then they claimed they were protecting the minorities in Poland from German atrocities. This prompted many to believe that the USSR would remain neutral throughout the war, and the western Allies did not want to drag it into the war unnecessarily.

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Any reasons for the downvotes? – Arani Sep 4 '12 at 8:15
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First sentence, what treaty are you talking about? Third sentence, the USSR didn't exactly have a reputation for defending minorities, Stalin had tens of millions of lives on his conscience by that time. And last sentence, 'unnecessarily' what? The whole pretext for the war is that they the west are defending small nations sovereignty. Then all of a sudden that defence becomes 'unnecessary' when it comes to the USSR. The question is, why is there such a double standard regarding this. – Hermann Ingjaldsson Sep 4 '12 at 9:05
@HermannIngjaldsson I was referring to the USSR's non-aggression pact with Germany signed in August 1945. I think I will clarify the reply suitably. As for the role of minorities, many people believed at that time believed that minorities in the USSR were well-treated (indeed, after its creation, the USSR claimed to support languages other than Russian, something that the Tsar had never permitted). – Arani Sep 4 '12 at 14:46
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The non aggression pact Germany and Russia signed was in 1939, and it was definitely not defensive towards Poland. – Hermann Ingjaldsson Sep 4 '12 at 15:03
@Hermann Ingjaldsson about what "tens of millions" on Stalin's conscience are you speaking? – Anixx Sep 4 '12 at 16:58
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