Pologne, été 1920 : la Mission militaire française et le général Weygand

The French participation to the war of 1920 in Poland has long been embodied by General Weygand, which gave rise not only to polemics, but generated also inaccuracies that have become common places in the specialized literature. For a long time there was confusion between the French corps, which was sent to help the Polish Army and the French Military Mission, which had been created following the relations of the two countries during and after World War One. The task of the Mission was to organize the army of the reconstituted Polish State. The Polish forces came from different backgrounds and as soon as they were put together were sent into the Polish-Soviet conflict. The Mission was a political tool for France, mainly towards Germany but also towards the Soviet Union, and played an important part in the French influence in Poland. The situation changed during the spring of 1920, which saw the Polish offensive against the Soviets: Pilsudski had dreamed of a common action of the regional powers but had to turn to France and Britain and to a certain extent to Belgium and Italy. France provided Poland with materiel. Later on, the officers of the Mission were authorized to fight alongside their Polish comrades. In the meantime, a French-British delegation was sent to Poland, composed of diplomats and officers of the general staff, among them General Weygand. After some time, the relations between him and Piłsudski deteriorated. The mission left Poland after three weeks of work but France and Britain went on helping the Polish Army. On the whole the French action remained limited though not inconsiderable thanks to the French Military Mission, which stood behind it. Nevertheless it was not conclusive in the Polish victory but left a durable trace in the memories of Polish and French officers