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- Title
Defending the Rhine in Asia: France's 1951 Reinforcement Debate and French International Ambitions.
- Authors
Thompson, Mark
- Abstract
This article examines the French decision to send reinforcements to Indochina in April 1951 despite evidence of the futility of the Indochina War and pressing security needs in Europe. I analyze the motivation for this decision with the assistance of the minutes of the National Defense Committee, as well as the private papers of leading French politicians and military figures. I argue that the key to understanding the French decision to continue the war rather than seek peace was the belief that the war in Indochina was critical to the achievement of French goals in Europe and NATO. As a consequence of this analysis, I suggest that any celebration of France's European achievements must be tempered by the recognition that European policy was often closely linked with a regressive imperial policy.
- Subjects
FRANCE; INDOCHINESE War, 1946-1954; COLD War, 1945-1991; HISTORY of European integration; 20TH century French military history; FRENCH politics &; government, 1945-1958; FRENCH Fourth Republic; TWENTIETH century; MILITARY policy
- Publication
French Historical Studies, 2015, Vol 38, Issue 3, p473
- ISSN
0016-1071
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1215/00161071-2884675