Britain, Turkey and the Soviet Union, 1940–45

Britain, Turkey and the Soviet Union, 1940–45
Strategy, Diplomacy and Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean

The archival research for this book was carried out as part of a doctoral thesis for the University of Cambridge between 2003 and 2006. This research was funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

I would especially like to thank Professor David Reynolds for his support and advice during both my doctoral research and the preparation of this book for publication. Other friends and colleagues who have provided assistance along the way include Simon Ball, Patrick Driscoll, Caroline Erskine, David French, Evan Mawdsley, Phillips O’Brien and Richard Toye. Thanks to John Elvy for his assistance with map production.

Contents

Preface / viii

Acknowledgements / ix

List of Abbreviations / xi

Introduction / 1
1 Turkey During the Period of Anglo-Russian Antagonism, June 1940 to June 1941 / 19
2 The Balkan Front, October 1940 to April 1941 / 32
3 Turkey and Britain’s War in the Middle East, May 1941 to November 1942 / 51
4 The Churchill Factor: November 1942 to April 1943 / 76
5 Turkey and the Anglo-Soviet Alliance, June 1941 to September 1943 / 107
6 The Eastern Mediterranean, in Peace and War: May to October 1943 / 118
7 Alliance Diplomacy and the Rise of Anglo-Turkish Antagonism, October 1943–September 1944 / 131
8 The Balkans, 1944–45 / 151
9 Russia, the Caucasus and the Straits, October 1944 to July 1945 / 166

Conclusion / 189

Notes / 198

Bibliography / 255

Index / 266

Introduction

This book explores the role of Turkey in British strategy and diplomacy during the Second World War, with a particular emphasis on Turkey’s place in the changing relationship between Britain and the Soviet Union. Although Turkey did not declare war on Germany until February 1945, it had a treaty of alliance with Britain, and occupied an important strategic location in the eastern Mediterranean, between Axis-held Europe and the British Empire in the Middle East. This book draws on the latest archival releases – including those from the secret world of British intelligence – to offer the first comprehensive analysis of Anglo-Turkish relations during the Second World War. It seeks to bridge the gap ‘between world war and cold war,’ and fill a significant gap in the international history of the 1940s. This is the first study to properly contextualise Turkey’s place in British strategy at each of three key stages in the war effort – in the Balkans in the winter of 1940–41; on the ‘Northern Front’ in 1941–42; and in the eastern Mediterranean in 1943. It also addresses Turkey’s prominent role in British post-war planning from the summer of 1943, and demonstrates some of the emerging strategic dilemmas in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, which dominated British external policy after 1945.

Britain, Turkey and the Soviet Union, 1940–45

Strategy, Diplomacy and Intelligence in the Eastern Mediterranean

Nicholas Tamkin
Christ’s College, University of Cambridge


© Nicholas Tamkin 2009
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