THE FRENCH “CAUCASUS PROJECT” AND ITS STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES (1939–1941)

	ISSN 2223-165X
	Izvestiya SOIGSI

Home Editorial board Publication ethics Current Information Archive Peer review guidelines Contacts Address: Pr. Mira, 10, Vladikavkaz, 362040, RNO-A, Russia E-mail: soigsi@mail.ru	DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2025.97.58.007 THE FRENCH “CAUCASUS PROJECT” AND ITS STRATEGIC CONSEQUENCES (1939–1941) Tatarov, Azamat A. Izvestia SOIGSI. 2025. Issue 58 (97). P.75-83. Abstract: The article examines the French “Caucasian project” plans to strike Soviet oil infrastructure in the Caucasus to undermine the USSR’s economic stability and disrupt raw material supplies to Germany. This study addresses gaps in historiography by analyzing both the content of the plans and their multifaceted consequences for international relations and military strategies of key WWII participants. The focus is on strategic implications of the project, including its impact on Soviet foreign policy and defensive measures, as well as Germany’s propagandistic use of captured French General Staff documents. Publication of these materials in German “White Book” (1941) aimed to expose Western powers’ anti-Soviet intentions, triggering a diplomatic scandal. Germany’s actions were part of a broader strategy to pit the USSR against Britain, secure its own oil interests, and create favorable conditions for expansion. The study demonstrates that the USSR significantly strengthened Caucasus defenses, affecting the balance of forces on the eve of the Great Patriotic War and redirecting substantial resources to the southern direction at the expense of its western borders. Additionally, Germany actively sought to provoke a Soviet advance toward Iran and British territories to divert USSR attention from the European theater. An important outcome was erosion of trust between the USSR and Turkey, which was implicated in the Western powers’ anti- Soviet designs. This led to a temporary cooling of bilateral relations and heightened Soviet defensive measures along the Caucasian border. Despite formally maintaining neutrality, Turkey intensified its rapprochement with Germany as an alternative ally. Keywords: France, Caucasus, airstrikes, Middle East, Germany. Language:: Russian Download the full text For citation:: Tatarov, A.A. The French “Caucasus project” and its strategic consequences (1939-1941) // Izvestiya SOIGSI. 2025. Iss. 58 (97). Pp.75-83. (in Russian). DOI 10.46698/VNC.2025.97.58.007 + References 1. Krecker, L. Deutschland und die Türkei im zweiten Weltkrieg. Frankfurt am Main, Klostermann,1964. 293 p. 2. Baerentzen L. A Rarely Used Source for the “Phoney War”, The Secret French Documents Found by German Soldiers At La Charité-Sur-Loire on June 19th, 1940. Romanian Intelligence Studies Review. 2022, no. 27, pp. 88–107. 3. Yakushevsky, A. Agressivnye plany i deistviya zapadnykh derzhav protiv SSSR v 1939–1941 gg. [Aggressive Plans and Actions of the Western Powers against the USSR in 1939–1941]. 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