Why did Uk and France declare war on Germany and not the Sovieit Union in 1939?
During the 1930s it was never clear if war came whether it would be Germany or the Soviet Union. The Communists seemed on many occasions to pose more of a threat than Germany. However this all changed when Germany entered Czechoslovakia. Previously the British Government had tried to avoid war at all costs. WW1 was still too fresh, the mass slaughter was too raw in peoples minds. Most people supported the Government in any attempt to avoid war. The British Government then signed a treaty with Poland giving its support, it could not follow up this treaty once Germany invaded because of logistics. What it could do and did do was declare war on Germany. At this point the Soviet Union did not enter the equation, in fact the British Military top brass would have cautioned against opening a war on 2 fronts, especially as Britain has never had a large standing Army. Relations between Britain and the Soviets had never been good but they were only poor not warranting War.
