Western Union (alliance)

Background

In the aftermath of World War II there were fears of a renewal of German aggression, and on 4 March 1947 the Treaty of Dunkirk was signed by France and the United Kingdom as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of a possible attack.

In his speech to the House of Commons on 22 January 1948, British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin called for the extension of the Treaty of Dunkirk to also conclude the Benelux countries, creating a Western Union.^[2] The object was to consolidate Western Europe to satisfy the United States and to give advance notice of the eventual incorporation of Italy, and then Germany, into the Treaty.

The negotiating conference was held on 4 March 1948, a few days after the coup in Prague; thanks to this, the three smaller countries were able to persuade the others to agree to the concept of automatic and immediate mutual assistance in the event of aggression, and to the idea of setting up a regional organisation (a multilateral alliance in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations).

The Western Union was intended to provide Western Europe with a bulwark against the communist threat and to bring greater collective security.^[3]

Formation

The Treaty of Brussels was signed on 17 March 1948 between Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and was an expansion to the preceding year's defence pledge, the Dunkirk Treaty signed between Britain and France.

NCOs of the Corps of the Royal Military Police displaying the Western Union Standard outside Château de Courances

1949 and 1950 posters advertising the Gloster Meteor jet fighter as the spearhead of Western Union defence

Although the Treaty goes no further than providing for 'cooperation' between the contracting parties, 'which will be effected through the Consultative Council referred to in Article VII as well as through other bodies', in practice the arrangement was referred to as Western Union or the Brussels Treaty Organisation.

Cannibalisation and marginalisation

When the division of Europe into two opposing camps became considered unavoidable, the threat of the USSR became much more important than the threat of German rearmament. Western Europe, therefore, sought a new mutual defence pact involving the United States, a powerful military force for such an alliance. The United States, concerned with containing the influence of the USSR, was responsive. Secret meetings began by the end of March 1949 between American, Canadian and British officials to initiate the negotiations that led to the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 in Washington, DC.

The need to back up the commitments of the North Atlantic Treaty with appropriate political and military structures led to the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). In December 1950, with the appointment of General Eisenhower as the first Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), the members of the Treaty of Brussels decided to transfer the headquarters, personnel, and plans of the Western Union Military Organisation (WUDO) to NATO.^[4] NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) took over responsibility for the defence of Western Europe, while the physical headquarters in Fontainebleau were transformed into NATO's Headquarters, Allied Forces Central Europe (AFCENT).^[5][6][7][8]

As WUDO's capacities were transferred to NATO's SHAPE, Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery resigned as Commanders-in-Chief Committee Chairman on 31 March 1951 and took the position of deputy SACEUR Supreme Allied Commander Europe on 1 April 1951.

The establishment of NATO, along with the signing of a succession of treaties establishing the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation (April 1948), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (April 1949), the Council of Europe (May 1949) and the European Coal and Steel Community (April 1951), left the Western Union and its founding Treaty of Brussels was left devoid of much of its authority.

Transformation into the Western European Union

The Western Union's founding Treaty of Brussels was amended at the 1954 Paris Conference as a result of the failure of the Treaty establishing the European Defence Community to gain French ratification: The General Treaty (German: Deutschlandvertrag) of 1952 formally named the EDC as a prerequisite of the end of Allied occupation of Germany, and there was a desire to include Germany in the Western defence architecture. The Modified Brussels Treaty (MBT) transformed the Western Union into the Western European Union (WEU), at which point Italy and Germany were admitted. Although the WEU established by the Modified Brussels Treaty was significantly less powerful and ambitious than the original Western Union, German membership of the WEU was considered sufficient for the occupation of the country to end in accordance with the General Treaty.^[9]

Social and cultural aspects were handed to the Council of Europe to avoid duplication of responsibilities within Europe.^[10]

Objective

The objective of WUDO was to provide for the coordination of defence between the five powers in the military and supply fields and for the study of the tactical problems of the defence of Western Europe; in addition, to provide a framework on which, in the event of any emergency, a command organization could be built up.

The Treaty of Brussels contained a mutual defence clause as set forth in Article IV:

If any of the High Contracting Parties should be the object of an armed attack in Europe, the other High Contracting Parties will, in accordance with the provisions of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, afford the Party so attacked all the military and other aid and assistance in their power.^[15]

Article V set forth the obligations of Brussels Pact members to cooperate with the United Nations Security Council to maintain international peace and security, and Article VI set forth the obligations of Brussels Pact members to not enter any third-party treaties that conflicted with the Treaty of Brussels.^[15]

Structure

The overall command structure was patterned after the wartime Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF), which included a joint planning staff.^[13] WUDO could also be compared with the defence organisation in the United Kingdom.

Organisational chart as of November 1948

:

London

Fontainebleau

Fixed locations of WU structures:
London: Defence Committee, Military Supply Board, Chiefs-of-Staff Committee
Fontainebleau: Commanders-in-Chief Committee

Commanders-in-Chief Committee

The high-level headquarters of Chairman Montgomery of the C-in-C Committee was situated in Château des Fougères (48°25′17″N 2°43′58″E / 48.42139°N 2.73278°E / 48.42139; 2.73278, demolished in 1998^[19]) in Fontainebleau's neighbouring commune Avon.

The Western Union Commanders-in-Chief Committee, responsible to the Western Union Chiefs-of-Staff Committee, was created on 5 October 1948.^[6][20]

The committee consisted of Western Union Commanders-in-Chief for the three military branches (Land, Naval and Air), as well as the senior officer, designated Chairman. Their immediate task was to study the tactical problems of the defence of Western Europe, i.e. make plans to meet a Russian armed threat in Western Europe. They did not assume executive command of any forces in peacetime, although they were in close contact with Military Governors of the occupation zones, and it is hoped that it may be possible, to a limited extent, to adjust peacetime dispositions to meet the needs of defence.

Members of the Western Union Commanders-in-Chief Committee

Portrait	Name	Title	Defence branch	Nationality
	Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.[18]	Chairman	British Army	United Kingdom
	General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny	Commander-in-chief, Land Forces, Western Europe (CinCLand)	French Army	France
	Air Chief Marshal Sir James Robb	Commander-in-chief, Air Forces, Western Europe (CinCAir)	Royal Air Force	United Kingdom
	Vice-Admiral Robert Jaujard	Flag Officer, Western Europe (FOWE)[21][13][22]	French Navy	France

The committee formed a nucleus command organisation in the French town of Fontainebleau, south of Paris, known as the Combined Allied Command of WUDO (UNILION), which, in war, would be capable of commanding all land forces and supporting air forces to meet a Russian armed threat. UNILION employed c. 100 officers and 300 other personnel.^[12]

The top-level headquarters of UNILION, with the office of the C-in-C Committee Chairman, was housed in Château des Fougères in Fontainebleau's neighbouring commune of Avon.^[23][19]

UNIMER

UNIAIR

UNITER

Cour des Offices/
Quartier Henri IV

Place d'Armes

Le Tibre

Le Romuls

The Henry IV quarter at the Palace of Fontainebleau
(48°24′10″N 2°42′8″E / 48.40278°N 2.70222°E / 48.40278; 2.70222) housed the air, sea and land commands
of the Combined Allied Command. Prior to World War II these
offices housed the Artillery School.

UNILION's three subordinate commands, for each service, were housed in the Henri IV quarter at the Palace of Fontainebleau:

• Sea Command (UNIMER)
• Air Command (UNIAIR)
• Land Command (UNITER)

Much ill-feeling was caused in the headquarters from disagreements between Chairman Montgomery and de CinCLand Lattre.^[24][25]

Château de Courances served as private residence for Chairman Montgomery.^[22][6][7]

Operational history