Campaigning: The Journal of the Joint Forces Staff College 10 December 2021

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Book Review

The Anglo-Soviet Alliance: Comrades & Allies During WW2

by Colin Turbett

Reviewed by1

CDR Jeffrey Holdsworth

U.S. Navy

Assistant Professor, JFSC

Foreign policy and national security professionals benefit from timely reminders that reveal the 

intricacy of personal and organizational relationships, and they are particularly valuable as both a 

reference point and a measurement during periods of competition. Competition occurs within the 

context of relationships, and careful examination of how those relationships form and exert 

influence at all levels of society is valuable to serious, strategic competitors. Colin Turbett is a 

career British social worker and Soviet historian. In his third published book, The Anglo-Soviet 

Alliance: Comrades & Allies During WW2, he offers readers an exploration of relationships in 

the setting of ideological competition before, during, and following conflict. His detailed 

vignettes provided perspective on the layers that comprise complex, often competitive, 

relationships. 

The book presents a successful and balanced examination of the relationships influencing the 

British and the Soviets during the Second World War. He focuses on the perspectives of ordinary 

citizens and selected prominent figures within contemporary British society, and his research 

reveals details that convey a rich, contextualized experience. Examination of the motivations for 

friendship, commitments, and alliance between the British and the Soviets emphasizes the 

sympathies between two populations with starkly different perspectives. By illuminating the 

tensions operating within British society, he draws a deft line between parallel forces in political 

and societal circles and shows how and where the circles overlapped in meaningful ways. At the 

core of the tensions are a pair of competing ideologies held fast by the context of a shared vital 

interest.

The book thoroughly covers several significant factors that constituted the relationship between 

the Soviet Union and the British, providing important contextual details that influenced the years 

following the First World War and the sweeping changes affecting the two societies. On the 

canvas of that important context, he develops an appreciation for both the sympathies and the 

tensions between the nascent communist and the established parliamentary systems before 

exploring the alliance itself. In the subsequent chapters, he continues to highlight significant 

1 The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy or position of Joint 

Forces Staff College, National Defense University, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
Campaigning: The Journal of the Joint Forces Staff College 10 December 2021

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aspects of the alliance, such as unity of action and cooperation in military relationships and the 

Arctic convoys. True to the connections between the front lines and the societies, he also opens a 

window into how the British populace engaged with the concepts of socialism and fascism, both 

at home and on the front lines in various theaters of war during the conflict. Finally, he examines 

the fundamental sources of the Cold War that followed from the intimate alliance.

Turbett’s adept and patient examination of the relationship between two militaries, two bodiespolitic, and two societies gives a deep appreciation for the factors that contribute to the inherent 

complexity of such an alliance. American national security professionals recognize the vital 

importance of alliances and partnerships in the pursuit of both U.S. interests and ally and partner 

interests. A casual reader may at first feel distracted by his consistent inclusion of references to 

other sections and chapters within his book as he carefully constructs the rich context 

surrounding the alliance. The complexity and nuance of the subject is well-framed through his 

organization and his skillful employment of the technique. He succeeds in crafting a cohesive 

whole out of a web of linkages and connections. In the end, it offers the reader welcome ease 

when choosing a path to follow the details provided in other sections, guided by the curiosity he 

inspires. His inclusion of selected quotations from leaders and recognized experts further frames 

the prevailing conditions and factors. 

While some of the detailed accounts of key activists within the social and political movements in 

Great Britain may be more suited to historians of the period, they illuminate crucial factors for 

today’s national security professionals. The factors take an even sharper point considering the 

significant technological advances that have accompanied globalization and have forged deeper 

and perhaps more personal but certainly more instant connectivity between people of disparate 

ideologies across the globe. For all of the highlights described above, and particularly his 

illumination of the complex relationships between the two cooperating and competing parties, 

the addition of Turbett’s book to a shelf is likely to satisfy most professionals in the joint 

national security community because it satisfyingly grounds strategic thinking in the implicit 

context. Turbett’s attention to context, too often dismissed as obvious in high-minded abstract 

discussions, is crucial to understanding the complexities of competition amidst cooperation.2

Book Information:

The Anglo-Soviet Alliance: Comrades & Allies During WW2

by Colin Turbett

Pen and Sword Books Ltd., 2021. 232 pp.

2 A version of this book review previously appeared in the Naval Historical Foundation. It is reprinted here 

with permission, https://www.navyhistory.org/2021/11/the-anglo-soviet-alliance-comrades-allies-during-ww2/.