GAULLE Charles de L.A.S., Paris, 24 May 1935, to Paul Reynaud; 4 p. in-12 on bifeuillet headed "Présidence du Conseil Supérieur de la Défense Nationale". The Franco-Soviet mutual assistance treaty and Hitler's desire to expand eastwards. "I presume that events, which bring the financial question to the forefront of politics and your personality to the forefront of this question, must, for a time, divert your attention from the military problem. Should you, however, Minister, intend to intervene in the imminent debates and to give your intervention not only a financial and economic policy character but a general policy turn, it would perhaps seem good to you to clarify your position from the point of view of national defence at the same time as others. If this were your intention, allow me to point out to you, Minister, that the recent pact of immediate mutual assistance with the Soviets and the forthcoming Danubian pact, as well as Hitler's speech announcing his plans for expansion towards the East and in Central Europe, provide peremptory arguments for your plan of military reorganization". The Franco-Soviet Mutual Assistance Treaty was signed by France and the Soviet Union on 2 May 1935. It stipulates in particular: "In the event of France or the USSR being the object of unprovoked aggression on the part of a European State, despite the sincerely peaceful intentions of both countries, the USSR and reciprocally France will immediately lend each other aid and assistance". (Article 2). Charles de Gaulle paid close attention to Adolf Hitler's words very early on, taking them seriously and incorporating them into his thinking on the necessary development of the French army. Minor traces of rust (paperclip) on the first 2 pages.