 Britain and France believed that war could still be avoided and that the Soviet Union, weakened by the Great Purge, could not be a main military participant, a point with which many military sources were at variance, especially because of the Soviet victories over the Japanese Kwantung Army on the Manchurian frontier.France was more anxious to find an agreement with the Soviet Union than was Britain; as a continental power, it was more willing to make concessions and also more fearful of the dangers of an agreement between the Soviet Union and Germany.The contrasting attitudes partly explain why the Soviets has often been charged with playing a double game in 1939 of carrying on open negotiations for an alliance with Britain and France while it was secretly considering propositions from Germany.