Triumph and Tragedy (The Second World War) (135 page)

Prime Minister to Foreign

26 Nov. 44

Secretary

I consider that at the end of the winter campaign it
would be appropriate for the City of London to confer its
freedom upon this remarkable American general

[General Eisenhower]. It is obvious that no one else
should be included at the time.

Prime Minister to First Lord

27 Nov. 44

There is no immediate urgency, but the Navy cannot
be deprived of their prize money. I will not consent to
this. I think we had a fight about it last time.

Prime Minister to Foreign

30 Nov. 44

Secretary

Please never forget that we can always say to the
United States, “Will you take over a mandate for
Ethiopia? We certainly will not.” You will find they will
recoil most meekly and with great rapidity.

DECEMBER

Prime Minister to Foreign

2 Dec. 44

Secretary

The first thing is arms in the hands of the French.

The second step is to improve the quality and type as
fast as possible. I cannot conceive how a decision to
arm a number of French divisions with captured
German weapons for the next two or three years could
possibly affect the general treatment of the disarmament of Germany and the destruction of German
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845

munitions factories. One lot of German arms would be
used while there, was nothing else, and fade out as
better and more agreeable weapons came in. Your
suggestion starts out on a basis which we have by no
means reached yet. It is almost like saying, “Don’t shoot
that German with a German-made pistol now. Far
better be shot yourself by him, and have a thoroughly
harmonious type of armament developed on a scientific
scale a few years after your funeral.”

Prime Minister to First Lord,

3 Dec. 44

Secretary of State for War

Secretary of State for Air,

and to General Ismay for C.I.

G.S. and C.O.S. Commitee

(Minister of Labour to be

informed of what is passing)

I am much distressed by the impending cannibalisa-tion of the 50th Division. We cannot afford at this stage
to reduce our stake in the Western line of battle. We
must examine all possibilities which are open. For
instance, there are nearly 80,000 Royal Marines. These
are no doubt needed as tar as ships marked for the
East are concerned, but they are not needed in
anything like their present strength in vessels in non-Japanese-infected waters. The Admiralty should furnish
a paper showing the exact location of all Marines, what
ships they are in, what theatres these ships are marked
for, how many Marines are ashore, how many are in
the training establishments, etc. I should expect at least
10,000 men to be found from this quarter alone. These
must be held available for service in France and Italy.

The 50th Division might close its three brigades into
two and add a third Royal Marine brigade, the rest of
the Marines going into a common pool; or, alternatively,
they could all be put into the pool.

2. Again, let me have precise figures for the intake
to the Navy in the next six months, and the numbers
employed in all the schools for recruits, both staff and
pupils. In my opinion, at least 5000 recruits who opted
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846

for the naval training and who are now in the Navy
training schools should be transferred to the Army.

3. It will be possible to reconsider these .natters
when the war with Germany is over, which may well be
in six months. But now is the time when we require to
keep the largest number of British military units in the
field.

4. I recognise that the R.A.F. is more closely
engaged than the Navy at the present time. But none
the less I will ask for a further comb out from the R.A.F.

Regiment for the common pool.

5. We should also not hesitate to take in these
months younger men who are withheld by pledges to
Parliament, and I am prepared at any time, as Minister
of Defence, to ask from Parliament the necessary
release from our obligations.

6. The staffs should be carefully combed for able-bodied fighting officers and men. We are hoping for the
release of several thousand from the Caserta [H.Q.]

population. Every training or exceptional establishment
in the Army should be examined, not only from the
point of view of reducing its size, but also of substituting
elderly men or recovered wounded. It is a painful
reflection that probably not one in four or five men who
wear the King’s uniform ever hears a bullet whistle, or
is likely to hear one. The vast majority run no more risk
than the civil population in Southern England. It is my
unpleasant duty to dwell on these facts. One set of men
are sent back again and again to the front, while the
great majority are kept out of all the fighting, to their
regret.

7. This is a moment for supreme effort on the Army
front in Europe, and I earnestly beg my Service
advisers and their Parliamentary chiefs to do their very
utmost to meet the national need.

8. Finally, on no account is the breaking up of the
50th Division to proceed any further until these matters
have been thrashed out between us and decisions
upon them given by the War Cabinet.

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847

Prime Minister to Secretary

3 Dec. 44

of State for War

I propose to speak to the King on Tuesday about
this [letter from a commanding officer on the Western
Front complaining of the delay in men receiving their
decorations, especially the “Immediate” awards], but I
should first like to have your comments. I am indignant
that men should perish without ever receiving
decorations awarded them months before. I need
scarcely say that no inquiries are to be made about the
writer or the regiment, as I take responsibility.

Prime Minister to Foreign

3 Dec. 44

Secretary

I put this down for record. Of all the neutrals,
Switzerland has the greatest right to distinction. She
has been the sole international force linking the
hideously sundered nations and ourselves. What does
it matter whether she has been able to give us the
commercial advantages we desire or has given too
many to the Germans, to keep herself alive? She has
been a democratic State, standing for freedom in self-defence among her mountains, and in thought, in spite
of race, largely on our side.

2. I was astonished at U.J.’s savageness against
her, and, much though I respect that great and good
man, I was entirely uninfluenced by his attitude. He
called them “swine,” and he does not use that sort of
language without meaning it. I am sure we ought to
stand by Switzerland, and we ought to explain to U.J.

why it is we do so. The moment for sending such a
message should be carefully chosen….

Prime Minister to

11 Dec. 44

Chancellor of the

Exchequer

I should be glad if you would reconvene the
committee on man-power (yourself, Mr. Bevin, Mr.

Lyttelton, and Lord Cherwell), for the purpose of
preparing for the War Cabinet proposals for allocations
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848

to the Services and industry for the first half of 1945, in
the light of the Minister of Labour and National
Service’s memorandum setting out the man-power
position for 1945 and the demands for 1945 from the
Service and other Ministers.

One of the questions that will arise is whether
transfers should be made from the Navy and the Royal
Air Force on a considerable scale to meet the Army’s
man-power difficulties. Decisions on this matter must of
course be reserved for the War Cabinet, but it would be
helpful to the Cabinet if your committee were to focus
the issues — without delaying their proposals for
allocating the new intake.

Your committee should proceed on the assumption
that the German war will end about June 30, 1945, but
the scheme should be sufficiently flexible to allow of
adjustments from time to time, without undue
disturbance to the war effort, if it becomes necessary to
change the assumption as to the date on which the war
with Germany is likely to end.

Prime Minister to Foreign

11 Dec. 44

Secretary

I do not think the balance of help and hindrance
given us by Spain in the war is fairly stated [in this letter
to Franco]. The supreme services of not intervening in
1940 or interfering with the use of the airfield and
Algeciras Bay in the months before “Torch” in 1942

outweigh the minor irritations which are so meticulously
set forth. Therefore I should like to see the passages
reciting our many grievances somewhat reduced…. A
little alteration in the wording would be compatible with
justice and consistency, and I should be glad if you
would look them over from that point of view….

2. I am in agreement with the rest of the draft, which
as a whole I like very much. I thought however the
Cabinet wished some reference to the Falange and to
dictatorship to be made. Will you consider whether this
should not be included.

3. I should be glad if these points could be settled
tonight or tomorrow, and the document then printed
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849

and circulated to the Cabinet…. The reason why I have
become anxious to have this matter cleared up, having
myself been rather slow in dealing with it, is … because
I think it would be very useful now to send a copy of
this letter, when agreed, by special messenger or
telegraph to Stalin. I believe it would give him great
satisfaction, and also help to clear away any doubts
that may have been engendered by de Gaulle during
his visit that we have desired to build up a Western bloc
against Russia. I have no doubt de Gaulle endeavoured to acquire as much merit as possible by stating
his opposition to such an organism.

4. I am increasingly impressed, up to date, with the
loyalty with which, under much temptation and very
likely pressure, Stalin has kept off Greece in accordance with our agreement, and I believe that we shall
gain in influence with him and strengthen a moderate
policy for the Soviets by showing them how our mind
works.

5. Finally, I may say I think the letter has been very
well drafted, and says the most freezing things with
suitable diplomatic restraint.

Prime Minister to Minister

18 Dec. 44

of Production

Your report on penicillin, showing that we are only to
get about one-tenth of the expected output this year, is
very disappointing. It is discouraging to find that,
although this is a British discovery, the Americans are
already so far ahead of us, not only in output but in
technique. I hope you are satisfied that we have the
right people in charge and that labour and material
difficulties are being tackled early enough and
energetically enough.

Pray let me have a realistic estimate of 1945

production.

Prime Minister to

19 Dec. 44

Chancellor of the

Exchequer, Minister of

Labour, Minister of