Chapter 96 Volume Three, Chapter Twenty-Three, My Meeting with Roosevelt

Differences of opinion in our leadership on strategy The question of the invasion of 1941 Sir John Deere Paper of 6th May The strength and condition of domestic armored forces Other reasons for concern I issued on 13th May Responses to My Views Prevailing Harry Hopkins' Second Visit to the United States Concerned about Invasion Issues and Expressing Skepticism About Our Strategy of Trying to Hold Middle East Unity Singapore, or Cairo?Plans for a permanent secretary of state in Singapore as in Cairo Mr. Duff Cooper's Far East mission to put pressure on Japan My plan for a meeting with the President in Newfoundland Hopkins' mission to Moscow A pleasant voyage Prince of Wales The ship arrived at the meeting place to meet with the President on the morning of Sunday, August 10th.

The question of the enemy's invasion of Britain has been dealt with repeatedly in this and previous volumes.However, in May 1941, Sir John Deere, Chief of the Reich General Staff, reopened the question on irrefutable grounds.On the 6th of May he submitted to me the following important papers, copies of which were sent to his colleagues in the Navy and Air Force and to General Ismay.Compliance with this recommendation would mean a full return to a defensive position.Apart from recruiting soldiers for the Middle or Far East, it will be impossible to send any reinforcements.We will not have any troops with which to take the initiative.

Indeed, since our Middle East armored forces need to supplement the normal consumption of 50 tanks every month to barely maintain, in this way, General Auchinleck will not only be unable to attack himself, but will probably be overwhelmed by the enemy in terms of strength. The relationship of the Middle East to the security of the United Kingdom May 6, 1941 The chances of intrusion seem to have diminished for the time being.However, once the German army and air force have been withdrawn from the Balkan battlefields, they can be assembled to attack our homeland within six to eight weeks.With American aid increasing day by day, the enemy must be intently waiting for a favorable moment to launch this campaign that may win him victory.

2. The achievements of the German army in the Balkans and Libya, two regions with very different terrains, once again proved that the armored force supported by a strong air force is an extremely powerful force.In this war, such cooperation has always dominated every battlefield.On the defensive side, because of the inability to predict where the enemy will attack, one has to suffer the disadvantages of scattered forces, and success must necessarily depend primarily on maintaining a large stockpile of tanks, anti-tank weapons, and aircraft for the counteroffensive. 3. After detailed investigations, the chiefs of staff of the three armed forces recently estimated that the scale of the enemy's armored forces attacking our homeland is six armored divisions, with a total of about 2,400 tanks.I fully agree with the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Forces that six armored divisions and four army tank brigades (ie about 2,600 tanks) would be required to defend Great Britain against an attack of this magnitude.The East and South-East Districts should each deploy two of their armored divisions and two army tank brigades to counter-attack enemy infiltrations from East Anglia and the coasts of Kent and Sussex respectively.The other two armored divisions were available as reserves, one of which was designated as a reserve in the north.

He then explained the status of the armored forces in the country as of June 1941. He pointed out that the total number of tanks we had for home defense was about 1,250, including 150 light tanks and 490 trainer tanks, of which 360 tanks are available for combat at three weeks' notice.He elaborated on the need for special training of armored units, and continued: 6. The infantry which guards our long and weakly defended coastline is spread out in broad positions, and a division's line is forty-five miles long, making it impossible to control much depth.Our beach barriers were excellent, however, those divisions had less than half the standard number of anti-tank guns and lacked anti-tank mines.

German armored units carried in special landing craft must be able to land.The RAF has a lot to do and we don't have an air force designed and trained for bombing in close coordination with the Army.The Luftwaffe should desperately strive for air superiority on the road to march.Our land defense, therefore, will depend chiefly on the ability of our armored forces to mount a powerful and swift counter-offensive.But taking into account the training factor, I estimate that by June our armored forces will be equivalent to three adequate armored divisions against the enemy's six armored divisions.

7. Believe that Germany has no command of the sea, believe that our air force can wipe out the enemy's expeditionary force before sailing and on the beach, or sweep the enemy's air force in the air to cover the landing, or believe that the technical difficulties of landing on such a scale are insurmountable It is dangerous to ignore the possibility of an onslaught by enemy armor.It will take five to seven days to muster enough naval vessels in the waters around my home land.Our bombers cannot effectively deal with more than six invading ports, or six invading ports, and catch up with good weather.Air strikes cannot be relied upon to thwart an enemy landing any more than they prevented our boarding at Dunkirk.Our fighters could not completely counter the enemy's bombers if the enemy disregarded the heavy losses that would inevitably be suffered, and, no doubt, the German plan would include measures to eliminate our fighters from their bases.As for the technical difficulties of the landing, the Germans had repeatedly proved their skill and thoroughness in planning and in the manufacture of special equipment, and that they had had time to arrange them properly.The supply problem should not be a big drain on their resources as might be expected.The amount of food and gasoline required by the armored forces in the short term is relatively small, and the enemy can find sufficient quantities locally.

8. We underestimated the power of the Germans in both Norway and Belgium.Recent events in Libya and the Balkans once again teach us about the ability to overcome the greatest difficulties. 9. It seems to me that the loss of Egypt will be without calamity, and we will not willingly suffer it without the fiercest fighting.However, the loss of Egypt will not end the war.A single successful invasion is enough to invite our final defeat.So it was the United Kingdom, not Egypt, that mattered, and so the defense of the United Kingdom had to come first.In terms of priority, Egypt cannot be ranked second, because, as the last resort, Singapore's security should be prior to that of Egypt. This is already a recognized principle in our strategy, but Singapore's defense is still greatly improved below par.

10. Of course, in war one must take risks, but they should be appropriate ones.We must not err by reducing the safety of vital locations.We must, if necessary, reduce losses in unimportant locations before the opportunity is lost. 11. The defense of Great Britain is inseparable from the question of the defense of Ireland and the occupation of the Atlantic islands.I believe we have retreated to the limit, if not below, of the security of Great Britain.In my opinion, during the next three months one should not risk sending too many tanks out of the country, and should be limited to maintaining a reserve of tanks already in the Middle East or on their way to the Middle East.Even this amount, based on 10 percent of the monthly consumption, would require about fifty tanks to be shipped out every month.

Surprised at the receipt of this document, I replied a week later in a somewhat polemical tone as follows: Prime Minister to Chief of the Reich General Staff May 13, 1941 In the document you submitted on May 6th, I agree with many parts, and there are also many remarks that I am not convinced.I completely agree with you in section 8 that our military advisers underestimated the German strength in Norway, Belgium and Libya.Of these, Belgium is the most notable example.However, I have never heard a single British soldier point out the fragility of the Maginot Line branch, or object to the British occupation of Belgium.I make this point only to show that the opinions of even the most seasoned military experts can sometimes be wrong in the vagaries of war.

2. I surmise that you would rather lose Egypt and the Nile Valley, and that our half a million troops assembled there surrender or be annihilated, than lose Singapore.I don't think so, and I don't think we will lose Singapore.The defense of Singapore required only a fraction of the forces required to hold off the Germans and Italians in the Nile Valley.I have told you the political arguments upon which Singapore's defense is deployed.That is to say, if Japan enters the war, the United States may well join us.And, in any case, Japan will not besiege Singapore in the first place, because besieging Singapore is a much more dangerous operation for her and less harmful for me than spreading her cruisers and battlecruisers on the Eastern trade line. . Of course, at this time, the Japanese had not yet gained a foothold in Indochina. 3. I do not know whether the actions of Germany in the Balkan countries can be used as an example of their ability to overcome the greatest difficulties.Just as an exercise in perspective on history, I see the exact opposite.The Germans assembled a large army without any resistance and attacked Yugoslavia while it was still unmobilized and betrayed by its pre-war government.At that time the Greek army was wiped out by the Italian army, Greece was occupied by the Italian army, so we were actually alone against their overwhelming attack. air force.The fact that Germany, with these easy advantages, was incapable of effectively preventing our troops from skilfully disengaging and re-embarking inspired confidence rather than fear in me. 4. The wisdom stated in Section 10 depends entirely on the degree to which it applies to the situation.But, I hope, that last sentence has nothing to do with the current situation in Egypt. Many governments I have seen would have been disheartened to hear such grave judgments from the highest military authority.However, I had no difficulty convincing my political colleagues, and, of course, I had the support of the chiefs of the Navy and Air Force.My opinion therefore prevailed, and reinforcements to the Middle East continued unabated and continued.The reader will see that I do not even consider it necessary to restate the arguments against the sort of view that the German invasion of Britain was likely to succeed.Sir John Deere himself must have sensed that public opinion on this point did not agree with him, and after the warning he did not bring up the matter again. But, two months later, the question was brought up from another angle.Harry Hopkins was sent to the UK for the second time by the President in mid-July.The first question he put to me was the new situation created by Hitler's invasion of Russia and its effect on everything we could expect from America under Lend-Lease.Second, an American general, after an inspection under fully facilitated conditions, made a report that expressed doubts about our ability to resist invasion.This has caused anxiety for the president.So, third, as mentioned earlier, the president's doubts about the wisdom of our attempt to defend Egypt and the Middle East have grown.Do we lose it all by trying to do too much?Finally, there was the question of trying to arrange a meeting between Roosevelt and me in one place shortly. This time, Hopkins was not alone.There are several senior officers of the United States Army and Navy stationed in London, ostensibly in connection with Lend-Lease, and in particular Admiral Gormley, who takes part in the day-to-day work of our Admiralty, working together on the problems of Atlantic operations and on the solution of this The problem is the task shared by the United States.I held a conference with Hopkins' group and the Chiefs of Staff at Ten Downing Street on July 24th.Accompanying Hopkins at the meeting, in addition to Admiral Gormley, was Rear Admiral Cheney, known as the Special Observer, and Brigadier General Lee, Army Attaché of the U.S. Embassy.Al Harriman had just returned from a trip to Egypt, and while he was in Egypt, I directed him to visit all of our military installations.At this time, he also attended the meeting with Hopkins. Hopkins said: People who hold important positions in the United States and determine defense policy believe that the Middle East is an undefensible position for the British Empire, and Great Britain is making great sacrifices to maintain this position.According to them, the Battle of the Atlantic is the final battle that will determine the outcome of this war, so all efforts should be concentrated on it.He said that the president is more inclined to support the war in the Middle East, because he believes that wherever there is an enemy, there should be a fight against the enemy.General Chaney arranged the four problems of the British Empire in the following order: the defense of the United Kingdom and the Atlantic routes; the defense of Singapore and the routes to Australia and New Zealand; the defense of the sea routes in general; fourth, the defense of the Middle East.These questions are all important, but he puts them in this order.General Lee agreed with General Cheney.Admiral Gormley said that he was worried about the safety of the transportation lines in the Middle East if a large amount of U.S. arms were shipped to the Middle East.Wouldn't that weaken the battle in the Atlantic? I then ask the Chiefs of Staff of the British Armed Forces to give their views.The First Sea Lord explained why he felt more confident this year than last in annihilating an invading enemy force.The Chief of the Air Staff pointed out that the Royal Air Force, compared with the Luftwaffe, had grown considerably compared to last September, and mentioned that our ability to destroy the ports of departure of invading enemy troops had recently increased.The Chief of the Imperial General Staff also expressed his opinion in a confident tone, saying that the British Army is now incomparably stronger than it was in September last year.I proceed to describe the special measures taken to defend the airfield after the lesson of Crete.I invite our guests to visit any airport that interests them.The enemy may use poison gas, but if so, it will be to their own disadvantage, for we are ready to retaliate immediately, and any stronghold they may establish on the coast is the object of our concentration.Poison gas warfare will also extend to the enemy's own country.Then I ask Dill to comment on the Middle East.He did not express any opinion contrary to what he wrote in May, and he forcefully stated several reasons why we must remain there. At the end of the discussion, I felt that our American friends were convinced by our explanation and were impressed by the solidarity between us. Even so, the confidence we have in our own defense does not extend to the Far East if Japan goes to war against us.Sir John Deere was also troubled by these anxieties.I still have the impression that Singapore is more important than Cairo in Dill's mind.It is indeed a sad question, as if it were for you to choose whether your son or your daughter will be killed.For my part, I do not believe that any accident in Malaya would cost as much as the loss of Egypt, the Suez Canal, and a fifth of the Middle East.I could not bear the idea of ​​giving up the fight for Egypt, so I was determined to pay any blackmail price in Malaya.This view is also shared by my colleagues. I think it is necessary to send the Minister of State to the Far East again.The Minister of State in the Far East, in closest contact with the War Cabinet, could relieve some of the burden from the Commanders-in-Chief and the local Governors, and assist us in solving the serious political problems that quickly accumulated.I had a friend and colleague, Mr Duff Cooper, who was the Information Secretary at the time.He sees the overall situation from his central point of view.His determined character prompted him to resign as Lord of the Admiralty following the Munich Agreement in 1938.He is eloquent and literary.He had military experience as an officer in the 1st Regiment of the Guards Rifle in the war of 1914-1918.All of this combined makes him the supremely qualified.On July 21st, he was transferred to the post of Secretary of the Duke of Lancaster, and was succeeded by Mr. Brendan Bracken as Secretary of State for Information.In early August, accompanied by his wife, Lady Diana, he traveled to the Far East via the United States.It was not until the end of October that he sent a report after returning to Singapore. For many months, the British and American governments dealt with Japan in close coordination.By the end of July, Japan had completed its military occupation of Indochina.As a result of this outright act of aggression, their armies were in a position to attack the British in Malaya, the Americans in the Philippines, and the Dutch in the East Indies.On July 24, the President demanded that the Japanese Government, as a prelude to a comprehensive settlement, neutralize Indochina and withdraw Japanese troops.To add weight to these proposals, an executive order was issued freezing all Japanese assets in the United States.This brought all trade to a standstill.The British government took action at the same time, and two days later, the Dutch government did the same.Holland's approval of the measure meant depriving Japan of vital oil supplies in one fell swoop. One afternoon in late July, Harry Hopkins came to Downing Street Gardens, and we sat together in the sun.As soon as he opened his mouth, he said that the President would be happy to meet with me in a remote bay or something.I immediately replied that I was sure the cabinet would allow me to take leave.In this way, everything will be arranged quickly.The venue was chosen as Placencia Bay, Newfoundland, and the date was set for August 9th.Then, having ordered our newest battleship, the Prince of Wales, ready for departure, I was eager to meet with Mr. Roosevelt.I have been corresponding with him increasingly intimately for almost two years now.Besides, a meeting between us will tell the world that the growing unity of Britain and the United States will worry our enemies, make Japan think carefully, and make us rejoice.There is much to be settled about American involvement in the Atlantic, aid to Russia, our own supply problems, and above all the growing threat from Japan. former navy personnel to president roosevelt July 25, 1941 Cabinet has granted my leave.I am making such arrangements. If it is convenient for you, I will set sail on August 4th and meet with you on the 8th, 9th, and 10th.The actual location of the secret meeting will be determined later.The Admiralty will communicate details through its usual channels of communication.I will be traveling with Admiral Pound, First Sea Lord, Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, and Freeman, Deputy Chief of Air Staff.I have high hopes for this meeting, which should prove to be useful for the future. I said to Ismay, you and Portal must stay in order to take care of business. I was traveling with Sir Alexander Cadogan of the Foreign Office, Lord Cherwell, Colonels Hollis and Colonel Jacobs of the Ministry of Defence, and my personal staff.In addition, there are many senior officials in the technical and administrative departments as well as in the planning department.The president said he would be bringing the chiefs of the U.S. services and the State Department's Sumner Wells to the meeting.At that time there were a large number of German submarines in the North Atlantic, so extreme secrecy was necessary.To ensure secrecy, the President was ostensibly on vacation for a cruise, but at sea changed to the cruiser USS Augusta, leaving his yacht behind as a distraction.At this time, Harry Hopkins, though in very poor health, received permission from Roosevelt to fly a tiring and dangerous flight to Moscow via Norway, Sweden, and Finland in order to learn the most detailed information about the Soviet Union directly from Stalin. situation and needs.He will board the Prince of Wales at Scapa Flow. I got on this long special train carrying our group of people (including a large number of translators) near the Prime Minister's official residence in the suburbs.We boarded the battleship Prince of Wales from a destroyer at Scapa Flow. At dusk on August 4th, the Prince of Wales sailed into the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean with several destroyers escorting it.I found Harry Hopkins so exhausted after the long flight and the demanding meeting in Moscow.Indeed, he had been so dispirited on his arrival at Scarpa two days before that Admiral Pound immediately put him to bed, and left him there to rest.Notwithstanding this, he was as merry as ever, and slowly recovered his strength during the voyage, and told me all about his mission to Moscow. former navy personnel to president roosevelt August 4-5, 1941 Harry had come back from Russia exhausted, but now he was alive again.We'll get him back to health on the way.We've just started.The Germans started the last major war just twenty-seven years ago today.We have to do it right this time.Two wars should be enough.I have great hopes for our meeting.Warmest regards to you. The spacious cabins above the propellers are most comfortable when the ship is in port, but in rough seas they wobble and make one uncomfortable, so I moved to the bridge of the Admiral's. Inside the cabin, where you work and sleep.I was very fond of our captain, Leahy, who was handsome and charming, with all the qualities of an English sailor.well!In less than four months he and many of his companions were sunk forever under the waves with his superb ship of war.The following day the sea was so rough that we had to slow down or lose our destroyer convoy.First Sea Lord Admiral Pound made his decision.Since then, we have continued sailing alone at high speed.Several U-boats were reported to have been sighted, so we zigzagged and made wide detours to avoid them.The sound of radio waves is strictly prohibited on board.We were able to receive telegrams, but for a while we could only talk occasionally.As a result, my routine was suspended, and I had a strange sense of idleness that I hadn't felt since the war began.For the first time in many months, I was able to read a book for entertainment.Oliver Littleton, Secretary of State at Cairo, sent me a book called Captain Hornblower of the Royal Navy, which I found very interesting.I telegraphed him at an opportune moment: I found Hornblower very good.This actually caused uneasiness in Middle East Command, where Hornblower was thought to be the code word for some special military operation of which they were not informed.The after-deck was out of use, because of rough seas, but I got plenty of exercise three or four times a day, going in and out of the cabins, and going up and down the ladders leading to the bridge.In the evenings we had a good movie theater where the latest and greatest films were shown for our party and the off-duty officers.Cadogan wrote in his diary: After dinner, watch Mrs Hamilton.very good.The Prime Minister has seen it five times and is still deeply moved.After the screening, he said to everyone: Everyone, the content of this film is very similar to those major events that you have personally experienced, so I think it will interest you.The voyage was a delightful interlude. 【1】A novel by C.S.Forester. As I rested in my small but comfortable cabin and bed on the bridge, I pondered the future fighting in the desert from all the reports I had studied of the spring campaign.In my thoughts I have drawn up a memorandum addressed to the Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Services, the first sentence of which I am very proud of: The commander who is the first in this war to restore the primacy of the cannon to the field, which was lost to the heavily armored tanks, shall enjoy famous.This sentence will be found in the corresponding place in this volume. Mr Attlee, acting as Prime Minister, was concerned for my safety during my absence.He worried that if the news leaked even a little bit, the enemy would send the Tirpitz warship to pursue the Prince of Wales. Prime Minister to Keeper of the Seal August 6, 1941 I don't think there is much danger in leaking information.If (the House of Commons) is asked directly, the inquirer should be asked not to ask his question.But if he insists on asking, he should answer like this: I do not undertake to answer about rumours.Regarding the issue of the Tirpitz, I am afraid I will not have such good luck. I am sure that Roosevelt will consider our safety when we go to sea when returning home.We've now got new destroyer escorts. Before we set off, I thought it best to let Lord Beaverbrook take care of the whole problem of American supplies to Russia for us.I'm afraid I'm going to lose supplies we've been looking forward to and desperately needing.So leave the following instructions before leaving: Prime Minister to Sir Edward Bridges General Ismay and the Chamber of Secrets August 3, 1941 On or about the tenth day an airplane will take off from London which may bring Lord Beaverbrook to us.In addition to letters and urgent official documents, this plane also carried the most important telegrams from various departments of the Foreign Office, which may have been interpreted.Skillful men had to be assigned to sort and pack the telegrams into a heavy box for sinking in the sea in the event of an accident with the plane. This must be done. When I was at sea, I sent the following telegrams: Prime Minister to Lord Beaverbrook August 7, 1941 If you wish to come, I am very welcome, please arrange to arrive on the afternoon of the 11th or the morning of the 12th, but please do not take unnecessary risks.Perhaps, it would be best if you lingered a little longer on this side (the US). We arrived at the meeting place in Placencia Bay, Newfoundland at 9:00 am on Saturday, August 9th. Prime Minister to His Majesty the King August 9, 1941 In keeping with my humble duties, I have arrived safely and will have an audience with the President this morning. After the routine exchange of naval salutes, I boarded the USS Augusta to salute President Roosevelt.The President received me with complete decorum.He stood supported by his son Elliott during the playing of the national anthems of both countries, and then gave me his warmest welcome.I handed him a letter from the king, and introduced our party.Separate talks then began between the President and myself, between Sumner Wells and Sir Alexander Cadogan, and between staff officers on both sides, and continued almost continuously throughout the days of our stay , sometimes person-to-person, sometimes in larger meetings. On the morning of Sunday (August 10), Mr. Roosevelt took his staff and hundreds of representatives of officers and soldiers of all ranks of the US Navy and Marine Corps to the HMS Prince of Wales to attend the service on the rear deck.We all felt that this service was a most moving expression of the unity of faith between our two peoples.No one who attended the service will ever forget the sight of that sunny morning on the crowded quarterdeck; The most senior officers of the navy, army and air force gathered behind the president and me as a whole; the dense contingent of British and American sailors was completely mixed together, and they shared a Bible and participated enthusiastically in the prayer and singing familiar to both sides. . I personally chose two hymns, Song of Distress at Sea and Song of Christian March.We ended with the hymn God Is Our Safeguard Through The Ages, which Macaulay's book reminds us of, the same hymn the cavalry sang when they took the body of John Hampden to his grave.Every word seems to shake the heartstrings.These are great moments in life.About half of those who sang the psalm were about to die soon.