America at war! (1941--) -- Part 2

1021

U.S. State Department (January 24, 1943)

Roosevelt-Churchill dinner, 8 p.m. (Marrakech)

Present
United States United Kingdom
President Roosevelt Prime Minister Churchill
Mr. Hopkins Sir Charles Wilson
Mr. Harriman Commander Thompson
Rear Admiral McIntire Mr. Martin
Captain McCrea Mr. Rowan
Colonel Beasley Captain Churchill
Vice Consul Pendar
Sergeant Hopkins

The conversation ranged over a number of topics including Morocco, the Arab problem, the de Gaulle-Giraud controversy, and the rebuilding of France.

1022

Roosevelt-Churchill meeting, about midnight (Marrakech)

Present
United States United Kingdom
President Roosevelt Prime Minister Churchill
Mr. Hopkins Mr. Martin
Mr. Harriman Mr. Rowan

The meeting was given over to the final revision of the joint messages from Roosevelt and Churchill to Stalin and Chiang.

1023 
Sunday, 24 January

General Henri Giraud called at 11:05 and had an audience with the President until 11:40. Major General Charles de Gaulle had arrived while General Giraud was in conference with the President, and following General Giraud’s departure, went in to talk to the President, Mr. Hopkins, Mr. Murphy, and Mr. Macmillan.

While General de Gaulle was with the President, General Giraud returned, and a few minutes later the Prime Minister appeared.

These four, the President, the Prime Minister, General Giraud, and General de Gaulle then repaired to the lawn in the rear of the President’s villa where they posed for moving and still pictures. While the cameras “turned over”, the two generals shook hands.

Then Generals Giraud and de Gaulle bade farewell to the President and the Prime Minister and withdrew.

A few minutes after twelve, the President, with the Prime Minister seated at his left, invited the assembled newspapermen to sit down on the lawn and make themselves comfortable for the discussion which was to follow. It was a beautiful day, brilliant with sunshine, and with these two great men seated before them, the assembled correspondents heard a complete description of the purpose of bringing the British and American Chiefs of Staff together here in North Africa, together with the heads of their respective governments, and a general description of what had been accomplished.

Both the President and the Prime Minister reaffirmed the decision that no effort would be spared until the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers had been accomplished (The notes of this press conference have been recorded separately). When the discussion ended, the Prime Minister and the President asked the newspapermen to come up to shake hands, the President remarking that they should consider themselves an “elite group”, inasmuch as the great number of correspondents habitually attending routine press conferences in Washington precludes any thought of shaking hands.

Following the press conference, the President received General Charles A. Noguès, Resident General at Rabat, who had hurried down to Casablanca to say “au revoir” to the President upon being informed by telephone at 10:30 that the President’s departure was imminent.

At this time, the President also received Vice Admiral Michelier, the Commander-in-Chief of the French North African Fleet, who had called to pay his respects.

Heavy baggage, collected the night before, had been stowed in the planes and flown to Marrakech. The motorcade was waiting when the President departed from his villa at a few minutes past one o’clock in the afternoon, and at 1:25, the party was on its way to Marrakech, 150 miles almost due south of Casablanca, but well inland.

Besides his own immediate group, the President was accompanied by the Prime Minister, his son, Captain Randolph Churchill, Sir Charles Wilson, the Prime Minister’s aide, Commander Thompson, and his two private secretaries, Mr. Rowan and Mr. Martin.

At three o’clock, the cars were halted at the roadside for a basket lunch packed by the British consisting of several kinds of sandwiches, hard boiled eggs, and mincemeat tarts.

At 5:45, the party arrived at Marrakech, a very old Berber and Arab town, going directly to a large villa now occupied by the U.S. Vice Consul at Marrakech, Mr. Kenneth Pendar. This villa was placed at his disposal by the wife of the American millionaire, Moses Taylor. It was most beautiful, set in the midst of an olive grove. Its courtyards were filled with orange trees, flowers, and shrubs. There was a fountain or pool and inlaid marble floors all furnished in splendor befitting a Sultan.

The President and the Prime Minister, together with Admiral McIntire, Captain McCrea, and several others, ascended to the top of a 60-foot tower which crowned the villa, to view the sunset and the towering Atlas Mountains, many miles away, as the bells tolled from Mosque towers summoning the faithful to evening prayer.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The President and the Prime Minister were dinner guests of Mr. Pendar this evening, as were the following:

  • Sir Charles Wilson
  • Mr. Averell Harriman
  • Mr. Harry Hopkins
  • Admiral McIntire
  • Captain McCrea
  • Mr. Martin
  • Mr. Rowan
  • Commander Thompson
  • Colonel Beasley
  • Captain Randolph Churchill
  • Sergeant Robert Hopkins
1024

U.S. State Department (January 25, 1943)

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to Premier Stalin

Marrakech, January 25, 1943.

Most secret

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to Premier Stalin

1. We have been in conference with our military advisers and have decided the operations which are to be undertaken by American and British forces in the first nine months of 1943. We wish to inform you of our intentions at once. We believe these operations, together with your powerful offensive, may well bring Germany to her knees in 1943. Every effort must be made to accomplish this purpose.

2. We are in no doubt that our correct strategy is to concentrate on the defeat of Germany, with a view to achieving early and decisive victory in the European theatre. At the same time, we must maintain sufficient pressure on Japan to retain the initiative in the Pacific and Far East, sustain China, and prevent the Japanese from extending their aggression to other theatres such as your Maritime Provinces.

3. Our main desire has been to divert strong German land and air forces from the Russian front and to send to Russia the maximum flow of supplies. We shall spare no exertion to send you material assistance by every available route.

4. Our immediate intention is to clear the Axis out of North Africa and set up the naval and air installations to open:
a) An effective passage through the Mediterranean for military traffic; and
b) An intensive bombardment of important Axis targets in Southern Europe.

5. We have made the decision to launch large-scale amphibious operations in the Mediterranean at the earliest possible moment. The preparation for these operations is now under way and will involve a considerable concentration of forces, including landing craft and shipping in Egyptian and North African ports. In addition we shall concentrate hi the United Kingdom a strong American land and air force. These, combined with the British forces in the United Kingdom, will prepare themselves to re-enter the Continent of Europe as soon as practicable. These concentrations will certainly be known to our enemies, but they will not know where or when, or on what scale we propose to strike. They will therefore be compelled to divert both land and air forces to all the shores of France, the Low Countries, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, the heel of Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Crete and the Dodecanese.

6. In Europe we shall increase the Allied Bomber offensive from the U.K. against Germany at a rapid rate and, by midsummer, it should be more than double its present strength. Our experiences to date have shown that the day bombing attacks result in destruction and damage to large numbers of German Fighter Aircraft. We believe that an increased tempo and weight of daylight and night attacks will lead to greatly increased material and morale damage in Germany and rapidly deplete German fighter strength. As you are aware, we are already containing more than half the German Air Force in Western Europe and the Mediterranean. We have no doubt that our intensified and diversified bombing offensive, together with the other operations which we are undertaking, will compel further withdrawals of German air and other forces from the Russian front.

7. In the Pacific it is our intention to eject the Japanese from Rabaul within the next few months and thereafter to exploit success in the general direction of Japan. We also intend to increase the scale of our operations in Burma in order to reopen our channel of supply to China. We intend to increase our air force in China at once. We shall not, however, allow our operations against Japan to jeopardize our capacity to take advantage of every opportunity that may present itself for the decisive defeat of Germany in 1943.

8. Our ruling purpose is to bring to bear upon Germany and Italy the maximum forces by land, sea and air which can be physically applied.

25. 1. 43

1025

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill to Generalissimo Chiang 

Marrakech, January 25, 1943.

Most secret

We have been meeting in North Africa with our Chiefs of Staff, to plan our offensives and strategy for 1943. The vital importance of aiding China has filled our minds. General Arnold, the Commander of the U.S. Air Force, is already on his way to see you. We have decided that Chennault should be reinforced at once in order that you may strike not only at vital shipping routes but at Japan herself. Arnold carries to you our best judgment as to Burma. He will also advise you about our expanding operations in the South West Pacific and our developing offensive against Germany and Italy which will follow promptly after the destruction of the Axis forces in Tunisia.

We have great confidence in the 1943 offensives of the United Nations and want to assure you that we intend with your co-operation to keep the pressure on Japan at an ever-increasing tempo.

25. 1. 43.

1026

The President and the Prime Minister to the Combined Chiefs of Staff 

Marrakech, January 25, 1943.

In cordially approving the Report of the Combined Chiefs of Staff drawn up after thorough examination of the problems, the President and the Prime Minister wish to emphasize the following points which should be steadily pressed in all preparations:

  1. The desirability of finding means of running the W.J. [JW?] Russian convoys even through the Husky period.

  2. The urgency of sending the air reinforcements to General Chennault’s force in China and of finding means to make them fully operative.

  3. The importance of achieving the favourable June moon for Husky and the grave detriment to our interests which will be incurred by an apparent suspension of activity during the summer months.

  4. The need to build up more quickly the United States striking force in the United Kingdom so as to be able to profit by favourable August weather for some form of Sledgehammer. For this purpose, not only the scales of initial equipment and monthly maintenance should be searchingly re-examined but the priorities of material and manpower shipments from the United States to Great Britain should be adjusted to the tactical situation likely to be presented at the target date.

F.D.R.
W.S.C.

25.1. 43.

1027

U.S. Navy Department (January 25, 1943)

Communiqué No. 261

South Pacific.
On January 22, during the morning, U.S. ground forces on Guadalcanal Island attacked Japanese positions west of the airfield. In spite of strenuous enemy opposition, 6 important elevations were captured and 110 Japanese were killed.

On January 23:

  1. Continued aggressive tactics enabled our forces to capture Kokumbona and seize quantities of stores and equipment.

  2. U.S. troops continued mopping up pockets of enemy resistance. Ninety-one Japanese were killed and 40 prisoners were taken.

  3. U.S. aircraft bombed and damaged a large Japanese destroyer and a cargo ship in the Shortland Island area.

  4. During the night of January 23-24, enemy planes raided U.S. positions on Guadalcanal.

On January 23 and January 24, U.S. air and surface forces bombarded enemy positions on Kolombangara Island in the New Georgia group. The operations were successfully completed and fires from explosions of fuel and ammunition dumps indicated that the enemy-held area was completely burned out.

1028

Brooklyn Eagle (January 25, 1943)

U.S. TANKS HAMMER ROMMEL’S CORRIDOR
Battle panzers trying to widen lane of escape

U.S. raiders within 33 miles of Tunisian coast

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1029

Report Allies planning big blow at Nazis in 1943

Leading powers said to have cleared way to end African tension, form war council

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1030

Senators weigh ceiling for Army

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1031

Says ghost towns will haunt U.S. unless little business gets ‘break’

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1032

Air avalanche evolved by U.S. to KO the Japs

MacArthur says tactics eliminate island-by-island fight

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1033

Plan Flynn fight on Senate floor

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1034

Long Island, Boro PT marksmen blast Jap destroyers

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1035

Errol’s defense opens today

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1036

Marine Corps base named after Gen. Lejeune

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1037

Mayor seeks lower meat cost, says everyone flouts OPA rules

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1038

Report of joint action of Allies cheers Willkie

Formation of war unit spurs hope for lasting world peace, he says

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1039

Editorial: Disunity in North Africa only provides aid to Nazis

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1040

Parachutists scorn tag of supermen

‘Just fighters commuting by plane’ – and first jump’s not always the hardest

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