Editorial: Turkey and the Western Front
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Background of news –
Behind the scenes at Tehran
By Gault MacGowan, North American Newspaper Alliance
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Roving Reporter
By Ernie Pyle
Allied HQ, Algiers, Algeria – (by wireless)
The government is scattering a lot of American girls out over the world now to work in government offices.
They are not WACs, but civilians. Their destinations read like an itinerary of Marco Polo. They wear civilian clothes, and everywhere they stop as they fly about the work they create a warmth and a glow among the women-starved men out in the outposts.
We had five girls with us a good part of the way from America to Africa. At all the stops the soldiers, and officers too, would stand and stare, and you could sense them sort of smiling to themselves. Often, they’d wave or whistle, not in a smart-alecky fashion, but just hungry and friendly-like. And the girls would wave back.
A time or two, when we went into Officers’ Clubs at the camps, the girls would be surrounded so quickly and deeply you completely lost sight of them.
Our men on foreign soil miss desperately the companionship of white women. The mere sight of one thrills them. One day in a small South American city I was walking along the crowded sidewalks with two of our female passengers when a couple of soldiers tagged along behind us for blocks and kept saying to me in a friendly fashion:
Congratulations, soldier, you lucky dog. How we envy you.
And at one field, I heard a young officer say to one passenger:
Lady, just stand still a minute and let me stare at you.
Yes, a man without a woman is a sorry spectacle.
Perfect partnership
All the way from America to Algiers I traveled with a young lady from Los Angeles named Mrs. Peggy Pollard. In addition to a pleasant traveling companionship, we both soon saw the advantage of forming ourselves into a sort of team, for we had the perfect combination. I had friends all along the route from previous trips, and Mrs. Pollard was beautiful.
Brother, between the two of us, there wasn’t anything we couldn’t get. If I got invited somewhere, I’d suggest Mrs. Pollard be invited, too. She worked the same principle in reverse. Thus, we traveled over three continents and one ocean like a pair of Oriental potentates. We bask in the rankest sort of special privilege.
We got better quarters than other passengers, we rode special cars instead of buses, we were taken on sightseeing trips and to cocktail parties. People paid us lavish and luxurious attention. I think it’s a great tribute to the tolerance of humankind that the other passengers didn’t get sore at us.
I don’t know what I’m going to do without Mrs. Pollard when I got on from Algiers. If I could only take her to the front with me the soldiers would undoubtedly lay a red carpet through the mud for us. But it’s all over now so goodbye, dear Mrs. Pollard.
Battle of the Hotels
At one big field in Northwest Africa, we fell into the hospitable hands of two very engaging officers – Maj. Charlie Moore of Inglewood, New Jersey, and Capt. David Miller of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. They room together in a hotel where many officers of the field are billeted and it is probably the finest hotel in Africa.
Living there is pretty close to what living would be like in a very fine resort hotel back home. Both these officers have lived in hotels ever since coming to Africa a year ago. They are both doing important vital work, yet they deride and bemoan themselves for the comfort in which they live although neither asked for it, nor was responsible for it.
They call their war, “The Battle of the Hotels.” Both would much rather be a thousand miles closer to the front, in a barn.
Capt. Miller is an unusual character. He is gray-haired, 52, and has a wife and three teenage children, yet when the war came along, he would up everything and went in – and has never been out of a hotel. In the last war, he was overseas 22 months and never once in a hotel. He said:
I liked the last one better.
Völkischer Beobachter (December 9, 1943)
Amerikanisches Kongreßmitglied stellt fest:
‚Der ehrgeizige Roosevelt will Weltpräsident werden‘
Dafür wird Amerikas Jugend auf die Schlachtfelder getrieben
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Pearl-Harbour-Kriegsgericht verschoben
tc. Lissabon, 8. Dezember –
Das Kriegsgerichtsverfahren gegen die verantwortlichen USA-Kommandeure von Pearl Harbour, Konteradmiral Husband E. Kimmel und Generalleutnant Walter C. Short, wird auf Grund eines Beschlusses des USA-Senats um weitere sechs Monate hinausgeschoben, besagt eine Meldung aus Washington. Nach dem Senat nahm auch das Repräsentantenhaus den Gesetzentwurf an und leitete ihn dann zur Vollziehung an das Weiße Haus.
Die Frist, binnen derer ein Kriegsgerichtsverfahren gegen die genannten Kommandeure eingeleitet werden konnte, lief jetzt ab, doch wünschte die USA-Regierung begreiflicherweise, daß die Durchführung des Verfahrens erst nach dem Kriege erfolgt.
U.S. Navy Department (December 9, 1943)
CINCPAC Communiqué No. 24
Strong forces of the Pacific Fleet attacked Nauru Island with carrier aircraft and ship bombardment on December 8 (West Longitude Date). Further details are not now available.
Liberators of the 7th Army Air Force, which raided the Taroa Airdrome installations on the morning of December 7, were intercepted over Maloelap by eight enemy fighters. One fighter was shot down. Our planes suffered only slight damage. A Liberator of this force also bombed Mille during the same sortie.
CINCPAC Press Release No. 189
Press Release
December 9, 1943
Navy search planes of Fleet Air Wing Two made the following raids in the southern Marshalls on December 8, 1943 (West Longitude Date). A Ventura bomber strafed installations at Mille in the face of heavy automatic weapon fire without damage to our plane. Three Zeros attacked one of our Liberators near Mille, with no damage; another Liberator raided and strafed base facilities at Jaluit, sinking a patrol boat and probably sinking a medium freighter and two small vessels.
Joint Statement
The following joint Anglo‑American statement on submarine and anti-submarine operations is issued under the authority of the President and the Prime Minister:
Anti U‑boat operations in November have been notable, for the enemy has achieved little for the great effort he has exerted. The number of merchant vessels sunk by U‑boats in November is less than in any other month since May 1940.
By means of aircraft operating from Azores we have been able to improve protection to our convoys and to diminish area in which enemy U‑boats were free from attack by our forces.
The enemy has used long range aircraft to assist in concentrating U‑boats on our convoy routes but in spite of this our escort and counterattack has been effective.
The caution of the enemy U‑boats has lessened the number of opportunities presented to our forces for striking at them. Nevertheless, the number of U‑boats sunk in November has again exceeded the number of their victims.
Why does the newspaper say soviet russia instead of the soviet union?
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Russia was used as the colloquial term for the Soviet Union, despite Russia only being one part of the Union, among other countries. The Russian state had the ultimate authority over Soviet affairs.
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But things only happened in the USSR after Stalin’s explict permission who himself was Georgian. Are you referring to the politiburo?
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In general terms, yes. There were plenty of Ukrainians in government and the armed forces as well, but the seat of government was in Moscow.
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U.S. State Department (December 9, 1943)
Memorandum by the First Secretary of Embassy in the Soviet Union
Moscow, December 1943
Secret
There are given below some incidental remarks which occurred during dinners or luncheons of the President, the Prime Minister and Marshal Stalin which were not sufficiently important to include in the regular memoranda or minutes of the conference or were merely briefly mentioned. These are set forth here as of possible general interest.
At the dinner given by Marshal Stalin on November 29 at which Stalin was so industrious in his attacks on the Prime Minister, he told Churchill that there was one thing he was glad of and that was that Mr. Churchill had never been a “liberal.” This was said with an expression of great contempt for the word “liberal.” It is doubtful if the President heard this statement since he remarked that he felt himself somewhat between the two political views as represented by the Marshal and Mr. Churchill.
During this same dinner the Munich agreement was discussed, and the Prime Minister remarked that at the time he had held the same views as the Soviet Government as to the stupidity and shame of the Munich agreement. Stalin replied that he personally had never believed that the Czechs meant to fight; that he had sent some Soviet aviation experts to look into the question of the use by the Red Air Force of Czech bases in the event of war; and that they had reported that the Czechs would not fight. He said he knew that this was not in accordance with Mr. Churchill’s views. Later on in the discussion, in reply to the Prime Minister’s statement that he must admit that after the last war he had done everything in his power to prevent the spread of Bolshevism in Europe and the setting up of Communist regimes, Marshal Stalin said ironically that Mr. Churchill need not have worried quite so much, as they (the Russians) had discovered that it was not so easy to set up Communist regimes.
In one of his toasts to the cooperation of the three countries at his birthday dinner at the British Legation on November 30, the Prime Minister said that the complexion of the world was changing and that a common meeting ground might be found for the different colors. He remarked in this connection that the complexion of Great Britain was becoming “pinker.” Stalin interrupted to state, “That is a sign of health.” Mr. Churchill agreed provided the process was not carried so far as to induce congestion.
At the dinner in the British Legation, Stalin referred to both the President and Churchill as his “fighting friends” or “comrades-in-arms,” but in the case of Churchill he added the observation, “if it is possible for me to consider Mr. Churchill my friend.”
At the political meeting on December 1 when the question of the Polish-Soviet frontier was under discussion, Marshal Stalin evinced great interest in the maps which had been prepared in the Department of State and particularly the one showing the ethnological composition of eastern Poland. He came around the table to examine these maps personally and asked Mr. Bohlen who had made up these maps and on the basis of what statistics. Mr. Bohlen told him that they had been drawn up in as objective and scientific a manner as possible on the basis of the best available data. Marshal Stalin replied, after the map had been explained to him, that it looked as though Polish statistics had been used. Mr. Bohlen repeated that the best available statistics had been used, but that since the areas in question had been part of Poland from 1920 to 1939, most available data were of course Polish. Marshal Stalin made a somewhat vague reference to some British statistics on the question but did not pursue the matter further.
At the dinner on December 1 when the declaration on Iran was being put into final form and the Russian and British texts were being compared et cetera, a discussion arose between the Prime Minister and Marshal Stalin as to the use of the word Persia. The Prime Minister said that he would prefer to have the word Persia rather than Iran used in the declaration and that he had given orders to the British Foreign Office to have the word Persia used in all British public documents in order to avoid confusion between Iraq and Iran. Marshal Stalin brushed this statement aside with the remark that the name of the country they were in was Iran and no other. The President also insisted on the use of Iran in the declaration and the Prime Minister then said he surrendered. When the time came for signature of the declaration, Stalin insisted that Churchill sign first in order, he said, to avoid any further argument as to the designation of the country that they were in.
During the dinner when the President had made a remark in regard to the shrewdness of Yankee traders, Marshal Stalin replied that there was a Russian saying that “no Jew could earn a living in Yaroslavl because of the shrewdness of the merchants of that city.”
Towards the end of the dinner when Marshal Stalin, who was obviously exhausted and for that reason not in the best of humor, was with close attention examining the Russian text of the communiqué with the Soviet interpreter Mr. Pavlov and Mr. Molotov, the President called Mr. Bohlen over to give him a message to translate to the Marshal. Stalin, hearing an interruption in his ear and without turning to see who it was, said over his shoulder, “For God’s sake, allow us to finish this work.” Then, when he turned and realized that the interruption had come from the President of the United States, for the first and only time during the Conference he showed embarrassment and turned quickly back to the examination of the communiqué. This remark was not translated to the President.
Prime Minister Churchill to President Roosevelt
Cairo, December 9, 1943
Secret
509
Prime Minister to President Roosevelt. Most secret and personal.
I gave the paper in my immediately following to Inönü. They have asked for 4 days in which to consult their Parliament but meanwhile will allow build up to begin and 250 specialists are starting forthwith. On the whole I am hopeful. Vyshinsky liked the layout.
… I am tidying up with the King of Greece and expect a solution and arrangement in harmony with your feelings. Every good wish to you and Harry.
740.0011 EW 1939/32275: Telegram
The Ambassador in Turkey to the Secretary of State
Ankara, December 9, 1943
1997
Foreign Minister Numan Menemencioğlu made following statement at press conference of Allied and Turkish correspondents last evening:
The Cairo conference was one of the most important events in this; phase of the war. We returned from [talks?] in [Cairo?] extremely pleased and extremely satisfied with our conversations. We talked about everything there. All aspects of international politics and of the war were passed in review.
You doubtless know that the invitation to this conference was addressed to the Turkish Government by England, United States and USSR who was to have been represented by M. Vichinsky [Vyshinsky]. But the latter who was at a distant place could not attend our meetings and did not reach Cairo until this morning. But I can tell you that even without M. Vichinsky [Vyshinsky] the Soviets were there.
As you have been able to see from the communiqué our alliance with England has been strengthened by this conference. Our conversations were so intimate and searching that we can likewise say that our relations with the United States and Soviet Union are almost as cordial and strong as those with England.
We studied all aspects of the problems with a frankness which was sometimes brutal but with understanding. We learned a great many things which we did not know. Our friends likewise learned many things of which they were ignorant. We drew closer to them and they drew closer to us for a better mutual understanding of our interests and our possibilities. It is because all our conversations were impregnated with this spirit that we could leave Cairo in an atmosphere of complete cordiality.
I can tell you without going into details that during our conversations we remained on the Axis [apparent omission] of the directives of the peoples party and that our foreign policy remains unchanged.
STEINHARDT
870.01 AMG/21: Telegram
The Counselor of Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Secretary of State
London, December 9, 1943 — 5 p.m.
8552
We again took up the subject matter of the Department’s 7742, December 7, 8 p.m., with Nigel Ronald today. He told us that this was one of the matters which had been discussed at the highest level in North Africa but that the Foreign Office had not yet learned of the decision which had been reached. As soon as they did have this information they would be in a position to reply. Ronald stressed the fact that the Foreign Office was as anxious to settle the matter as was the Department.
BUCKNELL