Memorandum by the U.S. Chiefs of Staff
[Babelsberg,] 23 July 1945
Top secret
CCS 679/9
Employment of Captured Enemy Ocean-Going Passenger Shipping and British Troopship Employment in U.S. Trans-Atlantic Programs in the First Half of 1946
The United States Chiefs of Staff agree with the provisions of CCS 679/8 except for the date of 31 December 1945 given in paragraph 5 as terminating the use by the United States of the six of the seven captured German ships destined for the Pacific.
After moving these ships great distances to the Pacific we shall be fortunate to obtain one trip from them before the 31 December date. By then our deployment will not have ended and the main operation will yet have to be undertaken. It would be uneconomical to remove this shipping from the Pacific after just one run. When ships may be withdrawn from the Pacific, less adaptable shipping such as the converted Victory ships should be first transferred back to the Atlantic. The lift of these ships of course will be included in the proposed review of personnel shipping to be completed by mid-September.
Accordingly, the United States Chiefs of Staff recommend that paragraphs 5 and 6 of CCS 679/8 be modified as indicated in the Enclosure.
[Enclosure]
Top secret
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In view of the serious position of United States movement to the Pacific, the British Chiefs of Staff are prepared to agree that the Combined Chiefs of Staff should allocate the total lift of the seven ships listed in CCS 679/6 for to the United States employment up to 31st December 1945 for employment as follows: the Europa until 31 December 1945; and the Caribia, Patria, Vulcania, Potsdam, Pretoria and Milwaukee until 30 June 1946. In return, they ask that the United States Chiefs of Staff allocate to them a lift of 16,000 during the rest of 1945 for movement of the Canadians, many of whom have been absent from their homes for a very long time. The Canadian Government are pressing us very strongly in this matter.
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The British Chiefs of Staff further suggest that a combined study on the lines of CCS 679/1 of the combined requirements and combined resources (including captured enemy trooplift) for the first half of 1946 should be completed by mid-September if possible. The study would cover the recommendation in CCS 679/7 and also the employment during the first half of 1946 of the seven ships to which reference is made in CCS 679/6 subject to the provisions of paragraph 5 above.