Note by the Secretaries of CCS
Quebec, 12 September 1944
Top secret
CCS 618/4
Machinery for coordination of United States-Soviet-British military effort
In accordance with the instructions of the Combined Chiefs of Staff in the CCS 172nd Meeting, the Secretaries propose that the British Chiefs of Staff and the United States Chiefs of Staff send the messages attached hereto as Enclosures “A” and “B” to Generals Burrows and Deane respectively.
A. J. McFARLAND
A. T. CORNWALL-JONES
Combined Secretariat
Enclosure “A”
Top secret
Message from the British CS to General Burrows
The text of this message was the same, mutatis mutandis, as that of the message proposed to be sent to Deane in enclosure “B,” below.
Enclosure “B”
Top secret
Message from the USCS to General Deane
It is desired that you propose to the Soviet General Staff that a tripartite Military Committee be set up in Moscow consisting of senior representatives of the Russian General Staff, of the United States Chiefs of Staff, and of the British Chiefs of Staff. The idea of the United States Chiefs of Staff is that this Committee would deal with strategical and operational matters, but you should make it clear:
a. That it will be purely consultative and advisory and will have no power to make decisions without reference to the respective Chiefs of Staff and the Russian General Staff.
b. It must not impinge upon the work that is at present being done by the European Advisory Commission, such as civil affairs, etc.
The United States Chiefs of Staff consider that formation of this Committee should assist in eliminating the delays now existent in dealings between the Russians and the U.S. and British Military Missions. A cardinal point in the proposal, however, is that the Russian representative on the Committee should be a senior member of the Russian General Staff. On the U.S. and British sides, the Heads of the present Missions would represent the United States and British Chiefs of Staff respectively, each being responsible to his own Chiefs of Staff.
In view of the approach of the Russian, U.S. and British forces toward each other, you should initiate action at once with the Soviet General Staff in order that the Committee may begin to function in the near future.