The following message has been sent to His Majesty’s Ambassador
at Paris July 11:
The general in command of the Czechs has reached the
decision that every available man under his command at
Vladivostok must be taken to assist the other Czech
force at Irkutsk. As a result of this development he
states that transport will not be required for the
purpose of removing the Czechs from Vladivostok.
We propose, therefore, to employ for other essential work
the tonnage which it was originally intended to use for
transporting the Czechs and to inform the Japanese
Government that we withdraw, in view of the present
circumstances, the Allied request for Japanese shipping
for the transportation of this force.
Please inform me if this proposal is acceptable to the
French Government.
In communicating the decision mentioned above, the Czech
General stated that the troops opposed to him at
different points between Irkutsk and Vladivostok
amounted to 12,000 armed prisoners, 15,000 Red Army,
with 50 guns, and 25,000 armed Red Guards as a reserve.
He was moving with 13,000 Czechoslovak troops and he
requested that a reserve of 1,000 men should be
guaranteed by the Allied ships in the harbour as a
support, in case of necessity, for the small force of
Czechs remaining in the city. The Captain of H.M.S. Suffolk has been authorized to
put a force ashore should circumstances arise which make
it necessary for him to do so.
