863.00/1064
Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Western European Affairs (Moffat)
The Italian Ambassador called this afternoon on his return from leave.
He said that in spite of newspaper reports to the contrary, he felt that the European situation was calmer than it had been for some time past. He attributed this to two causes: one, to the fact that relations between France and Italy had certainly shown a definite improvement; and two, to the fact that Mussolini at the time of the crisis in Austria on July 25 last had taken instantaneous action in mobilizing his troops and in letting Germany know exactly how far Italy was prepared to go. As a matter of fact, Mussolini had made this decision by himself at Riccione where he was spending his summer vacation, and then telephoned to the Foreign Office at Rome that he had issued such orders. The British had been none too happy about it, feeling that Italy should have waited before acting until after consultation with France and England, but hindsight has more than ever convinced the Italians that they had been right.
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