760F.62/633: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:45 p.m.]
1372. I talked with Bonnet last night. He said that the British Government had decided yesterday afternoon to give Henderson, British Ambassador to Berlin, an instruction to be read to the German Government in which it would be made entirely clear that if German troops should cross the Czechoslovak frontier and France should go to war against Germany England would go to war on the side of France.
Bonnet is still inclined to believe that the present German preparations for war and demonstrations of a readiness to go to war are to be regarded as part of an effort to intimidate the friends of Czechoslovakia and to obtain a settlement of the Sudeten question satisfactory to Hitler by a gigantic bluff rather than by war.
Guy la Chambre, Minister for Air, who was with us pointed out however that the present mobilization in Germany of 1,800,000 men is so expensive that it is hard to believe that Germany is making such [Page 564] a colossal expenditure simply for the purpose of backing up a diplomatic maneuver.
Bonnet laid great stress on the factor of Poland in the present situation. He said that if any responsible statesman in Poland should express himself in such terms as you and the President had expressed yourselves he believed there would be no risk of Germany starting war. He said that his chief nightmare at the moment was the prospect that if the Soviet Union should attempt to send an army to the support of Czechoslovakia, Rumania and Poland would both declare war on the Soviet Union. He went on to say that he felt certain from his most recent conversations with the Russians that the Soviet Union not only would give a pledge to Poland not to attempt to cross Polish territory under any circumstances but also would be prepared to supply arms and ammunition and other war materials to Poland if Poland would support Czechoslovakia actively. He said that he realized that the Poles would be entirely justified in considering worthless any promises made by the Soviet Union not to enter Polish territory but hoped something might be done if the Soviet Union should actually hand over war materials. At the present time it was clear that Poland and Rumania would do everything possible to remain neutral as long as possible. This meant that aid from the Soviet Union could not reach Czechoslovakia except in the form of airplanes.
The opinion of the French Minister for Air with regard to the Soviet air force was that the ablest Soviet designers and constructors of planes as well as shop foremen had been killed in the recent “purges” and that the quality of the Soviet planes was decreasing.
Bonnet said that he considered the latest Czech proposals reported in my No. 1370 of August 30, 6 p.m.5 to divide Czechoslovakia into 23 cantons and permit each canton to elect its own prefect was a most important concession. He did not have much hope that it would be accepted by the Sudeten but felt that it would afford Runciman a good basis on which to continue his negotiations.
In conclusion Bonnet said that if it should be possible to get through the month of September without war as a result of some sort of a temporary compromise on the Sudeten question he intended to inaugurate in October an intense effort to reach agreement between France and Germany.
In general France remains calm and unconvinced that war is inevitable. Members of the Government and the military are alert and ready for any eventuality. The people of France outside Government circles are still enjoying happily the summer holidays.
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