740.0011 European War 1939/331157/8: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Bullitt) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 17—7:12 p.m.]
728. Personal for the President. I regret to be obliged to send information of the sort in this telegram by cable but I feel that it may be important at a time when we are enlarging as rapidly as possible our Army, Navy, and Air Force.
The Belgian railway strike was organized by the Communists on orders from Moscow. It has now been broken by the shooting of the Communist ringleaders.
Two infinitely more serious “fifth column” operations have taken place in the French Army.
Nearly all the French heavy tanks were manned by Communist workmen from the Renault works in the outskirts of Paris. When they were given the order at a most critical moment to advance against the German tanks they did not move. In one case when 63 French heavy tanks were ordered to make an attack only 5 went forward and 58 remained where they were. Furthermore, the men in the tanks in a number of cases smashed vital parts of the machinery.
I am informed that these men will be shot tonight.
An even more serious “fifth column” action in cooperation with the Germans on orders of the Soviet Government are the Chasseurs. One regiment of Chasseurs which was composed of Communists from the Paris industrial suburbs revolted 3 days ago, seized the vital town of Compiegne on the German path to Paris and are still in possession of the town. They number 18,000 and I am informed that they will be attacked by the air force and tanks this evening.
Please keep this information for your most private ear. It is not known in France and in all sincerity I believe that it is not mortally serious. As soon as Reynaud has the nerve to act on Napoleon’s excellent principle “from time to time it is necessary to shoot a [Page 227] general in order to encourage the others” the “fifth column” will disappear.
Please for the sake of the future, nail every Communist or Communist sympathizer in our Army, Navy and Air Force.