Hopkins Papers
Draft Communiqué Prepared at Casablanca, January 24, 19431
The President of the United Stains and the Prime Minister of Great Britain have been in conference near Casablanca since January 14, They were accompanied by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of the two countries, namely, for the United States:
| General George C. Marshall, | Chief of Staff, U.S.A. Army, |
| Admiral E. J. King, | Commanadar-in-Chief, U.S. Navy, |
| Lieut.-General H.A. Arnold, | Commanding U.S. Army Air Forces |
and for Great Britain:
| Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, | |
| First Sea Lord, | |
| General Sir Alan Brooke, | |
| Chief of the Imperial General Staff, | |
| Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, | |
| Chief of the Air Staff. | |
| These were assisted by: | |
| Lieut.-General B. B. Somervell, | |
| Commanding General Services of Supply U.S. Army, | |
| Field Marshal Sir John Dill, | |
| Head of the British Joint Staff Mission in Washington, | |
| Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, | |
| Chief of Combined Operations, | |
| Lieut.-General Sir Hastings Ismay, | |
| Chief Staff Officer to the Minister of Defence, |
together with a number of Staff Officers from both countries.
They have received visits from Mr. Murphy and Mr. Macmillan; from General Eisenhower, the Commander-in-Chief Allied Expeditionary Force in North Africa; from Admiral of the Fleet Sir Andrew Cunnigham, Naval Commander Allied Expeditionary Force in North Africa; from General Spaatz, Air Commander Allied Expeditionary Force in North Africa; from General Clark, U.S. Army and also, from Middle East Headquarters, from General Sir Harold Alexander, Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder and Lieut.-General F. M. Andrews, U.S. Army.
The President was accompanied by Mr. Harry Hopkins and was joined by Mr. Averell Harriman. With the Prime Minister was Lord Leathers, [Page 844] Minister of War Transport.
For ten days the Combined Staffs have been in Constant session meeting two or three times a day, and recording progress at intervals to the President and the Prime Minister. The entire field of the war was surveyed theatre by theatre throughout the world and all resources were marshalled for the more intense prosecution of the war by sea, land and air. Nothing like this prolonged discussion between two Allies speaking the same language has ever taken place before. Complete agreement was reached between the leaders of the two countries and their respective Staffs upon the war plans and enterprises to be undertaken during the campaign of 1943 against Germany Italy and Japan with a view to drawing the utmost advantage from the markedly favourable turn of events at the close of 1942.
Premier Stalin was cordially invited to meet the President and the Prime Minister, in which case the meeting would have been hold very much fartner to the East. He was, however, unable to leave Russia at this time on account of the great offensive which he himself as is conducting at the present time.
[Page 845]The President and the Prime Minister realised to the full the enormous weight of the war which Russia is successfully bearing along her whole land front, and their prime object has been to draw as much of the weight as possible off the Russian Armies by engaging the enemy as heavily as possible at the best selected points.
Premier Stalin has been fully informed of the military proposals.
The President and the Prime Minister have been in communication with Generalissimo Chiang Kai Shek. They have apprised him of the measures which they are prepared to undertaking to assist him in China’s magnificent and unrelaxing struggle for the common cause.
The occasion of the meeting between the President and tie Prime Minister made it opportune to invite General Giraud, to confer with the Combined Chiefs of Staff and to arrange for it meeting between him and General de Gaulle. The two Generals have been in close consultation.
The President and the Prime Minister and the [Page 846] Combined Staffs having completed their plans for the offensive campaigns of 1943, have now separated in order to out them into active and concerted execution.
- Roosevelt and Churchill and their advisers worked very late on the evening of January 23 preparing the message to Stalin and a communiqué for the press; see the editorial note, ante, p. 722. According to Hopkins’ Notes of January 24, supra, revision of the communiqué continued during the morning of January 24, and a final draft reached Hopkins at 11:15 a.m. “which the President approved with slight modification.” For the final text of the communiqué, see infra.↩