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  4. Document 146

862.24/409: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Steinhardt) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, May 22, 1941—8 p.m.
[Received May 23—8:50 a.m.]

1031. By letters dated May 10 and 11, Ward74 reports the following from Vladivostok:

(1)
There has been a very great increase in the quantity of goods arriving in Vladivostok from Japan for rail shipment to Germany.
(2)
The increase became noticeable in April as during March the warehouses in the transit harbors were almost empty. Beginning with the middle of April however they filled up due to the arrival of cargo destined for Germany more rapidly than it could be shipped out by rail.
(3)
On May 3 and again on May 9 Ward obtained access to the transit harbor and saw cases and drums consigned to cities in Germany and also bearing Japanese characters indicating that the shipments had either originated in or passed through Japan. Warehouses in the transit harbor became so overcrowded that on May 10 it was observed that about 1000 drums of oil were stored on the open docks. These drums were marked for Königsberg, Germany, and contained principally linseed oil and to a lesser extent what appeared to be a tropical gum which Ward was unable to identify.
(4)
On May 9 the Harbin Maru discharged a large quantity of cotton in press-packed bales as distinguished from Asiatic hand-pressed bales. All of the bales were prominently stenciled indicating their destination to be Germany.
(5)
On May 10 the S. S. Endai Maru arrived in the transit harbor with a large consignment destined for Germany and with the decks covered with drums marked for Königsberg, Germany.
(6)
On May 11 the S. S. Kannam Maru arrived in the transit harbor with a large cargo destined for Germany including over 500 tons of Gold Coast cocoa beans which were marked for Königsberg.
(7)
Recently Soviet naval officers and men have taken over the patrol and sentry duty in the harbor formerly performed by customs guards.
(8)
There has recently been a substantial troop movement from Vladivostok west bound. Many trainloads of Soviet Army units including artillery and tanks departed for the west. Nearly all of them had arrived at the railheads out of Vladivostok on steamers and barges from embarkation ports on the west shore of Peter the Great Bay. They presumably were withdrawn from the Soviet-Korean frontier and the southern end of the Soviet-Manchukuo frontier.
(9)
Since May 1st the only road leading out of the city of Vladivostok which was theretofore open has been closed and the number of naval patrols throughout the city has been very greatly increased.

Steinhardt
  1. Angus Ivan Ward, American Consul at Vladivostok.↩