Office of the Historian

740.0011 European War 1939/13606: Telegram

The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State 96

[Extract]
Vichy, August 1, 1941—4 p.m.
[Received August 2—7:33 a.m.]

970.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Turning once more to the United States and complaining that we are quite ready with criticism but slow in action, Darlan said: “When you have 3,000 tanks, 6,000 planes and 500,000 men to bring to Marseilles, let me know. Then we shall welcome you. But neither side can win the war and Europe will be exhausted. It is to your interest, as well as to ours, that there be an early peace”.

Leahy
  1. A portion of this telegram concerned the situation in Indochina and is printed in vol. v, p. 246; another portion, not printed, concerned military aspects of the war in Europe.↩