851.33/204: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Leahy)
908. The Naval Observer in Martinique reported yesterday that Admiral Robert3 had informed him that the airplane carrier Bearn would leave today, December 10, on a 10 days’ cruise “for recreation for the crew”. At the same time the Navy received word that the French forces in Martinique were replacing the propellers on the grounded planes. A preliminary message was sent to Admiral Robert through the American Consul stating that this Government requested that the ships should not leave Fort de France since under present conditions the departure of the vessel will undoubtedly be subject to misinterpretation. The State Department has now received word that the departure of the Bearn has been cancelled by Admiral Robert.
In your interview with Marshal Petain, please inform him of these circumstances and state that this Government appreciates the action taken by Admiral Robert in response to our request. Please request officially of the Marshal, however, as by the personal instruction of the President, that Marshal Petain have addressed to Admiral Robert immediate orders not to permit the departure of any of the naval vessels now in Martinique or in the other French colonies in the Western Hemisphere from the ports where they may now be stationed. You may state that in view of the fact that the United States is now at war with Japan in the Pacific, and in view of the increasingly serious and critical situation in the Atlantic, the departure of the [Page 198] French vessels would give rise to grave concern on the part of the United States, and that, furthermore, should the vessels leave notwithstanding this request, steps would have to be taken by the United States as a measure of self-defense to prevent the departure of these vessels. As the Marshal well knows, and as the President has repeatedly made clear, it is the President’s hope that all misunderstandings and difficulties between France and the United States can be avoided, and it is because of his earnest hope in that regard that the President has requested you to deliver this message to Marshal Petain.
Please state in conclusion to the Marshal that the President would appreciate it if you could be furnished by the Marshal with a copy of the orders in the sense suggested which Marshal Petain may cause to be addressed to Admiral Robert.
- Adm. Georges Robert, Governor of the French West Indies.↩