740.0011 European War 1939/11816: Telegram
The Consul General at Algiers (Cole) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 10—1 a.m.]
234. From Murphy. Weygand’s personal Military Aide asked me to call early this morning. Major Gasser said that the General who left by plane at 7 a.m. for French West Africa instructed him to request me to telegraph urgently to my Government that in his opinion the British would be well advised not to overplay the Syrian campaign. Weygand, according to Gasser, asserted that if the British are content with a reasonable advantage, Vichy can temporize on the grounds of inability to stem the tide. If the British go too far, and Gasser was not certain how far they might, German pressure on Vichy might assume such proportions that a dangerous situation would develop. The General fears that with the limited forces at their disposal and the difficulties of the terrain, the British if over extended may conceivably suffer a serious reverse.
I communicate the foregoing for whatever it is worth because the Department may find it desirable to make some form of acknowledgment even if non-committal to encourage the General to evince a friendly interest in such matters.
Repeated to Vichy for repetition to Tangier and Casablanca. [Murphy.]