740.0011 European War 1939/8329½: Telegram
The Minister in Greece (MacVeagh) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 13—8:30 a.m.]
71. In a long conversation in an air raid shelter last night the King told me he regards an early German attack against Greece as overwhelmingly [Page 645] probable and to oppose such a stab in the back she now has available only three divisions. In connection with the arrangement with Metaxas reported in my telegram 28, January 18, 6 p.m., he said the British have apparently made no definite plans and in reply to the repeated telegraphic appeals from the Greek Government during the past few days they have so far proposed only the sending of one artillery regiment to Salonika. Turkey’s attitude remains undetermined and Yugoslavia shows “the lethargy of a rabbit faced by the snake which will devour it”. Nevertheless he said Greece will resist whatever the odds because to do so is in keeping with honor, loyalty and the country’s spirit. Should Germany before attacking propose that Greece make peace with Italy the answer will be that Greece must consult her ally; should Germany offer any other compromise the reply will be refusal since acceptance would only mean eventual enslavement as in Rumania’s case.
The King said that the Greek plan now is to carry on against the Italians to a shorter and more defensible line which can be held with only a part of the forces now in Albania thus releasing the rest to oppose the Germans. The line in view is that of the Skoumbi River and the immense effort which must be made to reach it will be undertaken in the next few days and be “the most critical action of the war for Greece.” I take it this plan represents a very recent decision as he requested the completest secrecy and added that outside the staff he had talked about it so far only with the Prime Minister.
No less than Finland17 this country is fighting in civilization’s front line and she faces even far greater odds today than those she met so stirringly last October. Furthermore she is doing so with no assurance of effective aid. I trust our authorities will not be insensible of such heroic resolution. Greece’s failure to obtain any planes whatever from the United States of America after 3 months of effort has been heartbreaking.18 The statement of the British Purchasing Commission on December 12 that the British had already 400 planes assisting Greece (see Department’s instruction 778, December 1919) when in fact she had no more than 32 (see section 2, my 348, December 620) is shocking. Greece’s sands are running out while this kind of thing goes on. The King said to me last night with admirable restraint “I realize England’s desperate need for supplies but the 30 or 60 planes that we need quite as desperately won’t break the British Empire.”
- For correspondence on the Soviet-Finnish war, see vol. i, pp. 1 ff.↩
- For correspondence on this subject, see pp. 669 ff.↩
- Not printed.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1940, vol. iii, p. 569, last paragraph of telegram.↩