740.0011 European War 1939/8857: Telegram
The Minister in Greece (MacVeagh) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 7—11:30 p.m.]
121. I was able to see Mr. Eden again last evening this time not alone, however, but in company with British Minister and British air officer commanding in Greece. Referring to our previous conversation reported in my 113, March 3d, Mr. Eden said he had sent Mr. Campbell36 back to Belgrade with a letter to Prince Paul37 “telling him very frankly what our intentions are”. He expected no reply before his own departure from Athens which took place at 8 o’clock this morning by plane for Cairo and not last night as announced in the press.
Regarding British intentions it was clear from Eden’s conversation with British Minister and Air Vice Marshal D’Albiac that a serious effort is being prepared here involving the possible participation of forces from all parts of Africa. Later I asked British Minister what he thought justified expectations of success in this connection and he replied, “the considered judgment of Generals Wavell and Wilson”. Incidentally General Wilson was here yesterday as well as Diel37a and Mallabry [Mallaby?] but the fact has been kept dark.
Mr. Eden said he found the Greeks determined enough but naturally depressed over the Turkish attitude and far too fatalistically inclined. He hoped he had been able to raise their spirits but did not seem too confident in this regard, even going so far as to ask me whether I did not think his visit here “a good thing”. He himself [Page 658] still believes there is a chance the Yugoslavs will fight if Germany attacks Salonika “but they are still trying to make themselves believe this won’t happen”. As to Turkey he said he had been told in Ankara of the probable coming of a message from Hitler38 and that his Turkish hosts had indicated very clearly that they would not be taken in by any maneuvers. Regarding the actual message he said he had now received preliminary word that it was very long winded and whatever its other contents contained no open menaces.
Eden said he will meet General Smuts39 in Egypt as well as the Foreign Minister of Iraq.40
- Ronald I. Campbell, British Ambassador in Yugoslavia.↩
- Regent of Yugoslavia.↩
- Presumably Gen. Sir John Dill, Chief of the Imperial General Staff.↩
- See memorandum by the Secretary of State, March 15, vol. iii, p. 831.↩
- Gen. Jan Christian Smuts, Prime Minister and Minister for External Affairs and Defence of the Union of South Africa.↩
- Tawfik as-Suwaidi; concerning conversations with the Iraqi Foreign Minister, see telegram No. 107, March 8, 4 p.m., from the Chargé in Egypt, vol. iii, p. 489.↩