Office of the Historian

Roosevelt Papers: Telegram

Prime Minister Churchill to President Roosevelt 1

most secret
London, 3 August 1943.

Former Naval Person to President. Personal and most secret. Number 398.

War Cabinet think that the time for negotiating about Rome being an open city has passed. Surely there would be the utmost danger that any such bargain would encourage the Italians to make a try on for a neutralization of Italy itself. Anyhow, that is the way it would be viewed here.

  1. Channel of transmission to Washington not indicated. Forwarded by the White House Map Room to Roosevelt, who was then at Birch Island. An information copy was sent to Hull on August 3, 1943, by the Secretary of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Deane) (740.0011 EW/8–343).↩