Foreign Relations of the United States, Conferences at Washington and Quebec, 1943

740.00119 EW/8–1443: Telegram

The British Acting Consul General at Tangier (Watkinson) to the British Foreign Office ¹

most secret

Tangier, August 14, 1943.

I dictated tonight to Signor Berio a literal version in French of the message contained in paragraph 1² and I reminded him of the facts mentioned in paragraph 2.³

2. Signor Berio expressed considerable disappointment as he said that this did not get us any further. Badoglio, he said, wanted peace but he was menaced by (a) Germans (b) revolution. What the Marshal wanted was a breathing space which would permit him to formulate his plans for bringing peace to Italy without risking destruction by the Germans or anarchists. Badoglio hoped for the assistance of the Allies [in the?] bringing about of an honourable peace but the continued bombing of Italy including Rome would only create chaos and bring on revolution which would be disastrous both to the Badoglio Government and to the Allies.

3. I said that obviously no progress could be made towards peace until Badoglio had made unconditional surrender.

4. Signor Berio then asked me in what form this surrender should be made; should it be transmitted through him and me to you or was a public declaration of surrender expected? Latter, he said, would be impossible because of immediate German reaction.

5. I replied that I did not know exactly what form this must take but that if the Marshal sent a clear-cut official communication declaring his unconditional surrender through this channel it would at least be a beginning. Would we then, Signor Berio asked, make known our terms to Badoglio through that channel? I replied that I could not say.

6. Interview ended by Signor Berio stating that he would immediately forward your message to Rome but he did not seem to be very sanguine of results.

1. Printed from a copy made available to Hull on August 14, 1943, by the British Embassy at Washington. The source text states that this telegram was from the Acting Consul General (Watkinson), but in a telegram of August 17, 1943, from the British Consul General at Tangier (Gascoigne) to the Foreign Office (printed post, p. 595) Gascoigne refers to this message as “my telegram” and indicates that he participated in the conversation here reported.
2. i.e., the first quoted paragraph in Churchill’s telegram No. 409 to Roosevelt, ante, p. 578.
3. i.e., the second quoted paragraph in Churchill’s telegram No. 409 to Roosevelt, ibid.