Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943

Roosevelt Papers: Telegram

Prime Minister Churchill to President Roosevelt¹

secret

London, 6 November 1943.

Nr. 493 Former Naval Person to President personal and most secret.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Para 3. Please also refer to your number 407.² Since I telegraphed thanking you for this³ the British Chiefs of Staff have examined the proviso in the last part of this telegram. They do not think that the Commanders should be responsible for allotting the forces for Overlord, operations in Italy and the Eastern Mediterranean, but that this should remain as hitherto the duty of the Combined Chiefs of Staff who would naturally have before them the opinion of the “Commanders responsible”. They would therefore like to leave out the words “Commanders responsible” and insert “The Combined Chiefs of Staff”. Will you very kindly think over this. I imagine we all mean the same thing.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Sent by the American Embassy, London, presumably via military channels. For further excerpts from this telegram, see ante, p. 68.
2. Ante, p. 151.
3. Churchill’s “Thank you” telegram was No. 492, November 5, 1943, to Roosevelt (Roosevelt Papers).