Roosevelt Papers

Marshal Stalin to President Roosevelt

Translation1

Dear Mr. Roosevelt : Mr. Davies has handed me your message. I agree with you that this summer, possibly as early as June, the beginning of a new large-scale offensive of Hitlerites is to be expected on the Soviet-German front. Hitler has already concentrated against us about 200 German divisions and as many as 30 divisions of his allies. We are preparing to meet the new German offensive and to launch counter attacks but we experience a shortage of airplanes and aircraft fuel. Now it is of course impossible to for[e]see all the military and other steps that we shall have to take. This will depend upon the developments at our front. Much will depend also on how speedy and active will be the anglo-american military operations in Europe.

I have mentioned these important circumstances in order to explain why my present answer to your proposal cannot be quite definite now.

I agree with you that such a meeting is necessary and that it should be not be [sic] postponed. But I ask you to appreciate duly the importance of the circumstances set forth just because the summer months will be extremely serious for our Soviet armies. As I do not know how the events will develop at the Soviet-German front in June I shall not be able to leave Moscow during this month. Therefore I would suggest that our meeting should be arranged in July or in August. If you agree to this I undertake to inform you two weeks before the date of the meeting when this meeting could take place in July or August. In case you [sh]ould upon receipt of my communication agree to the time of our meeting suggested by me I would arrive in the place of our meeting at the fixed time.

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As to the place of the meeting this will be communicated to you by Mr. Davies personally.3

I agree with you as to the limitation of the number of your and my advisers.

I thank you for sending Mr. Davies to Moscow who has a knowledge of the Soviet-Union and can unbiassedly judge of things.

With sincere respect

J. Stalin

May . . , 1943

  1. The Russian-language original is unlike the translation in that the original bears the place, the month, and the year at the beginning. As printed in Stalin’s Correspondence, vol. ii, p. 66, this document is dated May 26, 1943. Verbal variations occur in all three versions.
  2. The Russian words for “Translation (copy)” are written in longhand on the source text. Apparently both the translation and the Russian-language original were delivered to Roosevelt by Davies, who returned to Washington on June 3, 1943.
  3. Stalin apparently indicated that he considered Fairbanks, Alaska, as a possible meeting place. See (1) the penultimate paragraph of Roosevelt’s telegram 297, June 28, 1943, to Churchill, post, p. 12, and (2) Stalin’s message of August 24, 1943, to Roosevelt and Churchill, post, p. 22.