Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, General, Volume I

740.0011 Moscow/39n: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the American Delegation

Washington, October 20, 1943—8 p.m.

1036. Amdel 30. For the Secretary. General Eisenhower has telegraphed the following views on the relations between the Political-Military Commission, the Allied Control Commission and the Allied Commander-in-Chief which Murphy²³ has asked the Dept to cable you:

1. There is no objection to the Political-Military Commission obtaining information from headquarters on matters which concern the Commission. Allied CinC²⁴ must continue, however, to receive instructions from the Combined Chiefs of Staff and from them alone whether on political or military subjects.

2. With respect to the Allied Control Commission, North African experience has proved that as long as active military operations are in progress the final authority with respect to political relations between the local administration and the occupying armies must remain with the Allied Commander-in-Chief.

3. Upon the termination of operations the interest of the Commander-in-Chief is reduced to the safety of any bases and security of any lines of communications on which he may be relying. Normal diplomatic machinery may be allowed to function safely.

4. In placing into operation this analogy with respect to Italy there would be three periods. During the first period, that is from the present moment until Badoglio’s²⁵ Government is in a position to exercise authority, it is believed that skeleton arrangements should be made for a Control Commission. When the Badoglio Government is in a position to exercise effective authority, period two will be reached. Operations in Italy will be continuing during this stage and the maintenance of the authority of the Commander-in-Chief remains the governing factor. The Control Commission will become fully operative at this point. The Russians and the French as well as the Greeks and Yugoslavs will have to be associated with it as soon as this happens.

The following arrangement is recommended:

The President of the Control Commission will be the Commander-in-Chief. The day-to-day managing head will be his deputy. High commissioners representing the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the French Committee, Greece and Yugoslavia will form an advisory council to the Commander-in-Chief in his capacity as President of the Commission. This council would meet, act as a body and make its own arrangements as to which commissioner should be chairman. This could be arranged by seniority or in rotation. The advisory council would have the dual function of advising the President of the Control Commission on general policy and of taking care of any special interests of the States represented on the Commission or the nationals of these States. Period three would not arrive until either the Italian campaign had terminated or the Allied Governments, in the opinion of the Commander-in-Chief, were in a position to bring the direct military control of the Government of Italy to an end.

Stettinius

23. Robert D. Murphy, Personal Representative of President Roosevelt in North Africa, with the rank of Minister; Chief Civil Affairs Officer at Algiers; and U.S. Political Adviser, staff of the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater.
24. Commander in Chief.
25. Marshal Pietro Badoglio, head of the Italian Government.