740.0011 Moscow/138: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received November 5—2:32 p.m.]
1837. In view of the helpful attitude of the British and American-correspondents in Moscow during the Conference, I saw them today. I opened the conference by explaining that I did not intend to go into the general results or significance of the Conference since this has been fully and properly covered by the Secretary himself at his press conference here.10 I added that I was only going to try to give them an impression of the work which I and the Embassy staff expect to carry on here. I then handed to the press the following written statement prepared in conjunction with General Deane on the establishment and work of the United States Military Mission here:11
Mr. Harriman’s statement: “We have just completed the establishment and organization of a United States Military Mission in Moscow. The purpose of the Mission is to make possible the closest military [Page 587] collaboration between the United States and the Soviet Union. Since the United States Forces in Europe are operating on a combined basis with the British forces, there will naturally be close contact with the British Military Mission here. Thus, machinery now exists through which cooperative action may be effected quickly between the military staffs of the three countries.
The Mission is headed by Major General John R. Deane who will act under instructions from the United States Chief of Staff in Washington and under my direction. General Deane has been United States Secretary of the Combined Chiefs of Staff until his assignment here. Before that, he was Secretary of the War Department General Staff.
The Mission merges the activities of all American Armed Forces. It includes Army, Navy and Supply Divisions. For the present, the Army Division is headed by Brigadier General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, an Air Corps officer of considerable combat experience. The Navy Division is headed by Commodore C. E. Olsen, who came here directly from the Planning and Operations Section of Admiral King’s12 staff. Brigadier General S. P. Spalding is in charge of the Supply Division of the Mission which will handle all Lend-Lease activities in Moscow. He has served on the Munitions Assignments Board in Washington since its establishment and was directly concerned with arranging the Russian supply program. Shipping matters will also be handled by the Mission.
In the past, military collaboration in Moscow between the three countries has been difficult, because there has been no one in Moscow who could act as a direct representative of the United States Chiefs of Staff. To correct this, arrangements have been made to provide for the closest possible relationship between the Military Mission and the military and naval authorities in Washington.
During the recent Tripartite Conference there were full and frank discussions between the military representatives of the three countries. As the war approaches its inevitable climax and the Soviet, British and American forces converge on Germany, there will be an increasing need for coordinated effort. This necessarily will call for quick decisions. The establishment of the American Military Mission sets up machinery in Moscow through which coordination can be accomplished. [“]
I then added the following statement.
2 [“]I would like to start by saying that I have always been a consistent optimist in the development of our relations with the Soviet Union. I expected the Conference to be a success. But I am deeply gratified to see agreement reached on so many subjects and with such speed.
The Conference has opened here a number of subjects on which it has been agreed discussion should be continued between ourselves, the British and the Soviet Union.
[Page 588]I have given out a statement on the establishment of the Military Mission in Moscow. I think it explains how we will operate in dealing with military and supply problems in the common war effort.
In addition, there were, of course, many political and economic subjects explored by the Conference. Some of them will be dealt with on a tripartite basis in Moscow through, to quote the communiqué of the Conference, ‘continuing when necessary tripartite consultations between the three Governments in the respective capitals through existing diplomatic channels’. This means I will be working closely on these matters with Mr. Molotov and Sir Archibald Clark Kerr.
At the Conference views were frankly exchanged on subjects where our respective attitudes had not been fully crystallized. These discussions helped to clarify our own thinking. All of this is profoundly encouraging.
Some problems are of immediate importance, some others deal with the postwar period. Here again, some of these postwar problems must be dealt with promptly, whereas others relate to long-range plans.
We will have to take these matters up in the order of their priority bearing in mind the immediate demands of the war. The war comes first and everything we do now must be concentrated on hastening the day of final victory.
As you have seen from the communiqué of the Conference the three countries have agreed to work together to promote the welfare of the peoples of their respective countries.
One matter I think deserves the greatest possible consideration at this time is the assistance the United States can give to the Soviet Union in rehabilitation of devastated areas and in repairing other dislocations caused by the war. Here again the war must have first priority in our use of American productive capacity and available shipping, but there is one thing we can do now without interfering with war production. We can work on the development of programs, plan and detailed designs. This will materially shorten the time when equipment needed from the United States can be made available.
The American people have the greatest of sympathy for the Russian people [who?] also have suffered so much, and it is in their hearts to attempt to be of the greatest assistance. We will have the plan to produce greatest assistance. We will have the plans to produce machinery and equipment needed by the Soviet Union and in so doing we will help our own people to convert from war to peace production.
These are some of the problems that will be absorbing the interest of myself and the staff of the Embassy.
I am glad that Mr. Charles E. Bohlen, Assistant Chief of the European Division of the State Department, who came with Secretary Hull as a member of the United States Delegation, is to remain here as First Secretary. He attended the meetings of the Conference and so will be of great help to Mr. Hamilton, our Minister-Counselor, and myself in carrying on some of the matters started by the Conference. Mr. Samuel Spewack came with me as an Attaché of the Embassy to promote interchange of information between our two countries. I think everyone agrees that it is of vital importance to have the greatest possible understanding between the peoples of our two countries.”
I have made arrangements to have these two statements made available to the Soviet Press for such use as they may desire to make of them.
- For text of the Anglo-Soviet-American communiqué of November 1 on the Tripartite Conference in Moscow, see vol. i, p. 741.↩
- For the proposal to establish the American Military Mission in the Soviet Union, and its acceptance, see telegram No. 934, October 1, 1 p.m., to the Chargé in the Soviet Union, p. 704.↩
- Adm. Ernest J. King, Commander in Chief, U.S. Navy, and Chief of Naval Operations.↩