Foreign Relations of the United States, Conference at Quebec, 1944

J.C.S. Files

Combined Chiefs of Staff Minutes

September 16, 1944, 10:15 a.m.

top secret

1. Approval of the Minutes of the 175th Meeting of the Combined Chiefs of Staff

The Combined Chiefs of Staff:—

Approved the conclusions of the 175th Meeting. The detailed record of the meeting was also approved subject to later minor amendments.²

2. “Rankin” Planning in the Mediterranean Theater

(C.C.S. 684³)

The Combined Chiefs of Staff:—

Approved C.C.S. 684 (The directive to General Wilson was dispatched as Fan 418) .⁴

3. Release of Amphibious Craft From “Overlord” to Other Theaters

(C.C.S. 687⁵)

The Combined Chiefs of Staff:—

Approved C.C.S. 687 (The message to SCAEF was dispatched as Facs 81).⁶

4. Allocation of Zones of Occupation in Germany

(C.C.S. 320/26⁷)

Admiral Cunningham suggested that any naval disarmament measures for U.S. controlled ports should be under the U.S. naval member of the Central Control Commission.

Admiral King agreed with this proposal. American control of the port of Bremen would have to include American control of a suitable area for disembarkation and staging.

Admiral Cunningham agreed. He suggested that the American area should also include Bremerhaven, some 40 or 50 miles down the river. Bremerhaven was, he understood, the port where large ships had to berth.

General Somervell said that the U.S. troops would probably also have to be supplied through the ports of Antwerp and Rotterdam. It might well be desirable to set up an Inter-Allied Navigation Commission to control the Rhine.

General Marshall suggested that the Combined Administrative Committee might be instructed to work out the logistic details involved in the decision taken with regard to zones and the consequent maintenance of U.S. and British forces in the zones.

Certain minor amendments were then proposed to the statement of policy contained in C.C.S. 320/26. These were accepted.

The Combined Chiefs of Staff:—

a. Approved the proposals in C.C.S. 320/26, subject to the minor amendments agreed in discussion. (The amended paper, as approved by the Combined Chiefs of Staff, circulated as C.C.S. 320/27.⁸)

b. Agreed that any naval disarmament measures for Bremen and Bremerhaven would be under the U.S. Naval Commander of the Central Control Commission.

c. Agreed to refer C.C.S. 320/27 to the Combined Administrative Committee for examination of the logistics problems involved.

5. Situation in China

General Marshall informed the Combined Chiefs of Staff of the contents of a telegram recently received from General Stilwell.⁹ The Japanese were advancing on Kweilin, if indeed they had not already captured it and were therefore only 460 miles from Kunming, the China end of the air route. Further, no Chinese replacements were being provided for the Salween forces and the Generalissimo¹⁰ was threatening to withdraw these forces altogether if the Ledo forces did not advance to Bhamo. The Generalissimo had not yet agreed to place all Chinese forces under the direct control of General Stilwell which he had been pressed to do for some two months.

General Marshall then informed the Combined Chiefs of Staff of the contents of a telegram which had been sent to Chiang Kai-shek by the President urging early and vigorous action.¹¹

The Combined Chiefs of Staff:—

Took note of a telegram read to the meeting by General Marshall, which the President had sent to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, stressing the need for action to remedy the situation in China in general and on the Salween front in particular.

6. Communiqué for Release to the Press

Sir Hastings Ismay suggested that the Combined Chiefs of Staff might wish to propose to the President and Prime Minister a paragraph dealing with the military points of the Conference for incorporation in the final press release. He presented a draft for consideration.¹²

The Combined Chiefs of Staff:—

Approved the text of a short note containing suggestions as to the military substance of any communiqué that the President and the Prime Minister might wish to issue to the Press on Octagon.

7. Concluding Remarks

Sir Alan Brooke, on behalf of the British Chiefs of Staff, said he would like to express warm appreciation to the United States Chiefs of Staff for their helpful cooperation in reaching agreement on the problems which had been before them.

Admiral Leahy, in expressing thanks to Sir Alan Brooke, said that the United States Chiefs of Staff were most grateful for the helpful attitude of the British Chiefs of Staff in overcoming the minor difficulties which had initially existed.

2. The amendments referred to have been incorporated in the minutes of the 175th Meeting of the Combined Chiefs of Staff as printed ante, p. 354.
3. Post, p. 438.
4. For the text of the directive referred to, see the enclosure to C.C.S. 684, post, p. 439.
5. Post, p. 464.
6. For the text of the message referred to, see paragraph 2 of C.C.S. 687, post, p. 464.
7. “Allocation of Zones of Occupation in Germany”, September 16, 1941. This paper is not printed as such, but its text can be reconstructed from C.C.S. 320/27, post, p. 391, and the footnotes thereto.
8. Post, p. 391. The footnotes to this paper indicate the amendments which were made by the Combined Chiefs of Staff during their 176th Meeting.
9. For the text of the message referred to, see Romanus and Sunderland, pp. 435–436.
10. Chiang Kai-shek.
11. For the text of Roosevelt’s message to Chiang, dispatched from Quebec on September 16, 1944, see post, p. 464.
12. For Ismay’s draft statement, dated September 15, and for his covering note to Leahy of the same date, see post, pp. 457 and 456, respectively.