J.C.S.
Files
Note by the Secretaries of the Combined Chiefs
of Staff
top secret
C.C.S. 618/4
[
Quebec
,] 12 September 1944.
Machinery for Coordination of
United States-Soviet-British Military Effort
In accordance with the instructions of the Combined Chiefs of Staff
in the C.C.S. 172d Meeting,1 the Secretaries
propose that the British Chiefs of Staff and the United States
Chiefs of Staff send the messages attached hereto as Enclosures “A”
and “B” to Generals Burrows and Deane respectively.2
A. J. McFarland
A. T. Cornwall-Jones
Combined Secretariat
Enclosure “A”
top
secret
Message From the British
Chiefs of Staff to General Burrows
[The text of this message was the same, mutatis
mutandis, as that of the message proposed to be sent to
Deane in enclosure “B”, below.]
Enclosure “B”
top
secret
Message From the United States
Chiefs of Staff to General Deane
- 1.
- It is desired that you propose to the Soviet General Staff
that a tripartite Military Committee be set up in Moscow
consisting of senior representatives of the Russian General
Staff, of the United States [Page 404] Chiefs of Staff, and of the British
Chiefs of Staff. The idea of the United States Chiefs of
Staff is that this Committee would deal with strategical and
operational matters, but you should make it clear:—
-
a.
- That it will be purely consultative and advisory
and will have no power to make decisions without
reference to the respective Chiefs of Staff and the
Russian General Staff.
-
b.
- It must not impinge upon the work that is at
present being done by the European Advisory
Commission, such as civil affairs, etc.
- 2.
- The United States Chiefs of Staff consider that formation
of this Committee should assist in eliminating the delays
now existent in dealings between the Russians and the U.S.
and British Military Missions. A cardinal point in the
proposal, however, is that the Russian representative on the
Committee should be a senior member of the Russian General
Staff. On the U.S. and British sides the Heads of the
present Missions would represent the United States and
British Chiefs of Staff respectively, each being responsible
to his own Chiefs of Staff.
- 3.
- In view of the approach of the Russian, U.S. and British
forces toward each other, you should initiate action at once
with the Soviet General Staff in order that the Committee
may begin to function in the near future.
