740.00119 EAC/11–644: Telegram
The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Gallman) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 6—9:10 p.m.]
9643. For the Secretary and Under Secretary.
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Agreement was also reached tonight on the Protocol on Control Machinery in Germany, except for one minor point which may be settled informally tomorrow. The protocol may be signed on Wednesday or Thursday.44 Because of this factor, and evidently also because of expected appearance of a French representative within one week, both Soviet and British representatives pressed most emphatically tonight for earliest possible presentation of the United States amendment to the Protocol on Zones of Occupation, in order to complete that protocol at once.
The Soviet representative,45 newly returned from Moscow, was particularly outspoken in urging the immediate insertion of a general provision regarding the United States control of port and transit facilities within the United Kingdom zone, leaving detailed arrangements to later agreement between either the Governments or the Commanders concerned, or to the Tripartite Control Council in Germany. Gousev stressed the cogent point that similar arrangements for transit facilities will be made, providing United States and United Kingdom forces and control personnel full access to the Berlin zone across Soviet-occupied territory.
The eagerness of the Soviet and United Kingdom representatives to complete this with the Protocol on Zones is most obvious. Their firm stand tonight has the effect of shifting to the United States representative responsibility for consequences of further delay in amending this protocol. If the French representative should demand a French zone of occupation prior to completion of the Protocol on Zones, either acceptance or rejection of such a demand would probably result in serious difficulties, perhaps in prolonged deadlock, in the work of the EAC. Such difficulties might be lessened or even avoided completely if an agreed United States–United Kingdom amendment concerning the use of Bremen and Bremerhaven could be presented this week in the EAC, or if, alternatively, United States and United Kingdom authorities agreed to make general provision now for port and transit facilities to be used by United States forces in United [Page 385] Kingdom zone, leaving detailed arrangements to later agreement between the Governments or the Commanders-in-Chief (see conclusion of Embassy’s 9552, November 3, 7 p.m.).46
United States delegation EAC has assumed that the question of control of Bremen was under active negotiation in the Combined Chiefs of Staff and has refrained from discussing it here. The United States Military Adviser is also wiring General Marshall47 urgently tonight, suggesting an interim wording which appears to fully protect United States interests and which might be acceptable to the British.