Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conference of Berlin (The Potsdam Conference), 1945, Volume II

J. C. S. Files

No. 1296
Memorandum by the United States Chiefs of Staff¹

top secret
C. C. S. 462/25

[Babelsberg,] 16 July 1945.

Staff Conversations With Portugal

Reference:

CCS 462 Series

1. The report by the Combined Administrative Committee in consultation with the Combined Staff Planners in C. C. S. 462/19² on the report of the Anglo-American Military Mission (C. C. S. 462/15³) relative to proposals for Portuguese participation in Allied operations for the recapture of Timor was submitted to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on 3 January 1945. This report recommended that a letter be dispatched to the Department of State and Foreign Office setting forth the conclusions of the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the staff conversations with the Portuguese. Action on C. C. S. 462/19 has been deferred at the request of the British Chiefs of Staff. As a result the Department of State and Foreign Office have not as yet been advised of the conclusions of the Combined Chiefs of Staff on the staff conferences held with the Portuguese although these conversations were held some nine months ago. The Department of State is pressing the United States Chiefs of Staff for information regarding the details of the plan for Portuguese participation in any operations directed toward liberation of Timor.

2. The United States Chiefs of Staff understand that the British Chiefs of Staff’s delay in acting on C. C. S. 462/19 is due to lack of information from Australia on that country’s ability to provide accommodations for the Portuguese contingent. The end of the war in Europe makes out of date the draft letter to the Department of State and Foreign Office contained in Appendix “A” of C. C. S. 462/19 in two particulars. The United States Chiefs of Staff have therefore revised the letter to the Department of State and Foreign Office contained in Appendix “A” to C. C. S. 462/19 along broader lines. It is recommended that the Combined Chiefs of Staff approve the enclosed letter to the Department of State and Foreign Office.⁴ In view of the urgency of the matter, the United States Chiefs of Staff would appreciate prompt consideration of this paper by the British Chiefs of Staff.

1. Considered by the Combined Chiefs of Staff at their 195th Meeting, July 18. See ante, p. 83.
2. Not printed.
3. Not printed. The mission referred to concluded an agreement embodied in an exchange of notes dated November 28, 1944. See Treaties and Other International Acts Series No. 2338; United States Treaties and Other International Agreements, vol. 2, pt. 2, p. 2124.
4. The text of the enclosure is identical with document No. 1298 except as noted in footnote 2 to that document and except that a change was made in the final sentence (not printed).