740.00119 Control (Austria)/3–1745: Telegram
The Ambassador in Italy (Kirk) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 17—9:30 p.m.]
1015. From Gray. Your 221 of March 15, 1945, 9 p.m. crossed my 965 of March 14, 9 a.m.78 Due to the recent move of the United States group to Caserta, where it is now engaged in recruiting its planning staff and at the same time going forward with its planning work, it would not be at all practical to move the entire group from AFHQ. Accordingly General McNarney’s cable to General Deane only contemplated a liaison group of 2 or 3 persons to meet with the Soviets, if the latter should be agreeable thereto. It is believed here that preliminary conferences, such as General McNarney had in mind, would determine whether working groups of the respective countries would later get together and if so, what place and in what strength. A sounding of the British military here gives every reason to believe that in so far as the military are concerned, they will go along with the procedure outlined above.
General Deane has replied to General McNarney’s cable (my 965 of March 14, 9 a.m.) to the following effect: General Deane says lack of information on Austrian planning makes it difficult to offer any suggestions of value. The Soviets he says, do not bother very much about planning in advance. He refers to a letter sent to Harriman by Molotov in November 1944, in which Molotov indicated that the EAC should handle planning for the control of Austria. Deane goes on to say that he is of the belief that over and above this the Soviets will not go and will leave it to the troops of occupation to solve problems as they arise. Harriman has been shown General McNarney’s cable and has wired Winant for information about the status of the Austrian work in the EAC. Deane will be glad to talk to the Soviet General Staff and at the same time ask Harriman to deal with the Foreign Office to the end that the Soviet Foreign Office will give authorization to representatives of the Soviets to get together with United States planners, so that United States and Soviet plans can be gone over and all details of coordinating and implementing them be worked out. If General McNarney reaches a decision to do this, Deane makes the recommendation that the Soviets be invited to come to McNarney.
[Page 27]This message has been cleared with Generals McNarney and Flory. Paraphrase of your 21 March 15, 9 p.m. has been repeated to London for Erhardt.
Sent Department, repeated to London for the Ambassador and Erhardt as 142. [Gray.]
- Latter not printed; it reported that General McNarney had telegraphed Maj. Gen. John R. Deane, the Commanding General, United States Military Mission to the Soviet Union, to inquire of Soviet authorities as to the feasibility of arranging conferences of a preliminary nature between representatives of the United States Planning Group for Austria and corresponding Soviet representatives (740.00119 Control (Austria)/3–1445).↩