740.00119 Control (Italy)/5–1445: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of State, at San Francisco
22. Mr. Churchill heartily approved the proposed note to be presented to the Yugoslav Government by the American and British Ambassadors at Belgrade with the text as already furnished to you, [Page 1159] with the addition of the following passage in the third paragraph “Monfalcone and Pola, the lines of communication through Gorizia and Monfalcone to Austria and an area sufficiently to the east of the line to permit proper administrative control, and issue, et cetera”.
Patterson has today been instructed to present the note in this form. You may wish to hand a copy of the text to the Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Dr. Subasić.
Mr. Churchill on May 13 submitted to the President a message he proposed to send to Stalin. By the President’s direction we have instructed Kennan at Moscow (in addition to informing the Soviet Government of our démarche at Belgrade), to inform the Soviet Government that the President fully agrees with Churchill’s message which reads as follows:
“I am sorry to say that serious situation has arisen in the Italian province of Venezia Giulia.
It has always been recognized that the future of this province, which was acquired by Italy after the last war, will have to be decided at the peace settlement, since its population is largely Yugoslav and only partly Italian. Until the peace settlement it would be only right and proper that the province should be placed under the military government of Field Marshal Alexander who will occupy and administer it on behalf of all the United Nations.
- 3.
- Before however this could be done Yugoslav regular forces entered the province and occupied not only the country districts where the Yugoslav guerillas had already been active, but also entered the towns of Pola, Trieste, Gorizia and Monfalcone where the bulk of the population is Italian. Field Marshal Alexander’s forces advancing from the west reached Trieste at about the same time and took the surrender of the German garrisons in Trieste and elsewhere.
- 4.
- Field Marshal Alexander thereupon proposed to Marshal Tito that the Yugoslav troops and administration should be withdrawn from the western part of the province so as to enable the Field Marshal to control the lines of communication by road and rail between Trieste and Austria. This was a very modest request. In this western portion of the province the Field Marshal proposed to set up an Allied military government, including in particular the town of Trieste, it being clearly understood that this arrangement was made purely for the sake of military convenience and in no way prejudiced the ultimate disposal of the province, which His Majesty’s Government consider should be reserved for the peace table.
- 5.
- The Field Marshal sent his chief of staff to Belgrade to discuss the proposal with Marshal Tito, but unfortunately the latter refused to accept it and insisted instead on extending his own military government as far as the Isonzo River, while merely offering Field Marshal Alexander facilities for communicating with Austria through Trieste.
- 6.
- His Majesty’s Government cannot agree to such an arrangement. Yugoslav occupation and administration of the whole province would be in contradiction with the principle, which we seek to maintain, that [Page 1160] the fate of the province must not be decided by conquest and by one sided establishment of sovereignty by military occupation.
- 7.
- As you know, Field Marshal Alexander is in command of both British and American troops and speaks therefore on behalf of both the British and United States Governments. In view of the unhelpful attitude adopted by Marshal Tito he has now referred the matter to these two governments.
- 8.
- The latter having carefully considered the situation with which they are faced, have decided to make the following communication to the Yugoslav Government:—(Here would follow text in President’s message to Prime Minister Number 34 as modified by Prime Minister’s message to President Number 45).44
- 9.
- In view of the serious issues at stake the British and American Governments have deemed it right to inform the Soviet Government at the earliest possible moment of the action that they have found it necessary to take as a result of the attitude adopted by the Yugoslav Government and Army in Venezia Giulia.”