CFM Files: Lot M–88: Box 104: Anglo–US–French Conversations
Memorandum of Conversation by the British Foreign Office1
Mr. Marshall paid a farewell call on the Secretary of State2 at the Foreign Office at 6 p.m. on December 17th. The situation resulting from the breakdown of the recent meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers and other subjects concerning Anglo-American relations were discussed in a conversation lasting 1¼ hours.
anglo-french military conversations
The Secretary of State said he wished to inform Mr. Marshall that he had already arranged for General Reveres [Revers], the Chief of the French General Staff, to come here soon, probably in the New Year, for military talks. He had always wanted to forward the military rehabilitation of France but had been unable to do anything as long as communists were in the French Government. M. Bidault had now assured him that we could talk with absolute confidence. He was doubtful whether we could go so far with the French as we were able to do with the Americans, with whom our military conversations were like those between members of one country. But we must see just how far we could go. France was proud of her Army but it was too big and wrongly equipped for modern needs. It required recasting and reorganizing. He wished, with Mr. Marshall’s approval, to test out General Reveres in conversations with Field Marshal Montgomery and Air Chief Marshal Tedder. There would be no publicity, but the possibilities of so far as possible coordinating the French Army with our own air and naval power would be elucidated. We already knew exactly where we stood in this regard both with Holland and Belgium, but they were both nervous of the French. His general idea was to build up a real force in western Europe. These military talks would, however, be kept quite separate from the other official conversations dealing with all the social and economic questions which could be summarised under the heading of Marshall Aid. But France could not be given real confidence unless all facets of French life were brought into play. But he emphasized that these were still his own personal views and subject to Cabinet approval.
Mr. Marshall said that his idea was that it was not so much normal staff discussions which were wanted with the French. The French desire, and indeed necessity, was for more equipment.
[Page 819]The Secretary of State said that he was not so much concerned with the equipment side as with the need of shaking up the traditional French conception of a land army which was now out of date. We should of course keep the United States informed, although he presumed they would agree that it was better not to bring the French into our Anglo-American military talks.
Mr. Marshall said that he took no exception to such Anglo-French talks and fully agreed with the Secretary of State’s last point about keeping them separate from Anglo-American talks.
- This memorandum was presumably prepared by Frank K. Roberts, personal secretary to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. For other sections of the memorandum, see vol. ii, p. 815.↩
- Ernest Bevin.↩