795B.551/7–2550: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Douglas) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 25—4:04 p. m.]
548. Personal for the Secretary’s eyes only. Supplementing Embtel 544,1 Prime Minister informed me of details of decision to send ground forces to Korea. They will consist of a brigade group, three battalions of infantry, an armored regiment and supporting artillery. It will be a self-contained unit.
Forces will be sent from UK. It may take them some time to collect them since they are not now in existence in this particular form. Two months may elapse before the movement can commence.
These details may not be announced in House of Commons tomorrow but you doubtless will get them through Franks.2
- Although transmitted from London at 6 p. m. on July 25, this telegram was not received until 11:25 p. m. on that date. The text read as follows: “Personal for Secretary eyes only. Matter of sending British ground troops to Korea satisfactory and voluntary. Announcement will be made in House of Commons tomorrow. Please guard with great discretion until that time.” (795B.551/7–2550)↩
- Ambassador Franks transmitted the information on the U.K. contribution of ground forces to Mr. Jessup on the afternoon of July 25; Ambassador Jessup then passed it along to Mr. Acheson in a memorandum of that date, not printed (795B.5/7–2550).↩