751G.00/6–654: Telegram
The Chargé at Saigon (McClintock) to the Department of State
priority
2686. Repeated information Paris 953, Geneva 202. DeJean told me this afternoon General Salan departs Paris tonight with Ely, apparently to assume command ground forces Indochina under Ely’s overall direction.1
This news strikes me much as did announcement that two cruisers Cloire and Montcalm are now enroute Far Eastern station. These six-inch-gun ships can only be utilized in final phase of evacuation Haiphong perimeter: namely, to guard withdrawal from Do Son beachhead.
Similarly, it is my conjecture that Salan, because of his extensive knowledge of Indochina, is being sent here not in any hope of conducting an offensive military campaign but to use his expertise in the administration of an armistice.
- On June 3, Gen. Paul Ely was appointed Commissioner General and Commander in Chief in Indochina. Gen. Raoul Salan was named his military deputy. In telegram 2676 from Saigon, June 6, McClintock states that the “removal of Dejean is a serious blow to furtherance of US policy in Indochina. Not only has he been the most courageous French official here, but also the only one with a clear-eyed view of what stakes we are fighting for, not only in Southeast Asia but likewise in Europe against international communism. … In view of our vested interest in this war, I believe that Ambassador Dillon has a right to indicate our concern that Ely be given top-notch political advisors.” (751G.00/6–654) In telegram Dulte 158 from Geneva, June 7, Under Secretary Smith concurred in McClintock’s estimate of Dejean’s removal. (751G.00/6–754)↩