File No. 861.00/1674
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Sharp)
3663. Recently the War Department was requested to transport from Nagasaki and Vladivostok respectively small contingents of Italian and Belgian troops, the latter with armored motor cars, and numbering in the former case 100 and in the latter case 350 officers and men inclusive.
It seemed advisable to this Department that as many as possible of the governments at war with Germany should be temporarily represented by military forces in the Far East. It seemed inadvisable to bring away from there troops carrying flags of co-belligerents when it might be embarrassing to send back there other such troops. With these ideas in view, representations were made through our representatives at Havre and Rome to have the Governments to which they were accredited withdraw their respective requests to have these troops transported, although the American transport was then in transit for Nagasaki and is now in transit for Vladivostok. Our representatives immediately advised that the matter had been presented and received in a favorable light. Since then Rome has advised that the Italian Government has acted as suggested. The Belgian Minister to-day informed the Department that his Government has consulted Paris. It was not the intention of this Government that any other governments should be consulted or that any wider circulation than possible should be given to the suggestion.
[Page 135]The position of the United States Government was predicated upon the possibility of intervention in Siberia, but was not intended to and did not commit this Government to intervention or to any form of intervention. Its purpose was simply to have representatives of the different Allied military units within reach in case intervention should become necessary and Allied intervention should prove expedient. For obvious reasons the suggestion emanated solely from this Government simply as a matter of political expediency.
If you are approached on the subject by the Foreign Office or by the representatives of the other two Governments mentioned herein you can discreetly use the information herein set forth, but it is felt to be highly desirable that the matter should not be discussed with other persons.