File No. 861.00/1852
The Ambassador in France (Sharp) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 24, 2.32 a.m.]
3966. Referring to my No. 3871, May 12, 3 p.m.,2 in which General Niessel, chief of the French Military Mission to Russia, was quoted as to the situation in that country and the problems of Japanese intervention. I have since had placed in my hands a written statement of the General, elaborating his views on those questions. A [Page 167] statement was first submitted to M. Clemenceau and then transmitted by the Premier in a letter to me. The views therein contained undoubtedly have the approval of the French Government. I shall in the outgoing mail to-day transmit the text in full but deem it advisable to telegraph its salient features. The document impresses me as very carefully thought out by one who had most favorable opportunities to study the situation.
The General states, in brief, that there is a universal desire for the restoration of order and would welcome intervention in Siberia conditional to its assuming an inter-Allied character. Declarations should first be made of the intention to respect the integrity of Russian territory. All Russians agree that social order cannot be restored without help from outside. Undoubtedly the Central powers will offer such help at a propitious moment. There is no reason to believe that the Bolsheviks could win over Russian public opinion against Japanese intervention, because their own wickedness has exasperated the whole population which has lost confidence in them.
The General does not believe that the Japanese would encounter any check in the way of resistance in their operations in Siberia. The time of transportation would be considerably shortened on account of using a base afforded by Manchuria, where the railroad is in the hands of the Allies as far as the Trans-Baikal frontier. Irkutsk would be the first important objective. Siberia is not and can not be Bolshevik inasmuch as individual property is there the general rule. Irkutsk and Vladivostok, on account of their working classes, constitute the only Bolshevik centers. All the other representative classes of Siberia during the last winter clamored for Allied intervention.
General Niessel thenceforth goes on to point out the immediate advantage of the occupation of occidental Siberia in being able to seize the reserve foodstuffs to which the Central powers, must soon look, as they have been disappointed in Ukrainia, and in greater Russia. Imperative that action should be taken soon so as not to allow time for the Austro-German prisoners in Siberia to be armed and organized by Germany, to oppose the seizure of the Trans-Siberian by the Allies. During the last winter while the General was in Russia the Germans made offers tending to restore order in Russia. The orderly elements however were afraid of the overbearing qualities of the Germans and hoped only for inter-Allied intervention. Belief is expressed that the Japanese people would be proud to take part in events of world-wide importance; that the Allies should cooperate with Japanese army to direct and keep it within bounds and while utilizing Russian port preserve its disinterested character [Page 168] in regard to Russia. In relation to the expediency of intervening in the Caucasus, particularly to prevent the massacre of the Armenians, any action in that region, inasmuch as it could only start from Mesopotamia, would have to overcome very great obstacles on account of the distance, the nature of it, and the difficulty of transportation, similar to the action in the objective ports, largely rests with the seizure of the food reserve which is at this moment the main endeavor of the Central powers.
General Niessel concludes his statement by observing that, in view of all the above considerations, intervention in Siberia appears to be the most efficacious action in the shape of helping the Russian nation by restoring social order and safeguarding it and which is, however, mastery of the Central powers. He adds that it is high time now to pass on to deeds. Whether the Bolshevik Party is consenting or not these deeds are looked for by all the orderly element of Russia.