851.01/652: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
4422. The procedure outlined in paragraphs numbered 1 to 4 inclusive of the memorandum drawn up by Admiral Stark and General Bolte, and contained in your telegram no. 4418 of August 7, 7 p.m., is satisfactory.
The Secretary of the Navy requests specifically that military matters and those matters having political or economic implications which are primarily connected with the war effort be submitted to the United States Chiefs of Staff.
With respect to the proposals put forward informally by General de Gaulle, it was correct to remind the General that only the officers designated by this Government are authorized to consult with the National Committee on matters relating to the prosecution of the war.
The National Committee should be informally advised that pursuant to the Department’s memorandum of July 9, 1942,71 which General de Gaulle approved, all communications directly or indirectly related to the conduct of the war will be addressed to the National Committee or, if the General prefers, to the chief of his personal military staff.
(For your information, no communications should be addressed to the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs as such.)
The procedure to be followed in consulting with the French authorities on technical questions is left to the discretion of Admiral Stark and General Dahlquist, who are free to call upon the Embassy for advice or assistance as suggested in paragraph 3 of the memorandum [Page 539] prepared by the Admiral and General Bolte. The French authorities should be made clearly to understand that in consultations in which officers of the Embassy may take part, the latter are acting in a purely technical and advisory capacity under the direct orders of Admiral Stark and General Dahlquist.
- See Department of State Bulletin, July 11, 1942, p. 613.↩