Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, The Conferences at Cairo and Tehran, 1943

J. C. S. Files

Minutes of the Presidents Meeting With the Joint Chiefs of Staff, November 15, 1943, 2 P.M., Presidents Cabin, U. S. S. “Iowa”¹

November 15, 1943, 2 p.m.

secret

1. U. S. Delegation in Moscow To Proceed to “Sextant”

The President said that he desired a dispatch sent to Ambassador Harriman immediately upon arrival in port telling him to come to the place for the Sextant Conference, and bring with him General Deane, Mr. Bohlen of the State Department, and General Vandenburg [Vandenberg].

The Chiefs of Staff directed the Secretary² to prepare an appropriate dispatch in compliance with the President’s desires.³

The President then said that the big conference would be held in Tehran. He then read a dispatch regarding the fact that Mr. Molotov cannot come to Sextant by 22 November.⁴ However, Mr. Molotov will come to Tehran with Marshal Stalin by the end of November. The President added that it was vague as to why Mr. Molotov could not come by the 22nd, but he inferred from the message that Molotov was probably ill.⁵

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5. Telegram From Ambassador Winant

The President referred to a recent telegram received from Ambassador Winant in which it was said that the Prime Minister was emphatically against the proposal that any U. S. S. R. officer should be present at the Sextant Conference.⁶ It was felt by Mr. Churchill that the difficulty of military planning must be settled between the U. S. and British Governments before any contact on this subject is made with the Soviet Government. …

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. Present were Roosevelt, Hopkins, Leahy, Marshall, King, Arnold, Brown, and Royal. For additional excerpts from the minutes of this meeting, see post, p. 194.
2. Captain Forrest B. Royal.
3. Message of November 20, 1943, post, p. 102.
4. See Stalin’s first telegram of November 12, 1943, to Roosevelt, ante, p. 82.
5. The last two paragraphs of Stalin’s second telegram to Roosevelt on November 12, 1943 (ante, p. 83), indicate that Stalin was disturbed when he learned from Churchill that Chiang would be in Cairo at the same time as Molotov. It appears, however, that this telegram was not forwarded to Roosevelt aboard the Iowa; see footnote 1 to Stalin’s second telegram to Roosevelt, ante, p. 82. See also the remarks on this subject by Harriman and Molotov, post, p. 94. Churchill’s telegram of November 10, 1943, to Stalin (ante, p. 78) had not indicated, however, that Molotov and Chiang were to be included in the same discussions at Cairo. Cf. Lohbeck, p. 203.
6. Telegram of November 4, 1943, ante, p. 64.