740.00119 Control (Italy)/9–3046: Telegram
The United States Deputy Political Adviser at Allied Force Headquarters (Byington) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received September 30—10:50 a.m.]
764. General Airey, Chief of Staff, AFHQ, instructed Med Joint Planning Staff, of which I am a member, to examine current Allied operational policy and to make appropriate recommendations as to [Page 962] any revision in that policy made necessary by the political situation and changes in military situation.
At meeting held for this purpose, it was stated that under recent directive of US War Dept there must be a reduction by January 1 of 5000 US troops available in this theater.
Military authorities pointed out that although War Dept ordered that 88th Division was to be maintained at full strength this reduction would have to be applied to service type troops which are essential as a reserve to supply 88th Division in case of combat. Once total theater strength has been thus reduced, 88th Division in event of hostilities will become noneffective operationally as soon as supplies of any type already in 88th Division area are exhausted. This condition in opinion of G–3 Section, would take place 2 weeks after the start of active operations.
This new American reduction coming on top of reduction (see paragraph 6 my 716 of August 2390) that has already taken place in British forces in VG has apparently made logistically unsound the policy publicly pronounced by SAC that it is intention of both Govts to maintain status quo in VG until an agreed settlement has been put into War Dept’s directive seems even more (re Dept’s 93 March 20) premature when one considers that according to G–2 reports the 50,000 Yugoslav troops across the Morgan Line are being refurnished with standard Russian equipment.
Because of its serious political implications, the situation described above has seemed to me of sufficient importance for me to bring it to Dept’s attention with suggestion that Dept may wish to consider requesting War Dept to postpone this decrease in American military strength in Italy at least until results of Paris Peace Conference are established and political situation re VG is more secure than it is at present.
Sent Rome as 544, and Paris 71 for Delsec.
- Not printed; it reported on the redeployment of Allied military forces from North Italy (740.00119 Control (Italy)/8–2346).↩