740.0011 European War 1939/10039: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State
[Received 8:40 p.m.]
455. At 7:30 last evening we learned from the person mentioned in the Embassy’s telegram 378, April 2, 8 p.m.15 that the French Government the day before had formally agreed to accept a German demand that a general and 200 German officers and men be sent to Morocco in addition to those Germans already there; that the Marshal with the greatest reluctance and fears for future increases in numbers accepted this demand. We called on Rochat immediately and pointed out the importance of this decision and the adverse effect it would have on our plans to supply North Africa. He admitted, as he has in the past, that the Germans have been bringing considerable pressure to increase their numbers in Morocco but said that he thought the figure they are asking for is an additional 135. He said that he had no information that the French had yielded to the demand but that this did not imply that it was not correct as “the Embassy frequently received word of developments before the Foreign Office was told about them.” He promised to inquire immediately and let us know whether the report was true today. (We have since received confirmation [Page 291] of this decision from an entirely separate source, likewise have an additional report that the Germans have requested a substantial reduction in French armed forces in North Africa.)
Furthermore, our Military Attaché was informed in strict confidence by a high official in the French Air Ministry that Germans are leaving for Morocco every day, proceeding through occupied France and Spain on authorizations signed in Paris by De Brinon16 without approval of Government authorities in the unoccupied zone.