Office of the Historian

740.0011 European War 1939/10536: Telegram

The Ambassador in France (Leahy) to the Secretary of State

Vichy, May 1, 1941—noon.
[Received 4:38 p.m.]

504. Department’s 366, April 28, 4 p.m.50 High French Air Ministry sources have stated that Axis convoys were proceeding through Tunisian waters and that one such convoy in addition to the one, the sinking of which was also announced on April 16, was recently sunk [Page 323] just outside of Tunisian territorial waters. (This information they say was obtained here through intercepting an Italian telephone conversation.) They indicate that these convoys are still proceeding but only at irregular intervals and in no such volume as reported in the Department’s telegram. They confirm that some wounded German and Italian soldiers from a sunken convoy are now in Tunis. They deny however that any tanks, trucks or armored cars are being reconditioned in Tunis for shipment to Libya. (The Embassy will transmit a supplementary report on the question of truck deliveries from Tunis to Italian forces in Libya, of which it learned today from a separate source, following further verification.)

French naval and army officer sources close to our Naval and Military Attachés likewise confirm the foregoing as regards utilization of Tunisian territorial waters for Italian convoys and the negative report with respect to repairs of tanks and armored cars.

Neither of these sources has yet any confirmation of the accuracy of the report contained in paragraph 2 of Tunis telegram 45, April 26, 1 p.m.,51 as to the extinguishing of navigating lights at Kelibia and Cap Bon.

We have likewise informally requested Rochat52 to endeavor to check the foregoing and will report what he says in a later telegram.

Leahy
  1. Not printed (740.0011 European War 1939/10150); this telegram asked the Ambassador to obtain from the proper authorities confirmation or denial of report contained in telegram No. 43, April 21, 1 p.m., from the Consul at Tunis, p. 301.↩
  2. Not printed.↩
  3. Charles Antoine Rochat, Acting Secretary General of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.↩