Bohlen Collection
Bohlen Minutes
Before luncheon, at the Prime Minister’s request, The President read to Marshal Stalin the recommendations of the combined British and American Staffs,2 which had been approved by himself and the Prime Minister.
Marshal Stalin expressed his great satisfaction with this decision. He added that the Red Army would at the same time undertake offensive operations, and would demonstrate by its actions the value it placed on this decision. He asked when the Commander in Chief would be named.
The President said he had to consult with his Staff, but that he was sure that the Commander in Chief would be named in three or four days or, in other words, immediately following his return, and that of the Prime Minister, to Cairo. The President said that there were a number of questions in regard to command which he had had to discuss with Mr. Churchill. He added that the Commander in Chief of Overlord would operate from England, and that there would be a Commander in Chief for the Mediterranean area. And one question was, under whose command the operations in Southern France would fall.
[Page 566]At this point The Prime Minister interrupted to say that the operations in Southern France should be under the Commander in Chief of Overlord, but the operations in Italy, which must be intensified to coordinate with the operations in France, would be under the Commander in Chief of the Mediterranean theater.
Marshal Stalin expressed agreement with this idea, and said it was sound military doctrine.
For the next part of the luncheon the conversation was general, until The Prime Minister asked Marshal Stalin whether he had read the proposed communiqué on the Far East of the Cairo conference.3
Marshal Stalin replied that he had and that although he could make no commitments he thoroughly approved the communiqué and all its contents. He said it was right that Korea should be independent, and that Manchuria, Formosa and the Pescadores Islands should be, returned to China. He added, however, that the Chinese must be made to fight, which they had not thus far done.
The Prime Minister and The President expressed agreement with Marshal Stalin’s views.
After some discussion of the great size of the Soviet Union, during which Marshal Stalin admitted frankly that had Russia not had at her disposal such a vast territory the Germans would have probably won the victory, The Prime Minister said that he felt that such a large land mass as Russia deserved the access to warm water ports. He said that the question would of course form part of the peace settlement, and he observed that it could be settled agreeably and as between friends.
Marshal Stalin replied that at the proper time that question could be discussed, but that since Mr. Churchill had raised the question he would like to inquire as to the regime of the Dardanelles.4 He said that since England no longer objected, it would be well to relax that regime.
The Prime Minister replied that England had now no objections to Russia’s access to warm water ports, although he admitted that in the past she had. He questioned, however, the advisability of doing anything about the Straits at the time, as we were all trying to get Turkey to enter the war.
Marshal Stalin said there was no need to hurry about that question, but that he was merely interested in discussing it here in general.
[Page 567]The Prime Minister replied that Great Britain saw no objections to this legitimate question, and that furthermore we all hoped to see Russian fleets, both naval and merchant, on all seas of the world.
Marshal Stalin said that Lord Curzon had had other ideas.
The Prime Minister replied that that was true, and that it would be idle to deny that in those days Russia and England did not see eye to eye.
Marshal Stalin replied that Russia also was quite different in those days.
The President reverted to the question of the approaches to the Baltic Sea, which he had previously discussed with Marshal Stalin.5 He said he liked the idea of establishing the former Hanseatic cities of Bremen, Hamburg and Lubeck into some form of a free zone, with the Kiel Canal put under international control and guaranty, with freedom of passage for the world’s commerce.
Marshal Stalin said he thought that that was a good idea, and then asked what could be done for Russia in the Far East.
The Prime Minister replied that it was for this reason that he had been particularly glad to hear the Marshal’s views on the Cairo communiqué, since he was interested to find out the views of the Soviet government on the Far East and the question of warm water ports there.
Marshal Stalin replied that of course the Russians had their views, but that it would perhaps be better to await the time when the Russians would be taking an active representation in the Far Eastern war.6 He added, however, that there was no port in the Far East that was not closed off, since Vladivostok was only partly ice-free, and besides covered by Japanese controlled Straits.
The President said he thought the idea of a free port might be applied to the Far East besides, and mentioned Dairen as a possibility.
Marshal Stalin said he did not think that the Chinese would like such a scheme.
To which The President replied that he thought they would like the idea of a free port under international guaranty.7
Marshal Stalin said that that would not be bad, and added that Petropavlovsk or [on?] Kamchatka was an excellent port, and ice-free, but with no rail connections. He pointed out in this general connection that Russia had only one ice-free port, that of Murmansk.8
[Page 568]The Prime Minister then said that it was important that the nations who would govern the world after the war, and who would be entrusted with the direction of the world after the war, should be satisfied and have no territorial or other ambitions. If that question could be settled in a manner agreeable to the great powers, he felt then that the world might indeed remain at peace. He said that hungry nations and ambitious nations are dangerous, and he would like to see the leading nations of the world in the position of rich, happy men.
The President and Marshal Stalin agreed.
It was then decided that after a short session this afternoon at 4:309 there would be no more full sessions of the conference, but at 4:00 o’clock tomorrow the President, Marshal Stalin and the Prime Minister, together with Mr. Eden, Mr. Molotov and Mr. Hopkins, would meet to discuss political matters, and reference was made to Poland, Finland and Sweden as possible subjects of discussion.10
- See ante, p. 563.↩
- Ante, p. 448.↩
- For the text of the Convention of Montreux Regarding the Régime of the Straits, July 20, 1936, see British Cmd. 5249, Turkey No. 1 (1936), or League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. clxxiii, p. 213. Also printed in The Problem of the Turkish Straits (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1947), p. 25.↩
- See ante, p. 510.↩
- See Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, 1945, pp. 361–400, 894–897, 984.↩
- Regarding the discussion of this matter with Chiang at the First Cairo Conference during the preceding week, see ante, pp. 324, 367.↩
- For a reference by Harriman in 1944 to this discussion, see Foreign Relations, The Conferences at Malta and Yalta, 1945, p. 378.↩
- For the minutes of the third plenary meeting, which began at 4 p.m., see post, p. 576.↩
- For the minutes of the special tripartite political meeting held in the afternoon of December 1, 1943, see post, p. 596.↩