(c) crown copyright Catalogue Reference:CAB/65/1/63 Image Reference:0001 SECRET (SometeBloisiDo MM: It 'fS; LOOK , A i B S S I . ^raaste& t h a t f ^ e s f e i care may be' taken to . sasFssy of this document. : CONCLUSIONS of a Meeting of the/WarCabinet held at WD owning Street, S.W.1, on Saturday, October 28, at 11*30 A . M . Present: The Right Hon. N E V I L L E C H A M B E R L A I N , M.P., Prime Minister (in the Chair). The Right Hon. Sir J O H N S I M O N , K.C., The Right Hon. V I S C O U N T H A L I F A X , Secretary of State for Foreign M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer. Affairs. Right Hon. W I N S T O N S. Admiral of the Fleet the Right Hon. The L O R D C H A T F I E L D , Minister for CoC H U R C H I L L , M.P., First Lord of the ordination of Defence. Admiralty. The Right Hon. L . H O R E - B E L I S H A , The Right Hon. Sir K J N G S L E Y W O O D , M.P., Secretary of State for W a r . M.P., Secretary of State for A i r . The Right Hon. Sir S A M T J E L H O A R E , The Right Hon. L O R D HANKEY, B t . , M P . , Lord Privy Seal. Minister without fPortfolio. The following were also present: The Right Hon. Sir JOHN ANDERSONS The Right Hon. A N T H O N Y E D E N , M.P., Secretary of State for Dominion M.P., Secretary of State for the Aftairs (Itents 1-12). Home Department and Minister of Home Security. The Right Hon. W . S . : M O R R X S O N , K.G., The Right Hon. O L I V E R S T A N L E Y , M.P., President of the Board of Trade M.P., Chancellor of the Duchy of (Items 10 and 11). Lancaster and Minister of Food (Items 10 and 11). The Right Hon. E R N E S T B R O W N , M.P., The Right Hon. Sir J O H N G I L M O U R , Bt., M.P., Minister of Shipping Minister of Labour and National y (Items' W.and'lt). : '' Service (Items 1 0 and 11). Sir H O R A C E J . W i m o N , Permanent A i r Chief Marshal - Sir CYKIL'\LV. M.. NEWAnn, Chief of £he Air" Stan Secretoryto:the. Treasury..'. :'. .. : Elear-Admiral T. S. Be-on ty Ohio! of -SILW!?S May^-Gene^i H. E. S. ifa^at ^ r . -jeruty 0 h : 3 - cc ,ns General LvrJ [ J l c z z c 1-C). MASCY, InziZoZioi CONTENTS. No. 1 Air Operations... Subject. ... . . . . . . ... . . . . . . 2 Naval Operations ... 3 Security of Fleet Bases Page. 529 ... ... ... ... ... 529 ... ... ... ... ... 529 ... ... ... ... Scapa Flow. 4 The Military Situation ... 530 5 Possibility of Sea-borne and Air-borne Land Attack on Great Britain ... ... ... ... ... ... Size of the British Expeditionary Force ... ... ... 530 530 6 Correspondence with General Gamelin on t h e programme for its expansion. 7 The Balkans 531 Italy and the plan for the formation of a neutral Balkan bloc. 8 Turkey ... ... 531 ... 531 ... ... 531 ... ... 534 ... ... ... 534 ... . . . . . . Russia and the Anglo-Turkish Treaty. 9 The Far Eastern Situation The Tientsin Question. 10 Food Rationing ... 11 Chartering of Neutral Shipping 12 Football Pools 13 Imposition of Curfew... ... ... ... . . . . . . ... 534 1. The Secretary of $atefprAirs^ti^ J^Pl^f^Wf. a. TMd"IM^-rtn­ ; , ( j y ^ \ ifnilohj b Ain/A', u , . i!'m,, ,ijA W . M . (89) 62nd A h enemy reconnaissance aircraft had appeared off Grimsby OoaclinDicao, she clay fee&ffe. I t had I& zzn engaged %* a Sgbder, Ibui had m^AA jBnnfoa i.) ifc escape. Gae of our O\TO r e ^ a i i K i k r,anca aircraft, ho"v?evA?s had iio^i^f,e; 1 y been shot dowa at the mtmSsk of "the- Member, lift was' fAUffighfc & A at mufflst have been aristaken f o r the eneaay raider, which way baing ;d.dd'.'d' d d :.''./;pJlfli^^ ydddAdAAd ' ',, '' A ' ' -'' :; / A A J f ^ b r A ^ penetrated over the Clyde during the morning. One, and probably the other, had been shot down, though confirmation had not yet been . received. A d " A/,A. A-. A The War -Cabinet took^hote o f A ^ : : : : : 2. The First Lord of the Admiralty said that it had now been confirmed that .XJ-14 and TJ-16 had both been destroyed in the neighbourhood of the Straits of Dover. (Previous The French had captured a German ship of 4,000 tons off the Reference: West coast of Africa, and had brought her into Dakar. On the W . M . (39) 62nd other hand, a British ship of 5,000 tons had been torpedoed West Conclusions, of Land's End. She had not sunk, and it was hoped to get her in. Minute 2.) The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement. 3. The First Lord of the Admiralty informed the W a r Cabinet that he had now received the report of Admiral Drax on the circumstances of the sinking of H.M.S. Royal Oak and of the Scapa M o w . condition of the defences of Scapa Flow. I t appeared that certain (Previous representations had been made by the local naval authorities in the Reference: W . M . .(39) 52nd early part of the year as to the Scapa defences, but it had not been considered necessary to take steps to improve them. Some of Conclusions, the drifters which had been picketing the entrances to the Flow Minute 5.) had been withdrawn for use at other anchorages which had been taken into use in view of the threat of air attack. There could be no doubt that the U-boat in question had passed through one of these unguarded entrances. I t was obvious that the possibility of submarine attack had never entered into the minds of those on boardthe Royal Oak. The lesson was clear that we could not take anything for granted, but must be continually on the watch and guarding against every conceivable contingency in our defences. Security of Fleet Bases. The wish was expressed that a copy of the report might be made available for perusal by members of the W a r Cabinet. Some discussion took place as to the statement Which would have to be made by the First Lord of the Admiralty to* the Souse of Commons on-the matter in the ensuing week. I t would have to be admitted that the anchorage at Scapa had been unsafe against submarine;-attack, but.it.should be made clear that the necessary defences were being prqyic M , Such a statement would not be helpful.in, any,way to theehemy.. The-First Lord s statement Might also'include a reviexv of gains and losses at'sea during the first two jnohths btviyar ;. A- he vie. / ZJJZJB generally, e^Ode^sed Anat- any - yjiessii&re for a long and detailed enquiry into the apportionment of blame c - Id be resisted, oAce dds v o t l d for any cd sfsnces r% B e involve ,a great divei&ton of edort in the d A m d A i A frosa-other -- ' - - 'd XXz X' '"sXX)''-.'- S X. --more.-importaht \'wbrk;d;:'- ddy. s e : 1 ; " "'The : : Wddf C a b i n e t ­ (1) Took node lbat A s FdcA L o i d of the is Amalty woAd a - de av ' :A . s ; - . i - -, - , 3 : A . z -z LteXlzi Cabinet - - ..-7 . l o A ; a" f.( d; j j zzz. l 1 I II r .i V a ' a , , \ (pdevjouto Reference: W . M . (39) Conclusions^ Minute 3.) The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement. - & .$ffi*Ufar.-fa Co-ordinatim cf Be feme informed the W a r Cabinet that he had convened "a meeting, the evening -before^of. the,,Ministerial'Committee which''had ^recently.,considered WsMmi strategical matters, i n order to donna an opinidAon "ilAi^am^oi^ui from. Belgrade, and' advise as to the-measnres which' shodld':be;'takeh';d : : Britain. (Previous Beference: W . M . (39) 55th Conclusions, Minute 2;) - ^ The War:-Cabinet -were given "a full explanation of "the view which-the Committee-had formed, and of ' the action which they recommended should be taken. A full;-account of- the 'discussion us recorded in the Secretary's * Standard' -File - of W a r ' Cabinet Conclusions. : 1: The W a r C a b i n e t ­ (a) Approved the action which had been, or:was- about to be, . set on foot in accordance with the recommendations made by the Committee. (&) Took note that the Minister of ;Home Security would confer with the ConmMd^-MtChiet,: -Wxm forces, with "a view to preparing - the police--"to meet- certain­ ' contii^ehcieS." add'' .' (c) Invited the Secretary- of - State: -for - A i r ^ f u r n i s h - the- W a r Cabinet each'morning'with tleVwedther';forecast"for' the ensuing-24 hours. -' ' 1 1 : : ; ; - GJJEQ Oi? 6110 Correspondence with General Gamelin on the programme lor (Previous' -Beferenee: r PW^d^8?^'58th ttonehwicois; Minute .4.) ; : --'-"-'-: '.':;-'':'- '.;.".-;- ,;­ : L ,: : 6 The W a r Cabinet had under consideration a Memorandum bv the Secretary of State for W a r covering $Jotter from General , Gamelin to the Chief of the Imperial Gc ^ral^tf-tV and a draft . reply by the Chief of j&e Imp^pal; General; Staff (Paper w . p . (3D) i w ) . * '' ; ./ : t The Se&retosy of S*o** fa? Wm^ from the CMed J tba iawo fcfl C i d d ! repiv E e oeeade 1 AS. ; - - - ' ' hacifcen a^eed t h a t v ^ s ^ :i&nded unitto; ... 1 -^olever, wwto ,'-d ; fa; iBfenil : o . . d - . d"aarj.ed in'a!a'a^ du .1^ c ^ - - d ; p \ p v * tpfitld^^ . ' . - - ppa , P, ^ '' ' Jc, * , & p dtaa w . . / c. tt " M P - a , " : n j \i : , ' d- - M ^ '' : 1 The Secretary of State fwWeign Affairs d w 4 t e a t o " . to. telemi-No.-:-im, d a t e d v t f e , ^ October, imjvon His plan for the: Maiestybs Ambassador ^Rome, setting out^n detail ^ r e a s o n s i why; formation of a he would prefer postponing an; a p p r o ^ A o Count Ciano m^the neutral Balkan question of the formation of a neutral Balkan bloc untaLafter he bloc. nad had an opportunity of discussing the issues with him (the (Previous Secretary of State) in London. There was great force ^in .the ; Beference: forward by Sir Percy Loraine, and he (the ^y.M. (39) 02nd S e S a r y of ^State) proposed accordingly to defer consideration of Conclusions, this question. Italy.1 and the .. SunSs1rou.ght Minute 11.) The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement. Tushey. Russia and the Anglo-Turkish Treaty. (Previous Beference: W . M ; (39) 52nd Conclusions, Minute 8.) Tf&m&ftBgSfm fSm&an, The Tientsin question. (Previous -References:-;.. W . M : (39) 82nd Conclusions, Minute. 5, and VtbM: -(39) 57th Conclusions, Mmiife 9.) A'., . ; 8. The Secretary of"State for Foreign Affairs drew attention to telegram No. 671, dated the 26th October, 1939, from His Majesty's Ambassador, Ankara, reporting having been informed that morning by M. Sarajogmy the Turkish-Minister for Foreign Affairs, that the Soviet Ambassador had called the previous day and asked a number of questions, regarding the Anglo-Turkish Treaty. The replies given by M; Sarajoglu were, from our point of view, very satisfactory. The W a r Cabinet took note of the above statement. g).Secretary of State for Foreign A fairsdrew attention to..telegram; No. ,1421, dated. the - 25th October, 1989, from His Majestybs Ambassador, Tokyo, reporting ,a conversation which he had had with Mr. Kato that day with regard to the Tientsin situation. In this conversation Mr. Kato had put forward suggestions for. the settlement' of "the Tientsin question which consisted of a compromise of the kind which we had had in mind. Mr. 'Kato had agreed to discuss the: matter as soon-as possible with the Japanese Minister, for -Foreign Affairs with- a view to arranging, if possible, for a proposal on the-iineshe-had suggested being made by' thev Japanese Government.'- The prospects'of reachiag a/settle-' ment in; regard - to this "matter- with "the--Japanese Government abp^ared,---therefore-;-;mbrAhb^e'fMvb'V--. \ bbA 4 The AAa Cablnefritoofe aoie of the above statement. 1 :3 /lie Papes W . P . ('Gr h ) " ( i ) that the g y c , , ; --^ ; 7; m, A z zz / ­ be :(ii) that the public piefsia&d. some imcbnveyic 1% (provided' It .ticm of ffipp,ble supplies) t o ^ ^ ^ S ^ ^ S ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ R e , queues, 4 c . In bis opinion the home front would be strengthened by the Institution of rationing forthwith. .T/k? Minister of Labov,f thought that the views contained in his Memorandum could be expressed in a sentence, namely, £hat if there was any risk of a shortage in, any of the. named commodities, that commodity should be rationed forthwith. The Prime Minister thought that: the position was clearly . expressed i n the. remarks attributed to Mr. Mallon on page 5 of the Memorandum:— - M r . ^ M o 2 ^ X ^ ' ^ ^ ' - ^ ^ ^ - ^ i ^ ^ l ^ t ^ ^ a ) imposition of rationing was generally expected, and (b) that i t would be accepted with no demur i f it were made clear that it was necessary..' Speaking particularly of the East End, he said that in the last war there were two main causes of grievance before the introduction of rationing. The first was the hardship imposed by waiting in queues, and the second, which was .eyengreater, was the knowledge or the belief in the working classes that people who had sufficient money could obtain adequate suppiieS without having to wait in queues, I n his opinion this state of affairs was, from the point o f view o f the Home Front, the danger point of the last war. I n his view, if the working classes were persuaded that everybody was equally restricted and that wealth could not obtain concessions, and that supplies could be obtained in ah orderly manner without incbnvenlehce, rationing would be easily accepted." H i s provisional conclusion was that the Ration Bopks should be issued forthwith, that we - should-: ration., at, once those''commodlties' (bacon and butter) in regard to which there shortage at. the 0 f c ,: present time, but that it would be questionable.to ration meat' and sugar at present. . - The First Lord of the Admiralty was. not satisfied-thatit was necessary -to -ration the four, commodities.'in pluestioh. ,.,.!There. were signs, i n the Press,of all,political, shades that,.-public opinion'was\ becoming increasingly critical of governmental control and ipfcer­ ference with the liberty of the individual.. was-oraen toldojro­ whether -the -governmental machine..could .'operate:, £lie." r a t l c r i t g . Iarr? cser . - u r / pi&xw i u o U i^ i ^ l ic y % :^ h V,' n I ncyenaeyisy^ithoi^ v e ^ n t , theae was noI'"ineexo.i£y even tnan it there were no " " l " z z J" z , I n any event, £here vao no 'zzz fcfitylat y. -i. p -tfchft necessity arose, it should be , 1 n mm$zz^mism . y r - - , y - zr^f : mmimmmzm-Km/swrnsm^ ' "'" " " ,vA -Tim the fcte BStrab urn --, , ^ A / m foodjstufis £ The Prime M/Pmisisv *i if w-o Ol3c io oc , ; . JBp ^ t 1, - - e j . , t that much won . - ., j c , ilia. A t i . j ; : - ^ - . he pr^­ ; nMoi r o d : - : S : j g turoe vac, Iboeoo to sAAce i-s: A e oate T h e ij - A, 2 -^ . . . ^ : ^ Ahich the xjrtloring ol paiAct A r s e a . i u i ies began. I t could "lbs' . espial ned ^hat the Government did not propose to ration-except in cases where there was & real scarcity and where rationing was, therefore, necessary in order to secure f a i r and equitable distribution .-" " /d A.-.-.V. ;Awbhg;. the^publie/ ": TMe -Minister, of Mood, urged, reconsideration.of the position in.:regard to -.sugar. -It vrais clear that:,hoarding.^ras taking place. .-TAere was-also the-price factor. -If we -had to.-buy foreign sugar, w s h o n l d A a v e - t o pay 7s. (JkAa cwt. more than the price'we had paid for',Empire"sttgar.' -This would mean an increase',of itd. a pound in -the'retail pAce. : Would, the Chancellor, of the Exchequer then be -able to maintain his increased sugar.tax ?d. There would also be exchange,, difficulties,.andperhaps, most serious o f all, an increase in t^e.:(xist'Of''living^ngure.-:'.' Prime Minister read to the W a r Cabinet a letter from : ; 1 ; : : recent increased,consumption o f sugar, wasprbbably mainlAdue to" hoarding.. Hoarding- arose from fear of rationing a n d i f it was anpmced,.^^^ rationed, the hoarding'(which was not,, long-term hoarding) might, be/expected to o-easefand the - h ^ a t P d e r s m a g h t use -up their stocks.' W e h a A g o m e Stor 10 months' ,fUpgly,ot sugar m ,our, ownership; at. home And abroad, and i n all tne circumstances, it seemed justifiable to take the risk o^ not ^zX^ - ^ ; rationing; it.;/' . f^siet of Fa&d Mt bound to warn,the W a r Cabinet of 3 - Jp otner/important c o n s i d e r a t i o n s at stake; i f regard X? ; ' ? ^ X to uh3 generous ration proposed' 3 A / : ; ; : fl ^i ^ h 1 a c arguments.were \mi na z o to ration sugr: A d A diVi. ' h /--" bs o m d r n t 3 wi wise *Mra I n A.Adeir d i e o . : ; . it A c r o o elfer that the W w C ^ t t o t /ofWc , i^d d A bAA AAAcdi ; , " ' , ;/:;""/-/- - A : Addor Cabkot a g o A : . A / ( \ 1 d -A/; : - ' cd;A.d be put into - d 1 v . ^ /A , -I-/' , A v 11,. ,;iffl.eomecfcioD-wlfeabae discussion,recorded am feo,prsss(Qi5ipg.. Minute (Minute 1*0)) the Minister of Shipping said that "as was. circulating to Ike W a r -Cabinet. a..MeworandEaa. pa m p w g ^ s s m , fcbe-SHpptng negotiations (Paper W . F . . ( G . ) (S9) P ) . aa ^ Some - progress had-been made in the - discussions, w i t h t b e , Swedes, who-had now returned'to Sweden,-and wonM-not be back ; again for about a week. The Norwegian Delegation- had arriveo:. in England and. discussions- with them.had taken place, bout- the Delegation had no power to make a settlement, even-if their: demands ­ were met in full. The Delegation was returning to Norway and i t might be another week before the discussions could be resumed. The Norwegian demands were fairly high. Some comi unimportant bargains had been made with individual G i - p a a owners, but, in general, Greek shipping was tending to go East on trade of its own. On the whole, the Shipping negotiations with neutral countries had not made the rapid progress that he had hoped, and while a settlement would no doubt ultimately be reached, some time would elapse. H i s principal anxieties related to the position at the moment and in the immediate future. (Previous Reference: W . M . (39) Conclusions, Minute 11.) The W a r Cabinet took note of this statement. XnthM PMte. . 12. T h e : W a r C a b i n e t h a d b e f o r e t h e m a R e p o r t b y t h e H o m e PolicyCo^ittee'(Paper W,P.;^ . i n r e g a r d to ;the: r e s u m p t i o n o f F o o t b a l l ' - F o o l s a s set out- i n a Memorandum b y t h e P o s t m a s t e r - G e n e r a l ( P a p e r I P C SlV ; TJie r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s loilows *.-— ' aba. v. bbb-, : to o f the H o m e P o l i c y C b m m i t t e s were a s (i) that, i n the circumstances e x p l a i n e d i n P a p e r H P C m)M, t h e o n l y w a y i n w n i c h f o o t b a l l B c A s eaabd b e a J e g a i y £ o i o i a a e a aonicl oe b y t h e c a a t t o a ^ a. a b fov 7 . % ^ a o n a n d that I n t h e v i e w o f toe O e a a w b a s l f c - a v/oa a ias a a v a c e to a t t e a a t o t a l o a ^ o " w tha-II t h e og w b o : , - b s ^ a - CLK 7 o a o ^ 7 ' ' -7-"- * jw the F o o t b a l l Pool i : t £ a c v c c b c w o l o i - ) : R ,i, tob ; ; ^ ' i . g b bT g r £ (II) r : u T a3 a rosto ,o ; to arac a o ^ o n e a, g ; , a ^ a a a ^ a a a a n , a : 'a.raaa-a;.:,,A ?v . 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