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CONCLUSIONS
of a Meeting of the War Cabinet held at 1 0 , Downing
S.W. 1, on Monday, 19th July, 1 9 4 3 , at 6 P.M.
Street,
Present:
The Right Hon. WINSTON S. CHURCHILL, M.P., Prime Minister (in the Chair)
ATTLEE, M.P.,
The Right Hon. ANTHONY EDEN, M.P.,
The Right Hon. C.
Secretary of State for . Dominion
Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs.
Affairs.
The Right Hon.. Sir JOHN ANDERSON, The Right Hon. ERNEST REVIN, M.P.,
Minister of Labour and National
M.P., Lord President of the Council
Service (Items 1 and 2 ) .
The Right Hon. OLIVER LYTTELTON, The Right Hon. HERBERT MORRISON,
M.P!, Minister Of Production.
M.P., Secretary of State for the
Home Department and Minister of
Home Security.
The Right Hon. R. G. CASEY, Minister
of State.
5
The following were also present
The Right Hon. S. M. BRUCE, Repre­ Field-Marshal Sir ARCHIBALD WAVELL,
Viceroy of India (Designate).
sentative of the Government of the
Commonwealth of Australia.
Sir. RAMASWAMI MUDALIAR, Repre­ The Right Hon. Sir KINGSLEY WOOD;
M.P., Chancellor of the Exchequer.
sentative of India.
The Right Hon. VISCOUNT SIMON, Lord The Right Hon. VISCOUNT CRANBORNE,
Lord Privy Seal.
Chancellor (Item 6 ) .
the Right Hon. OLIVER
The Right Hon. L. S. AMERY, M.P., Colonel
STANLEY, M.P., Secretary of State
Secretary of State for India and
for the Colonies (Item 3 ) .
Secretary of State for Burma.
The Right Hon. A. V . ALEXANDER, The Right Hon. Sir JAMES GRIGG, M.P., Secretary of State for War. M.P., First Lord of the Admiralty.
The Right Hon. Sir ARCHIBALD The Right Hon. BRENDAN BRACKEN, M.P., Minister of Information.
SINCLAIR, Bt., M.P., Secretary of
State for Air.
Sir
WALTER
Right Hon.
The Right Hon. the EARL OF SELBORNE, The
Minister of
Minister of Economic Warfare
WOMERSLEY,
M,P
(Item 7).
Pensions (Item 6 ) .
The Hon. Sir ALEXANDER CADOGAN,
The
Right
Hon. Sir
DONALD
Permanent Under-Secretary of State
SOMERVELL, K.C., M.P., Attorneyfor Foreign Affairs.
General (Item 6 ) .
Air Chief Marshal Sir CHARLES F. A. General Sir ALAN BROOKE, Chief of
the Imperial General Staff (Items 1
PORTAL, Chief of the Air Staff
and 2 ) ;
(Items 1 and 2 ) .
Vice-Admiral Sir NEVILLE SYFRET,
­
Vice-Chief of Naval Staff (Items 1
and 2 ) .
Secretariat:
:
R
Sir EDWARD BRIDGES,
Lieutenant-General Sir HASTINGS ISMAY.
Mr! NORMAN BROOK,
s
WAR CABINET 101 (48).
CONTENTS.
Minute
No.
Subject.
1
Naval, Military and Air Operations
Air Operations—
H o m e Theatre.
Mediterranean.
' VSicily.
Naval Operations-^
Sicily.
Military Operations.
Russia.
.2
Prisoners of War
Shackling.
3
Ethiopia
4
Air Policy
5
Mr. R. G. Casey Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar. War Pensions ....
....
6
Pensions Appeal Tribunals Bill. 7
Middle East
British Policy,
8
Canada .... 9
" Battle of Britain Sunday " Parliamentary
Redistribution. K
and Air
,
Operations.
(Previous
Reference':-''-'
W.M.(43J97th
Conclusions, '
Minute 1.)
Air Operations.
Home Theatre.
Mediterranean.
Sicily.
Naval
Operations.
Sicily.
Military
Operations.
Russia.
161
W.M. 101 (43):
1. The Chiefs of Staff reported the principal events of the
previous week;
' '
a
.,
Operations of Bomber Command had been restricted by weather
but two successful attacks had been made, one on Aachen and the
other on Turin. The result of another attack on six transformer
stations in Northern Italy was uncertain.
The Peugeot Motor
Works at Montbeliard had also been attacked. Coastal Command
had made two promising and three possible attacks on U-boats and
sunk, one 2,000-ton merchant ship. Enemy losses had been
34 destroyed and 7 probably destroyed. Our losses had been
46 bombers, 25 fighters and 8 Coastal Command aircraft.
United States Air Forces had attacked airfields and depots in
Northern France.
,
United States Air Forces had sunk two and probably sunk one
U-boat off the west coast of Morocco.
The Mediterranean Air Command had flown 14,700 sorties
during the previous week compared with 2,200 sorties by the enemy.
Sicily had been practically clear of Axis aircraft by the middle of
the previous week. Our heavy bombers had attacked Messina,
Naples, and airfields and ports in Southern Italy. That morning
marshalling yards in Rome had been bombed. Enemy losses in this
area had been 309 destroyed, 44 probably destroyed and
106 damaged. Our losses had been 89 operational aircraft and
some 30 transport aircraft.
Shipping losses by enemy action during the previous week,
including belated reports, amounted to 103,000 tons. This figure
included 4 ships lost in the Sicilian operations.
A satisfactory number of U-boats had been sunk during July.
His Majesty's ships continued to give support to land
operations.
The War Cabinet were informed of the progress of operations
in Sicily. The hardest fighting was taking place to the south of
Catania. The morale of the Italian forces was poor. Prisoners
amounted to 29,000.
The news from Russia was very reassuring. The Russians
were making two attacks, north and east of Orel, and had regained
all the ground that had been lost in the recent German offensive
north of Kursk. The Russians had also launched two more
offensives, one in the Rostov area and the other in the Taman
Peninsula, about which they had so far given no information.
1
The War C a b i n e t -
Took note of these statements. Prisoners of
War.
Shackling.
(Previous .
Reference:
W,M. (43) 56th
Conclusions,
Minute 7.)
2. The Prime Minister said that he had been considering
whether there was any further action we could take with a view
to compelling the German Government to discontinue the shackling
of British prisoners in their hands.
Would it be possible to tell them that we were keeping an
account of the number of man-hours during which British prisoners
were kept in chains, and that it was our firm intention to shackle
German officers after the war for a corresponding number of
man-hours? In the first instance we might perhaps inform the
Protecting Power in confidence that we contemplated making a
public announcement to this effect, unless within a specified time
the German Government gave satisfactory assurances that the
shackling of British prisoners had been discontinued.
The Secretary of State
consider this suggestion.
[26785-2] for Foreign
Affairs
undertook to
Ethiopia.
(Previous
Reference:
W.M. (41) 120th
Conclusions,
Minute 3.)
f
3. The War Cabinet had before them-a Memorandnmvby^the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.; (W-B. (43) 317). Attached
to the Memorandum were two telegrams from the Deputy Minister
of State in Cairo, dated the 4th and 14th July, ^and a telegram
from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to our Minister at
Addis Ababa, dated the 3rd July. Lord Moyne, in histelegrams,
urged that the present position in Ethiopia was becoming
increasingly unsatisfactory, and t h a t we should take drastic action
to ensure a reasonably good administration in Ethiopia. He urged
that consideration should be given to the desirability of denouncing
the existing! Anglo-Ethiopian Agreement with a view to reaching
a fresh Agreement providing for our long-term objectives, and with
maximum measures of control.
*
Reference was also made in discussion to two telegrams from
our Minister at Addis Ababa, dated the 17th July and the 19th June
(Nos. 584 and 476).
In these telegrams the Minister, while
suggesting that the present advisory, system might need to be
modified, was opposed to any attempt to coerce the Emperor in this
matter unless we were prepared to give far more substantial aid.
In his view action to obtain good government must be taken in
collaboration with the Ethiopians. The Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs expressed himself as in agreement with Mr. Howe's
views, especially as expressed in his telegram No. 584.
The following were the main points in discussion :—
(a) The Secretary of State for the Colonies said that the
position on the frontier between Ethiopia and Kenya
was serious. Frequent raids took place across the
frontier, and the Emperor was powerless to stop them.
To deal with the matter effectively, we should have to
employ troops, who would probably have to cross the
frontier and occupy for a time the waterholes within
Ethiopian territory.
The Prime Minister said that We must give effective
protection to our people in Kenya and, if necessary for
this purpose, must not shrink from punitive expeditions
across the frontier.
(&) The main point in discussion was whether it was incumbent
upon us to take action to ensure a reasonable standard of
administration in Ethiopia.
The Minister of State said that the position was
deteriorating and that there was a danger that it would
become chaotic. H e favoured a visit by an experienced
officer familiar with the discussions on policy in
Ethiopia which had taken place in London, and with
the past history of the country. H e should spend some
time in Ethiopia and report on the position.' A t the
present moment there was considerable conflict of
personalities. He believed that changes in the advisers
would be salutary.
Alternatively, the Minister of State suggested that
His Majesty's Minister at Addis Ababa, General Platt
and the Governor of Kenya might be invited to attend a
Conference on Ethiopia in Cairo.
- . '''
(c) Mr. Bruce reminded the War Cabinet that it had been
v.'., generally recognised before the war that it had been a
mistake to allow Ethiopia to join the League of Nations,
and but for Italy's attack upon her Ethiopia would
probably have been called upon to justify her position
and answer for the misgoverament that was going on in
her territories before the Bar Of the League of Nations.
He added that in such an event Ethiopia would have had
to accept some drastic supervision or be expelled from
the. League. We had driven the Italians out of Ethiopia,
163 W.M. 101 (43).
and until such time as there was a world authority w e
were more or less in the position of trustees for the world
with regard to Ethiopia: I t would be very embarrassing
to us if, after the war, it were shown that, under our
guidance, Ethiopia had reverted to an even worse state
than in 1935.
(d) As against this, the War Cabinet were reminded that
we had deliberately decided not to attempt any detailed
supervision or control of Ethiopian administration. The
task of raising the standard of civilisation in Ethiopia
might, conceivably, be Undertaken as an international
responsibility after the war.
But there was no
obligation of trusteeship resting upon His Majesty's
Government now to ensure good government in Ethiopia.
And, in any event, it was doubtful whether in present
circumstances we could spare the resources to achieve
this even if we wished to do so.
(e) It was pointed out that the financial settlement had been
based upon—
(i) a tapering subsidy, and
(ii) a lump sum, not related to any specific period, to
deal with unforeseeable expenditure in the
transition period.
It was suggested that, if the country was being
badly administered, we ought to withdraw this financial
support.
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and
the Secretary of State for the Colonies took the view £hat
it would be against our interests to withdraw any
substantial part of this subsidy. It was a part of our
policy that the Emperor's Government should be
maintained and, if our financial support were suddenly
withdrawn, the Emperor's position would be precarious.
At the same time, there was no reason why we should not
make use of the financial arrangements to induce the
Emperor to improve his administration.
The War Cabinet's Conclusions were as follows
( 1 ) General agreement was expressed with the continuance of
our present policy in Ethiopia as outlined in recent
telegrams from His Majesty's Minister at Addis Ababa
and by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in
discussion in the War Cabinet.
(2). The Secretary of State for the Colonies should ensure that
the frontier between Kenya and Ethiopia was effectively
guarded, and should submit a report to the War Cabinet
indicating what measures and what military forces
might be required for this purpose.
(3) The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs should consider,
in consultation with the Minister of State, whether the
situation was such as to demand the summoning of some
local conference to consider the position in Ethiopia.
In the meantime the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs was authorised to despatch the draft telegram
printed as Annex I to W.P. (43) 317.
(4) I t would be undesirable that we should withdraw financial
support from Ethiopia at the present time; but the
support afforded should, so far as possible, be
administered in such a way as to encourage the adoption
of a correct attitude on the part of the Emperor.
Ait PoliOy;ijr;
-(Previous
i
Eeferenceisf
W.M. (43) 100thConclusions,
Minute 1.)
:
;
;v v4.; The War Cabinet were informed that Lord Fitzalan was to
ask;a Question;in the House of--Lords on the following day about
the bombing of Rome.
'
The Prime Minister said that he had already explained the
Governments policy in this matter to Lord Fitzalan, when he came
to see him recently to represent the anxieties of the Roman Catholic
community about the possibility that. Rome might be bombed. It
should be i made clear, / in replying toi the Question, that, while we
could not forgo our right to take military action against Rome,
both as the centre of the Fascist Government and on account of the
military objectives which the city contained, special instructions had
been given to those taking part in this operation that the greatest
care was to be taken to avoid damage to religious and cultural
monuments. It might also be possible to give some particulars about
the results of the raid, in the light of detailed information which
might become available before the Question was answered.
The War C a b i n e t - .
Invited the Lord Privy Seal to deal with the Question on
these lines.
Mr. R. G. Casey.
5. The Prime Minister said that this was the last Meeting of
the War Cabinet which Mr. Casey would be attending during his
present visit to this country. He was sure that this visit had been
fruitful, and he and all his colleagues had greatly valued
Mr. Casey's presence at their Meetings.
Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar was also leaving that week to return
Sir Ramaswaml
to India to take up his appointment as Minister for Supply in the
Mudaliar.
Governor-General's Executive Council. He took the good wishes
of all of them in his important new duties.
The War C a b i n e t Warmly endorsed the Prime Minister's statement.
War Pensions.
Pensions Appeal
Tribunals Bill.
(Previous
Bef erenee:
W.M. (43) 95th
Conclusions, *
Minute 2.)
6. At their Meeting on the 8th July, the War Cabinet had
invited the Minister of Pensions to consider whether the Pensions
Appeal Tribunals Bill should be amended so as to confer a right
of appeal against interim awards made before final assessment.
The War Cabinet considered a Memorandum on this point
by the Minister of Pensions (W.P. (43) 314).
I t was
recommended in the Memorandum that the Bill should confer a
right to appeal against an interim award two years after it was
made; but that, in view of the substantial amount of additional
work which this would involve both for the Ministry of Pensions
and for the Tribunals, the Bill should also provide that this right
should not become operative until a future date when the initial
pressure of work on the more important appeals would have been
relaxed.
The War Cabinet were informed that the Lord President of
the Council,and the Minister of Pensions had seen some of the
Members who had taken part in the debates on this Bill, and had
ascertained that they were likely to be content with the amendment
in this form. The Minister of Pensions had also ascertained that
the amendment would be acceptable to the British Legion.
A t the W a r Cabinet's earlier discussion the question had also
been raised whether there should be any right of appeal to a
Tribunal against discretionary decisions by the Minister of
Pensions. The War Cabinet were informed that this point had also
been discussed with Members who had taken part in the debates.
It now appeared that, in matters in which the Minister exercised a
discretion, they did not desire that this discretion should be limited;
165 W . M . ioi (my.
and, that they recognised that there could not properly be ah appeal
to a Tribunal against a decision dependent oh the exercise o f a
Ministerial discretion.
The War Cabinefr­
(1) Authorised the Minister of Pensions to bring forward an
amendment of the Pensions Appeal Tribunals Bill on the
lines indicated in the last paragraph of W.P. (43) 314.
(2) Agreed that no action should be taken with a view to
making it possible for a pensioner to appeal to a
Tribunal against a discretionary decision of the Minister
of Pensions.
Middle East.
British Policy.
(Previous
Reference:
W.M. (43) 99th
Conclusions,
Minute 2.)
7. . In accordance with the decisions reached at their Meeting
on the 14th July, the War Cabinet had before them a Note by the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (W.P. (43) 312) containing
a series of recommendations in regard to our policy in the Middle
East.
The War C a b i n e t ­
(1) Approved these recommendations, subject to the following
amendment suggested by the Secretary of State for
Dominion Affairs, namely, the substitution for the second
sentence of paragraph (1), of the following:—
" This development, which should allow room
for the association as desired of any other Govern­
ments with special interests in the Middle East area,
should be carried out cautiously."
(2) Agreed that, before any approach was made to the United
States Government in regard to paragraph (2) of the
recommendations, advance notice should be given to the
Dominion Governments and the Government of India.
NOTE.—The full text of the recommendations, as amended,
is printed as a footnote to W.M. (43) 99th Conclusions,
Minute 2.
Canada.
Parliamentary
Bedistribution.
8. The War Cabinet were informed that an Address had been
passed by both Houses of Parliament in Canada praying that H i s
Majesty would cause legislation to be presented to the Parliament
at Westminster, providing that, notwithstanding the provisions of
the British North America Acts, it should not be necessary that the
representation of the Canadian Provinces in the Canadian House of
Commons be readjusted, in consequence of the decennial census of
1941, until after the war. It was desired that this legislation should
be passed by the Parliament at Westminster before the Canadian
Parliament rose on the 24th July.
The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs said that the
necessary legislation was being prepared, and he was bringing the
matter before the Legislation Committee on the following day. H e
proposed that the Bill should be introduced forthwith in the House
of Lords and that every effort should be made to pass it into law
before the 24th July.
The War Cabinet^-
Took note of this statement. "Battle of
Britain
Sunday."
9. The Secretary of State f&r the* Home Department
and
Minister of Heine. Security said-that in previous years a Civil
Defence Day had been organised in the autumn, A.suggestion had
now been made that a " Battle of Britain Sunday " should be held
in September, to celebrate the Battle of Britain in 1940; and
should be organised jointly by the Ministry of Home Security, the
Air Ministry, the Ministry of Aircraft Production and the War
Office (in respect of;Anti-Aircraft Units). I t was proposed that the
function should comprise a Service in St. Paul's and a parade in
London.
The War C a b i n e t Approved in principle this suggestion and asked that the
Ministers concerned should proceed with the necessary
arrangements in consultation.
.
Offices of the War Cabinet, S.W. 1,
19th July, 1943.
BO
- MOST SECRET
flTRfllTTtATTflW.
­
W*M,t(4?),. IPLGT GQNCTOIQNS .
(Monday,
19th July,
1943.)
The f o l l o w i n g m a t t e r s w e r e m e n t i o n e d i n
b u t i t was d e c i d e d n o t t o r e c o r d t h e m .
POLAND o
Cabinet,
THE SECRETARY" OP STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS s a i d t h a t
t h e l e a d e r o f t h e P o l i s h S e c r e t Army i n P o l a n d h a d b e e n
arrested.
The P o l e s w e r e much d i s t u r b e d a b o u t t h e p o s i t i o n
and f e a r e d t h a t he would b e put to d e a t h .
I t was s u g g e s t e d
t h a t some t h r e a t m i g h t b e made w h i c h w o u l d d e t e r t h e
Germans f r o m t h i s a c t i o n .
T h a J o r e i g n Secretary s a i d that h e did not think there
w a s scnyJiSztoS
w h i c h we could t a k e i n t h e m a t t e r .
The
l e a d e r 4 ) f t h e P o l i s h S e c r e t Army w a s , i n l a w , n o t a
prisoner o f war, but a
franc-tireurr.
Agreement was
e x p r e s s e d WITH THIS
view.
CRETE.
M e n t i o n w a s made o f t h e a t r o c i t i e s c a r r i e d o u t b y t h e
G e r m a n s i n C r e t e f o l l o w i n g t h e s u c c e s s f u l Commando r a i d .
Hews o f t h e s e a t r o c i t i e s h a d n o t y e t b e e n p u b l i s h e d .
PRISONERS.
In connection with the d i s c u s s i o n on the shackling o f ­
prisoners of war,
THE PRIME MINISTER p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e
G e r m a n s , b y k e e p i n g a v e r y l a r g e number o f Frenchmen o f
m i l i t a r y a g e as p r i s o n e r s f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , had undoubtedly
taken a c t i o n which would a f f e c t the French population.
He t h o u g h t t h a t i t was f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n w h e t h e r some
corresponding action should not be taken against the
Germans a t t h e e n d o f t h e w a r :
that is to say, that a
l a r g e number o f y o u n g German m a l e s s h o u l d b e s e g r e g a t e d
from t h e i r womenfolk and u s e d on f o r c e d l a b o u r f o r a
p e r i o d o f y e a r s t o r e p a i r t h e damage done by Germany.
The v i e w e x p r e s s e d i n d i s c u s s i o n was t h a t w h i l e t h e r e
was much t o b e s a i d f o r t h i s i d e a f r o m t h e p o i n t o f v i e w
o f a b s t r a c t j u s t i c e , i t was v e r y d i f f i c u l t t o b e l i e v e t h a t
s u c h a measure c o u l d be e n f o r c e d f o r any a p p r e c i a b l e t i m e ,
and t h a t i t would b e b e t t e r t o l e a v e any r e t r i b u t i v e a c t i o n
t o b e t a k e n by t h e R u s s i a n s .
Offices
of
t h e War C a b i n e t ,
S.W.1.
to