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T H I S D O C U M E N T IS T H E P R O P E R T Y OF H I S B R I T A N N I C M A J E S T Y ' S GOVERNMENT"

Printed for the War Cabinet. February 1 9 4 4 .

S E C R E T . Copy No.

W . M . (44)

20 th Conclusions.

W A R C A B I N E T 20 (44) .

CONCLUSIONS of a Meeting of the War Cabinet held at 1 0 , Downing Street, S.W. 1, on Monday, 14th February, 1 9 4 4 , at 6 j).m.

P r e s e n t :

The R i g h t Hon . WINSTON S. CHURCHILL, M.P. , P r i m e Min i s t e r (in the Chair).

T h e R i g h t Hon . C. R. ATTLEE, M.P . , L o r d P r e s i d e n t of the Council.

T h e R i g h t H o n . S i r JOHN ANDERSON, M.P . , Chancel lor of the Exchequer .

The R i g h t H o n . OLIVER LYTTELTON, M.P . , Min i s t e r of P roduc t ion .

The R i g h t H o n . ANTHONY EDEN, M.P . , Secretary of S t a t e for Fore ign Affairs.

The R i g h t Hon . ERNEST BEVIN, M.P . , Mins te r of Labour a n d Na t iona l Service.

The R i g h t Hon . HERBERT MORRISON, M.P. , Secretary of S t a t e for the Home D e p a r t m e n t and Min i s te r of Home Securi ty .

The R i g h t Hon . LORD WOOLTON, Min i s te r of Reconstruct ion.

The following were also p r e s e n t : The R i g h t Hon . S. M. BRUCE, Rep re

senta t ive of the Government of the Commonweal th of Aus t r a l i a .

T h e R i g h t Hon . LORD BEAVERBROOK, L o r d P r i v y Seal.

T h e R i g h t H o n . Si r JAMES GRIGG, M . P . , Secre ta ry of S t a t e for W a r .

The R i g h t H o n . S i r STAFFORD CRIPPS, K . C , M . P . , Min i s t e r of A i r c r a f t P roduc t i on .

The R i g h t H o n . BRENDAN BRACKEN, M.P . , Min i s t e r of In fo rmat ion .

The Hon. Si r ALEXANDER CADOGAN, P e r m a n e n t Under -Sec re t a ry of S ta te for Fore ign Affairs. (Items 1 - 5 . )

M a r s h a l of the A i r Force Si r CHARLES F . A. PORTAL, Chief of the A i r Staff. (Items 1 - 6 . )

The R i g h t H o n . VISCOUNT CRANBORNE, Secretary of S t a t e for- Dominion Affairs.

The R i g h t Hon . A . V . ALEXANDER, M.P. , F i r s t L o r d of the Admi ra l t y .

The R i g h t Hon . Si r ARCHIBALD SINCLAIR, Bt. , M.P . , Secretary of S ta te for A i r .

T h e R i g h t H o n . R. A . BUTLER, M . P . , P re s iden t of the Board of Educa t ion .

The R i g h t Hon . LORD CHERWELL, Paymas te r -Gene ra l .

A d m i r a l of the Fleet S i r ANDREW CUNNINGHAM, F i r s t Sea ' Lord and Chief of Nava l Staff. (Items 1 - 6 . )

F ie ld Mar sha l S i r ALAN BROOKE, Chief of the I m p e r i a l General Staff. (Items 1 - 6 . )

Secretariat: Sir EDWARD BRIDGES.

Lieu tenan t -Genera l Si r HASTINGS L. ISMAY.

Mr. W . S. MURRIE.

Mr. L. F . BURGIS.

[ 2 6 9 4 8 - 2 ] B

W A R C A B I N E T 20 ( 4 4 ) .

Minute No.

1

CONTENTS.

Subject. Naval , Mi l i t a ry and Air Opera t ions

Air Operations— Home Theatre. Mediterranean. Pacific.

Naval Operations— Indian Ocean.

Military Operations— Italy. Pacific. Russia.

.... .... .... Page

91

2

3

B o m b i n g of Germany.. . .

Danger Zones .... ....

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91

92

4 P o l a n d .... ....... .... .... .... .... 92

5

6

7

Fore ign L a n g u a g e Per iod ica l s .... .... .... ....

W i t h d r a w a l of Civil Staffs from Service D e p a r t m e n t s ....

Staffing of Civil Service in the I m m e d i a t e P o s t - W a r Pe r iod .... ....

9'2

93

94 8 I n d i a

Proposed United Kingdom-UnitedEconomic Assistance.

States Enquiry into 95

9 Pol i t ica l War fa r e T r a i n i n g School .... 95

Naval, Military and Air Operations.

(Previous Kef erence: W.M. (44) 16th Conclusions, Minute 1.) Air Operations. Home Theatre.

Mediterranean.

Pacific.

Naval Operations.

Indian Ocean.

Military Operations. Italy.

Pacific.

Eussia.

Bombing ofGermany.

1. The Chiefs of Staff repor ted the p r inc ipa l events of the previous week.

Owing to bad weather Bomber Command h a d not unde r t aken any major ra ids . A n a t t ack had been made, however, on the An theo r V i a d u c t near Nice and a very successful a t t a ck on a factory near Limoges.

U n i t e d Sta tes bombers had a t tacked F r a n k f u r t , Ludwigshaven , Wiesbaden and Brunswick.

" C r o s s b o w " t a rge t s h a d also been a t tacked. Coastal Command h a d made two promis ing a t tacks on U-boats and possibly damaged six others .

Enemy losses for the week, inc luding claims by the U n i t e d S ta t e s A i r Forces, amounted to 170 destroyed, 32 probably destroyed a n d 123 damaged. Al l ied losses amounted to 104, inc luding 43 fighters and 52 U n i t e d Sta tes bombers.

B a d wea the r h a d aga in in ter fered w i t h flying operat ions, bu t a t t acks h a d been made on enemy communicat ions, por t s and airfields. Enemy losses amounted to 41 destroyed, aga ins t 43 All ied.

J a p a n e s e a i r c ra f t claimed as destroyed d u r i n g the week amounted to 108, as aga ins t 11 All ied. The claims for J apanese a i r c r a f t destroyed for the year end ing the 11th Feb rua ry total led 3,784 in the air , 955 on the ground a n d 1,001 probably destroyed.

Confirmed sh ipp ing losses by enemy act ion for the previous week amounted to 17,487 tons. Confirmed losses for Februa ry amounted to 31,839 tons.

F ive German U-boats had been destroyed and 3 probably destroyed so fa r th i s month.

The W a r C a b i n e t -Reques ted the F i r s t Sea Lord to convey the i r congratulat ions to the Officer Commanding the Second Escort Group , which h a d sunk 4 U-boats and probably sunk another d u r i n g one pa t ro l .

A large German t anke r h a d been intercepted and sunk by one of our destroyers. The Khedive Ismail, w i t h t roops on board from E a s t Af r i ca in convoy to Ceylon, had been to rpedoed 'and sunk wi th , i t was feared, heavy loss of life.

D u r i n g the previous week the fighting in the Anz io br idgehead h a d been of a serious na tu re , w i t h the resul t t ha t our l ine had been dr iven back a small d is tance on the left flank. There was no reason, however, for serious anxie ty about our being able to hold our posi t ions . On the m a i n I t a l i a n front some small progress h a d been made in the Cassino area af te r heavy fighting.

A u s t r a l i a n Forces advancing along the coast of New Guinea h a d jo ined u p w i t h U n i t e d Sta tes Forces a t Saidor .

I n the N o r t h the Russ i ans had been press ing along the E a s t B a n k of L a k e P e i p u s and h a d taken Luga . This advance seriously th rea tened the Ge rman sal ient South of Lake I lmen. The Germans cont inued to repor t heavy Russ i an a t tacks a t Vitebsk. The Germans were sti l l endeavour ing, unsuccessfully, to relieve the 10 encircled divisions N o r t h of Shpola.

The W a r C a b i n e t -Took note of these s ta tements .

2. The Prime Minister sa id t h a t one or two cases had been r epor t ed in which aspersions had been th rown on the R . A . F . by

ce r t a in members of the U n i t e d Sta tes A i r Forces because we d id not bomb Germany by day. I f th is were to cont inue, i t m i g h t lead to difficulties. H e thought t h a t the best way of dea l ing w i t h the m a t t e r would be for the U n i t e d Sta tes Au tho r i t i e s themselves to exp la in to the i r personnel the facts of the posit ion, a n d the extent of our own a i r effort and a i r losses as compared w i t h those of the

[26948-^2] 2B

U n i t e d Sta tes . H e suggested t h a t it would be as well if the Chief of the A i r Staff could see Genera l Spaa t z a n d p u t th is suggest ion to him.

The Chief of the Air Staff under took to car ry out the P r i m e M i n i s t e r s suggest ion.

Danger Zones.

(Previous

Reference:

W.M. (41) 69th Conclusions, Minute 4; see also W.P. (43) 207.)

Poland.

(Previous Reference: W.M. (44) 16th Conclusions, Minute 3.)

Foreign Language Periodicals.

(Previous Reference: W.M. (44) 15th Conclusions, Minute 1.)

3. The First Lord of the Admiralty sa id t h a t the Span i sh fishermen h a d announced the i r in ten t ion of fishing to the n o r t h of the ex i s t ing s ink-a t -s ight zone. I f they adopted th is course, i t would give r ise to difficulties, a n d he therefore proposed t h a t the ex is t ing s ink-a t - s ight zone should be extended to a line r u n n i n g from the t i p of L a n d ' s E n d to the south of I re land . This p roposa l had been discussed w i t h the Fore ign Office, who were in agreement w i th i t .

The W a r C a b i n e t -Approved the course proposed.

4. The Prime Minister gave the W a r Cabinet the la test informat ion about Po l i sh affairs. Th i s is recorded in the Secre ta ry ' s S t a n d a r d F i l e of W a r Cabine t Conclusions.

5. A t the meet ing of the W a r Cabinet on the 4th F e b r u a r y the Min i s te r of I n f o r m a t i o n h a d informed the W a r Cabinet t h a t he had a r r a n g e d for the suppl ies of newspr in t to be cut off from a Pol i sh Opposi t ion newspaper which continuously a t t acked the Russ i an Government .

I n discussion, reference was made to the exis t ing powers for deal ing w i t h the foreign l anguage per iodicals published in th is country which pers i s ten t ly a t tacked another ally or in any way imperi l led Al l ied un i ty .

The Minister of Information, who h a d circulated a Memor a n d u m on th i s po in t ( W . P . (44) 101), said t h a t he was satisfied on balance t ha t i t would be undesi rable to seek fur ther powers from P a r l i a m e n t to deal w i t h th i s mat te r . H e though t t h a t i t w a s best to continue to rely on the M i n i s t r y of Supply ' s l icensing powers, which were based on the p a p e r control.

Genera l agreement w a s expressed w i t h th i s view. B u t i t should be made clear t h a t the responsibi l i ty for g iv ing decisions on th i s ma t t e r lay w i t h the M i n i s t r y of In format ion , and t h a t i t was for the M i n i s t r y of Supp ly to act p rompt ly on any recommendat ion received from the former M i n i s t r y in th is mat te r .

Th i s w a s approved. Discussion then t u r n e d on the controversy which w a s being

conducted between the Poles a n d the Russ ians in their respective periodicals . The Prime Minister suggested tha t , as p a r t of our policy of fos ter ing bet ter re la t ions between the Poles and Russ ians , we should po in t out to the Russ i ans the action which we h a d a l ready taken, and which we were p r e p a r e d to take in fu ture , in r e g a r d to the Pol i sh press, a n d should ind ica te t h a t we hoped t h a t the Russ ians in r e t u r n would exercise some degree of r e s t r a in t in the newspapers under the i r control.

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs under took to p repa re a s ta tement sugges t ing w h a t act ion could be taken on these lines.

Withdrawal of Civil Staffs from Service Departments .

6. The W a r Cabinet h a d before them— W . P . (44) 62 : A Note by the Secretary c i rcula t ing, by

direct ion of the P r i m e Minis ter , a copy of a M i n u t e addressed to h im by the Service M i n i s t e r s ; and

W . P . (44) 79 : A Memorandum by the Lord P r e s i d e n t of the Council,

deal ing wi th the question of w i t h d r a w a l of civil staffs from Service Depar tmen t s .

I n the i r M i n u t e to the P r i m e Minis te r the Service Min i s t e r s pointed out t h a t the question h a d been considered by the L o r d P r e s i d e n t s Commit tee as p a r t of the proposals of the Min is te r of Labour and Na t iona l Service to obta in add i t iona l women for u r g e n t h igh p r io r i t y work of na t iona l impor tance (L.P. (43) 77th Meet ing) . The Lord P r e s i d e n t s Commit tee had then h a d before them a proposal made in a Memorandum by the F i r s t L o r d of the A d m i r a l t y (L .P . (43) 288) t h a t the Service D e p a r t m e n t s should be g r a n t e d to ta l exempt ion from the w i t h d r a w a l of civil staffs, w i thou t reference to the Kenne t Committee, but had decided t h a t i t would not be possible to g r a n t th i s exemption. I n view of the t h r e a t t o the efficiency of the i r Depar tmen t s , the Service Min i s te r s felt t h a t they could not accept th i s decision of the Lord P r e s i d e n t s Committee w i t h o u t reference to the P r i m e Min i s te r a n d Min i s t e r of Defence. They claimed tha t , a t a t ime when the three Service Depa r tmen t s were a t the peak of thei r wa r effort, they ought not t o be subjected to the loss of efficiency which would resul t from the w i t h d r a w a l of young and active clerks who knew the i r work, a n d they argued tha t , in any event, the Kennet Commi t t ee 'was not a n a p p r o p r i a t e body for deciding w h a t staffs were essential and t h a t t he task of submi t t i ng proposals to the Kennet Committee would absorb effort which ought, especially in the Service Depar tmen t s , a t the present t ime to be devoted to more positive objectives.

I n his Memorandum ( W . P . (44) 79) the L o r d P r e s i d e n t of the Counci l suggested t h a t i t w a s not unreasonable t h a t the Service Depar tmen t s should be called on, like other Depar tmen t s , to sat isfy a n impar t i a l body t h a t the proposed wi thd rawa l s would seriously impa i r thei r efficiency. H e also pointed out t h a t the a rgument t h a t t h e Kenne t Commit tee had no responsibi l i ty for the admin i s t r a t i ve results of the i r decision could be equally well used by many other Depa r tmen t s a n d must be rejected as being incompatible w i th any order ly system for the equi table allocation of our man-power resources.

I n opening the discussion the Lord President of the Council sa id t ha t the scheme for w i t h d r a w i n g women of the 1923 age-class from Government Depa r tmen t s provided for a number of exempt ions and gave the r i g h t of appea l to the Kennet Committee. H e felt that , in view of this , the posi t ion of the Service Depa r tmen t s w a s fully safeguarded .

The First Lord of the A dmiralty pointed out t h a t the staffs of the Service D e p a r t m e n t s h a d been excluded from the .scope of the enqu i ry car r ied out by the Commit tee on the Reduct ion of Na t iona l Government Staffs, a l though they had been covered by the p ro g ramme for the w i t h d r a w a l of 10 per cent, of mobile women employed in Government Depar tmen t s . H e stressed the difficulties which would ar i se if the Service Depar tment s were compelled to p a r t w i t h fully t r a ined women at a t ime when they were about to u n d e r t a k e i m p o r t a n t and difficult operations. There was no guaran tee of p r i o r subst i tu t ion, and the subst i tutes who would be provided would be infer ior in qua l i ty and would not be able to s tand the pace a t the presen t t ime. The Secretary of State for War a n d the Secretary of State for Air suppor ted the views p u t fo rward by the F i r s t Lord of the Admi ra l ty .

The Chancellor of the Exchequer sa id tha t , if the Service Depa r tmen t s were g ran ted au tomat ic exemption, there would be bound to be discontent . The fact t h a t the Service Depa r tmen t s were not automat ical ly exempted would not preclude them from ge t t ing exempt ion from the Kenne t Commit tee for essential staffs.

The Minister of Labour and National Service sa id t h a t to g r a n t a to ta l exemption to the Service D e p a r t m e n t s would p u t h im in a n extremely difficult posi t ion both as aga ins t other D e p a r t m e n t s a n d in P a r l i a m e n t . H e was, however, r eady to consider some defe rment of the da te of w i t h d r a w a l of staffs from the Service Depa r tmen t s .

The Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security sa id t h a t he doubted whether i t was wise to w i t h d r a w women of the 1923 class from any Government Depa r tmen t s a t the present t ime. I n any event, he mus t ask tha t , if an exempt ion were g r a n t e d to the staffs employed in Service Depar tmen t s , the same exempt ion should apply to the staff of the Min i s t r y of Home Secur i ty engaged on opera t iona l dut ies .

The Prime Minister sa id t h a t he h a d considerable sympathy w i t h the views of the Service Minis te rs . H e recognised t h a t to give to ta l exempt ion to staffs in the Service D e p a r t m e n t s m i g h t be inequi table from the po in t of view of the ind iv idua l a n d m i g h t lead to a cer ta in amount of discontent . H e was, however, opposed to any step which would impa i r the efficiency of the Service D e p a r t m e n t s in p r e p a r i n g for the opera t ions which were impend ing th is year. H e suggested t h a t the Service D e p a r t m e n t s should accept, in pr inc ip le , the same t r ea tmen t as the other D e p a r t m e n t s ; bu t tha t , hav ing r e g a r d to the special c i rcumstances of the moment, no staffs should be w i t h d r a w n from the Service D e p a r t m e n t s for a per iod of th ree months . D u r i n g t h a t per iod there would be an obl igat ion on the Service Depa r tmen t s to t ake the in i t i a t ive in doing every th ing possible to release any staffs who could be spared. T o w a r d s the end of the per iod the quest ion whe ther w i t h d r a w a l s from the Service D e p a r t m e n t s should be ca r r i ed out would be reviewed i n the l i gh t of the releases which h a d been made . The same pr inc ip les should app ly in the case of the staffs in t he M in i s t r y of Home Secur i ty to which the Home Secretary and Min i s t e r of Home Secur i ty had referred.

The W a r C a b i n e t -Agreed to the proposal m a d e by the P r i m e Min is te r .

Staffing of Civil 7. The W a r Cabinet h a d before them a M e m o r a n d u m by the Service in the Chancellor of the Exchequer ( W P . (44) 86) dea l ing w i t h the staffing Immedia te of the Civi l Service in the immedia te pos t -war per iod. A p p e n d e d Post -War to the Memorandum was a d ra f t s ta tement which the Chancel lor Period. of the Exchequer proposed to make a t a very early da te in the House

of Commons. The Memorandum expla ined t h a t deta i led proposals h a d been

worked out in consul ta t ion w i t h the D e p a r t m e n t s and t h a t discussions h a d begun w i t h the Staff Side representa t ives on the Na t iona l Whi t l ey Council . Some t ime would elapse before the resu l t s of the discussions could be submit ted for final Min i s t e r i a l approval , and i t was desirable t h a t in the in te rva l a n indica t ion should be given of the G o v e r n m e n t s genera l app roach to the problem. The broad pr incip les h a d a l ready been agreed by the Min i s t e r s p r inc ipa l ly concerned a n d the Staff Side representa t ives concurred in the proposal t h a t a s ta tement should be made .

The Chancellor of the Exchequer sa id t h a t the proposals h a d been approved by the Min i s t e r i a l Commit tee on the Mach ine ry of Government . The proposed s ta tement , wh ich would be made in very genera l terms, would indica te t h a t the G o v e r n m e n t s immedia te objective was to rec ru i t a t the ear l ies t possible moment proper ly qualified personnel, t h a t the ma in source of recru i t s would be from those who would have h a d an oppor tun i ty of compet ing for the Civil Service but for the i n t e r r u p t i o n of war , a n d t h a t there would be a subs tan t ia l preference for ex-Service candida tes .

The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs sa id t h a t he would be g ra te fu l if, in m a k i n g his s ta tement , the Chancellor of the

Exchequer would say t h a t a s ta tement would follow short ly on the subject of r ec ru i tmen t to the Fore ign Service. The Chancellor of the Exchequer agreed to do this , a n d added t h a t cer ta in other minor amendments were being made to the dra f t s ta tement .

The W a r C a b i n e t -Approved the mak ing of a s ta tement on the lines set out in the A n n e x to W . P . (44) 86.

India. 8. The W a r Cabine t had before them a note by the P re s iden t Proposed United of the Board of Educa t ion covering a Memorandum by the I n d i a Kingdom- Office ( W . P . (44) 96) about a proposal , made in the first ins tance by United Stats the U n i t e d S ta tes Chiefs of Staff, t h a t a combined committee should Enquiry into be formed in I n d i a to determine the extent of economic assistance Economic necessary for I n d i a to be bui l t up as a base for for thcoming opera-Assistance. t ions in Sou th -Eas t As ia .

I n discussion, doubts were expressed as to the wisdom of associa t ing U n i t e d S ta tes representa t ives in a n enquiry which was l ikely to have a very wide range . On the other hand, i t was poin ted out t h a t the proposed te rms of reference h a d been so d r a w n as to be l imi ted to the economic assistance requi red to enable I n d i a to be a p roper base for opera t ions and specifically excluded any enqui ry in to the genera l financial a n d economic policy of the Government of I n d i a .

The Prime Minister said t h a t the need for the proposed enqui ry would to some ex ten t depend on cer ta in s t ra teg ic decisions affecting Sou th -Eas t A s i a which h a d not yet been taken.

The W a r Cab ine t— I n v i t e d the P r e s i d e n t of the Board of Educa t ion , on behalf of the Secre tary of S ta te for Ind ia , to obta in the comments of the Government of I n d i a on the proposed te rms of reference, emphas i s ing the dangers of a combined enquiry w i t h a very wide scope, a n d ind ica t ing pr iva te ly to the Viceroy t h a t the decision as to the need for th i s enqui ry was in p a r t dependent on cer ta in decisions on opera t iona l m a t t e r s now pend ing .

Political 9. T h e W a r Cabinet had before them a Memorandum by the Warfare Min is te r of In fo rma t ion ( W . P . (44) 92) deal ing w i t h the provis ion Training School, of domestic staff for the res ident ia l t r a i n i n g school which h a d been

set u p to t r a i n personnel for front-l ine a n d occupat ional p ropag a n d a in connection w i t h operat ions in Wes te rn Europe .

The Minister of Information said t h a t the staff r equ i red numbered about 100 women. H e h a d been unable to get any of the Service D e p a r t m e n t s to t ake responsibi l i ty for p rovid ing the necessary staff, a n d h a d therefore brought the ma t t e r before the W a r Cabinet . H e h a d a l ready t r ied , w i t h o u t success, to ob ta in assistance from the W o m e n ' s Vo lun ta ry Services.

The Secretary of State for War said t h a t he doubted whe ther the provis ion of th is domestic staff could be regarded - as fa l l ing w i t h i n the scope of the W a r Office, a n d tha t , in any event, he had not the resources to meet the request of the Min i s te r of In format ion .

On the suggest ion of the P r i m e Minis ter , the W a r Cabine t— I n v i t e d the L o r d P r i v y Seal to decide which D e p a r t m e n t should be responsible for p rovid ing the necessary staff. The w i t h d r a w a l of any staff from a Service Depa r tmen t for t h i s purpose would be taken into account in the review of the quest ion of the w i t h d r a w a l of civil staffs from Service D e p a r t m e n t sM i n u t e 6 ] .

which had been agreed ear l ier [see

Offices of the War Cabinet, S.W. 1, 14th February, 1944.