Post by Diarist on Feb 19, 2015 7:32:49 GMT 1
Lunch was fun. The Cherbourg group was at one end of the dining room and we TRADOC guys, minus General Gort, were at the other end. The remainder were having lunch behind closed doors. After about 30 minutes a British Vice-Admiral came to us asking about the other differences. We avoided the question by repeating the more emphasis on attacking the bases in the Italian colonies. In the end Admiral of the Fleet Keyes told him that we have supported your plan, isn't that enough?
A short while later General Gort came to us commenting that we really have started something. He wanted Admiral Keyes and I to join their meeting. (I don't know whether I have mentioned it earlier but because of my 'photographic memory' General Gort calls me his walking filing-cabinet). After they had brought us up to date about their discussion they expressed their concern about the German reaction also whether Britain and France would also be branded as warmongers by following Japan's and Germany's example of withdrawing from the League of Nations.
We answered the latter first. The only nation we need to worry about is the United States and given the good relationship between the U.S. President and Secretary Churchill that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe he could travel to Washington after we leave the League of Nations to promote an "Alliance Against Aggression" and being there when we move against Italy he would be able to reassure the Americans of our good intentions.
The former is somewhat difficult because crazy dictators tend to be unpredictable. If the Germans were smart they would honour the Locarno Treaties and do nothing unilaterally in the Rhineland. A really smart move would be to arm his Wehrmacht with flowers and send them on a Sunday stroll into Austria since Italy would be busy elsewhere at the time. We would then have to counter any demand from 'Greater Germany' concerning the Trieste region. Ideally Yugoslavia should try to grab Trieste and the Pola peninsula from Italy. Now the French PM was shaking his head. We are not risking starting a new Europe-wide war, I argued, at the most we are drawing the frontlines of the future war. In fact, the only real chance we have to avoid this future conflict is to show determination now - gain the initiative and keep it.
Admiral Keyes summarized things very well. We don't have to decide anything now. Formally accept the Cherbourg Plan and at the same time instruct TRADOC to secretly plan the Italian option. I added that ideally we should appoint Admiral of the Fleet Keyes the CINC of the Cherbourg Plan so that he can insure that any 'Italian-option' requirements are incorporated in that plan so that after an Italian invasion of Abyssinia, and League of Nations meeting, we shall still be able to choose either option.
At the 1500 meeting with all delegates, including the Cherbourg planners, the two PM's informed us that we should go ahead with the proposed plan with a few changes suggested by the TRADOC group. Admiral Keyes will be the Commander-in-Chief of the combined force and he will choose his commanders after consulting his superiors in Paris and London. We were all thanked for our contribution and the meeting was adjourned.
On the way back to TRADOC I was driving with General Gort, Admirals Keyes and Muselier in the car. We were in a good mood because we had the permission to set up a HQ in Gibraltar to plan the Italian option. General Gort was worried that we have him planned as the Mobile Corps commander since he is the only Lieutenant-General in TRADOC. We assured him that were not the case but he was even more worried when we suggested that George Patton be temporarily promoted to Lieutenant-General so that he can command it. If you want us to get anywhere near the gates of Turin then Patton's your guy. We argued that in neither the British nor French Army is there an armour General. In the UK we can't even decide who would command the proposed 1st Armoured Division let alone Corps. The best qualified people are in TRADOC and we can't temporarily promote a French colonel because the French would know that he's not a General. It has to be a foreigner so why not a French-Canadian? He resigned, saying that it's the Admiral's command - your decision.
A short while later General Gort came to us commenting that we really have started something. He wanted Admiral Keyes and I to join their meeting. (I don't know whether I have mentioned it earlier but because of my 'photographic memory' General Gort calls me his walking filing-cabinet). After they had brought us up to date about their discussion they expressed their concern about the German reaction also whether Britain and France would also be branded as warmongers by following Japan's and Germany's example of withdrawing from the League of Nations.
We answered the latter first. The only nation we need to worry about is the United States and given the good relationship between the U.S. President and Secretary Churchill that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe he could travel to Washington after we leave the League of Nations to promote an "Alliance Against Aggression" and being there when we move against Italy he would be able to reassure the Americans of our good intentions.
The former is somewhat difficult because crazy dictators tend to be unpredictable. If the Germans were smart they would honour the Locarno Treaties and do nothing unilaterally in the Rhineland. A really smart move would be to arm his Wehrmacht with flowers and send them on a Sunday stroll into Austria since Italy would be busy elsewhere at the time. We would then have to counter any demand from 'Greater Germany' concerning the Trieste region. Ideally Yugoslavia should try to grab Trieste and the Pola peninsula from Italy. Now the French PM was shaking his head. We are not risking starting a new Europe-wide war, I argued, at the most we are drawing the frontlines of the future war. In fact, the only real chance we have to avoid this future conflict is to show determination now - gain the initiative and keep it.
Admiral Keyes summarized things very well. We don't have to decide anything now. Formally accept the Cherbourg Plan and at the same time instruct TRADOC to secretly plan the Italian option. I added that ideally we should appoint Admiral of the Fleet Keyes the CINC of the Cherbourg Plan so that he can insure that any 'Italian-option' requirements are incorporated in that plan so that after an Italian invasion of Abyssinia, and League of Nations meeting, we shall still be able to choose either option.
At the 1500 meeting with all delegates, including the Cherbourg planners, the two PM's informed us that we should go ahead with the proposed plan with a few changes suggested by the TRADOC group. Admiral Keyes will be the Commander-in-Chief of the combined force and he will choose his commanders after consulting his superiors in Paris and London. We were all thanked for our contribution and the meeting was adjourned.
On the way back to TRADOC I was driving with General Gort, Admirals Keyes and Muselier in the car. We were in a good mood because we had the permission to set up a HQ in Gibraltar to plan the Italian option. General Gort was worried that we have him planned as the Mobile Corps commander since he is the only Lieutenant-General in TRADOC. We assured him that were not the case but he was even more worried when we suggested that George Patton be temporarily promoted to Lieutenant-General so that he can command it. If you want us to get anywhere near the gates of Turin then Patton's your guy. We argued that in neither the British nor French Army is there an armour General. In the UK we can't even decide who would command the proposed 1st Armoured Division let alone Corps. The best qualified people are in TRADOC and we can't temporarily promote a French colonel because the French would know that he's not a General. It has to be a foreigner so why not a French-Canadian? He resigned, saying that it's the Admiral's command - your decision.