Post by Diarist on Jan 26, 2016 16:18:18 GMT 1
The British Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden is in Paris to discuss the future course of the conflict against Italy. Three main items are on the agenda:
- Do we attend the League of Nations meeting scheduled on 14 Sep 1935?
- Do we use captured chemical weapons against Italian troops in northern Abyssinia if there is no danger to any other party?
- Shall we drop leaflets over major Italian cities and if yes, what shall be printed on them?
The first question was answered with a categorical NO. It was deemed a waste of time. The answer to the second question is, 'only if they use chemical weapons against allied forces'. Finally it was decided that leaflets are desirable but it is too early. The message should be a return of all captured Italian territory if Mussolini and his party are removed from Italian politics. Furthermore Mussolini and his fascist council should be put on trial for crimes against humanity although the latter would not be on the leaflet.
There is still hope in France that a defeated Italy could become part of a Defence Alliance against Nazi Germany. Britain isn't against such an alliance but it is not openly supporting it either. It has been agreed that the Minister of War Éduard Daladier and his British counter Winston Churchill will visit the AEF HQ on the 15th with the possibility of travelling to Italy to visit the troops the next day.