MOSCOW MEETING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 2 September 1942, Page 6

MOSCOW MEETING

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

DETAILS OF CHURCHILL’S VISIT Moscow, Aug. 19. The last person 1 ever expected to sec in Soviet Moscow was the leader of the British Conservative party, reports Godfrey Blunden, Melbourne "Argus” Russian correspondent. But there he was, leaning forward to light a long cigar in the back seat of a huge black Packard coming swiftly down Gorki street. There could be no mistake about that bulk, that hat, that heavy white jaw, or even that cigar. The windows of the big Packard were of dark bullet-proof glass, and the other figures in the car were shadowy, but that of Churchill was unmistakable. The car was preceded by a motor-cycle policeman wearing white gloves, followed by a Small convoy of automobiles, including two containing Soviet guards armed with tommy-guns. The Packard turned the corner of Gorki street by the National Hotel at exactly 5 p.m. on 12th August. It sped along the boulevard opposite the Kremlin, and turned off in the direction of the British Consulate. None of the thousands of Soviet citizens in Moscow’s crowded streets recognised the British Prime Minister.. Few bothered to look twice at the convoy, which is not unusual here. Only four newspapermen caught this glimpse of Churchill—Ley land Stowe (Chicago "Daily News”), Walter Kerr (New York “Herald-Tribune”), Larry Leseur (Columbia Broadcasting), and myself. No one else, with the exception of a few British and Soviet officials and guards, saw the British Prime Minister during the three days of his visit. His movements and nightly abode were kept such a close secret that several colleagues would not believe he was here. SPECTACULAR LANDING It was not by accident that four newspapermen saw Mr Churchill at that strategic corner at Gorki street. Forty minutes earlier we had seen three huge 4-engined Liberator bombers circle low over Moscow. They were escorted by a cloud of Soviet fighters. Such an apparition does not happen so often that its possible meaning can be dismissed.

Actually, at 4.25 p.m., the first bomber touched down at Moscow airport. The British Prime Minister, dressed in his customary black, stepped out. Mr Molotov, accompanied by Marsjhal Shaposhnikov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, stepped forward to greet him. A Soviet band struck up the British National Anthem. British, American, and Russian flags were flying. Mr Churchill inspected the guard of statuesque Red Army soldiers, with their steel helmets and field kit. The band played the Internationale, and later the Star Spangled Banner. Meanwhile, the second and third Liberators came in, and Mr Churchill’s entourage was complete. There were Sir Alexander Cadogan, head of the Foreign Office; Sir Alan Brooke, British C.C.S.; Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder, of the Middle East Air Command; and 16 others, including Sir Charles Wilson (Mr Churchill’s personal physician), and Detective-Sergeant Thompson, of Scotland Yard (his private bodyguard). There were six Americans, including Mr Harriman (Lend-Lease Administrator), Major-General Russell Maxwell, Brig.-General Spalding Roy (U.S.A. Forces, Middle East), and Loy Henderson (U.S.A. State Department). Mr Churchill and Mr Harriman posed for the newsreels, and made short recorded statements. HISTORIC MEETING That night occurred the first meeting between Churchill and Stalin. It took place at the Kremlin, and lasted three hours 40 minutes, in the presence of large staffs of secretaries, interpreters, officers and officials. The British Ambassador, Sir Archibald Clark Kerr, introduced the leaders. An observer who witnessed the whole proceedings said there was a tense atmosphere as the two men shook hands.

Everybody present was acutely aware that this was an historic moment. "There was a display of great strength on both sides,” my informant said. "I was impressed with the unexpected bulk of Churchill, standing beside Stalin. Both men were about the same height, but Stalin, in his loose grey tunic, is a spare, not to say wasted, figure beside the fleshy bulk of Churchill. The calm dignity of Stalin, however, was a dominating factor of the conference, quite as much as Churchill’s forcefulness.” There were other conferences on Friday and Sunday. The subject of discussion has remained a close secret, and the impression is that it will remain a close secret until Mr Churchill makes a statement in the House of Commons. I can vouch for the fact that no guidance, official or unofficial, has been given to Allied newspapermen. An obvious conjecture is that the talks concerned a second front in Europe. Another is that they concerned the situation in the Caucasus. One thing is certain: This visit resembled none of Mr Churchill’s previous peregrinations. It was neither like that first one made shortly after his succession to the Prime Ministership, nor like that to United States waters when the Atlantic charter was drawn up. Nor is it anything so trivial as a morale building visit A highly placed observer has said that the result of this visit will be epochal. Next day at 1.8 p.m., Sir Archibald Wavell, G.0.C., India, whose bomber had been delayed en route, arrived in a Russian transport plane. While Churchill conferred with Molotov that day, Wavell and other generals met Shaposhnikov and other Russian staff officers. BANQUET AT KREMLIN Further conferences were followed by a banquet at the Kremlin on Friday night, which was given in sumptuous style, in keeping with Russian ideas of hospitality. The banquet took place in the lofty hall of Catherine the Great, in the Kremlin. There were one long table and two smaller tables, accommodating about 100 guests. Stalin sat at the centre of the large table, with Churchill on his right and Harriman on his left. Directly opposite sat Molotov, with the British Ambassador on his right and the American Ambassador on his left. It was a brilliant scene, according to reports of those present. Red Army officers, in immaculate uniforms, impressed the British visitors by their comparative youthfulness and energy. Stalin wore a plain, severely cut Russian tunic, as did most members of his Cabinet who were present—Malenkov, Beria, Aherbiakov, Kaganovitch, Mikoyan. President Kalinin, like Molotov, wore dark western clothes. Marshals Voroshilov and Shaposhnikov wore full-dress uniforms. My informant says that, true to Russian custom, many toasts were drunk—probably 25 to 30 i n all—the Russians, in the traditional manner, drinking a glass each time. The tone of the speeches was cordial, and increased in jocularity as the evening progressed. By this time Mr Churchill was smoking a cigar, and Mr Stalin had a pipe. Stalin, according to a guest, proposed a number of toasts. The custom is for respective officers or officials to toast opposite numbers of the Allied

country. One surprise of the banquet was a speech made by General Wavell in Russian, which was enthusiastically received. Thus the conferences concluded in an atmosphere of great cordiality, all sides providing, as the communique states, “an opportunity of reaffirming the existence of close friendship and understanding between the Soviet, Great Britain, and the United States, in entire accordance with the Allied relationships existing between them.”