MR CHURCHILL’S AIR JOURNEY TO MOSCOW

Southland Times, Issue 24826, 19 August 1942, Page 5

MR CHURCHILL’S AIR JOURNEY TO MOSCOW

EARLY ACTION EXPECTED

(United Press Association—Telegraph Copyright) (Rec. 1.15 a.m.) LONDON, August 18. Mr Churchill’s dramatic air journey to Moscow and his conferences with M. Stalin have caused a great stir throughout the world and it is expected in many quarters that the meetings will result in action soon. President Roosevelt was represented by Mr W. Averill Harriman, Lend-Lease Administrator in London. “M. Stalin and Mr Churchill met as chiefs of the armed forces of two mighty Allies,” says The Daily Telegraph’s Moscow correspondent. “They took their decissions in constant consultation with their chiefs of staff and a galaxy of high army talent. A nation does not send its best generals 1000 miles merely to talk politics. The British delegation went to Moscow to make material and military decisions. The Dominion Governments were kept informed of Mr Churchill’s visit to Moscow through the usual machinery by which they are kept posted of the British War Cabinet’s plans. The United Press of America says news of the Moscow war conferences has aroused speculation in America. Britain and the United States are nearing the point of giving Russia substantially increased aid. Informed circles believe the results of the Churchill-Stalin negotiations will implement the understanding reached last spring between Mr Roosevelt and M. Molotov. The New York Times, in a leading article, says Mr Churchill visited Moscow in one of the great crises of the war as he twice visited Washington for direct consultation with the leaders of Allied Governments. Mr Roosevelt was kept fully informed of the questions discussed in Moscow and undoubtedly participated in the decisions reached. The decisions covered not only the defence of the Caucasus and the Middle East, but the moot question of a second front. Time alone will reveal the decisions made, but whatever they are they can hardly be more important than this fresh evidence of the close and friendly understanding between the Soviet and the two great western democracies.

It was last Wednesday that Mr Churchill and his companions arrived in Moscow. They had halted on the way at Cairo, where Mr Churchill conferred with General J..C. Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa. When the three bombers which brought them landed on a Moscow airfield they were met by M. Viacheslav Molotov, Soviet Foreign Commissar. Military bands played the “Internationale” and the British and American national anthems. A guard of honour clad in battle dress and steel helmets was inspected by Mr Churchill. The first meeting with M. Stalin took place the same evening and a number of other exchanges were held during the following four days. The essential business concluded, the visitors were entertained at a banquet in the Kremlin. Several informal talks took place during the visit, some of them at the suggestion of M. Stalin himself. According to observers the atmosphere could not have been more friendly. There were present in Moscow with the missions General Sir Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief, India, General Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force in the Middle East, and Major-General Maxwell, Commander of the American Forces in Egypt. Marshal Klementi Voroshilov represented the Red Army. M. Molotov, Sir Alexander Cadogan, Britain’s Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Mr W. Averell Harriman. United States Lease-Lend Administrator in London, completed the party. DECISIONS REACHED Communiques issued in London and Moscow state: “Negotiations have taken place in Moscow between M. Stalin and Mr Churchill in which Mr Harriman represented , President Roosevelt. M. Molotov and Marshal Voroshilov also took part in the talks. On the British side were Sir Archibald Clark-Kerr, British Ambassador to Russia, and other responsible representatives’ of the British armed forces and Sir Alexander Cadogan. A number of decisions was reached covering the field of war against Hitlerite Germany and her associates in Europe. This just war of liberation both Governments are determined to carry on with all their power and energy until the complete destruction of Hitlerism or any similar tyranny has been achieved. The discussions were carried on in an atmos- | phere of cordiality and complete sin- I cerity and provided an opportunity of reaffirming the existence of the close friendship and understanding between the Soviet, the United Kingdom and the United States in complete accordance with the Allied relationship existing between them.” Moscow radio has broadcast a message sent by Mr Churchill before his return to M. Stalin: “I take this opportunity to thank you for your friendly | attitude and your hospitality. I am highly satisfied that I visited Moscow. First, for my desire to speak my mind, and second, because I am sure that our contacts will be useful for our common cause.” ALLIES’ DETERMINATION When he arrived in Moscow, Mr Churchill recorded this statement: “We are fully determined, whatever sufferings and difficulties lie ahead of us, to continue the struggle hand in hand with our comrades and brothers until i the last remnants of the Hitler regime I have been turned to dust as a warning and an example for the future.” I Mr Harriman said: “The President of | the United States has entrusted me with accompanying the British Prime Minister on his important journey to Moscow during this decisive moment of the war.

The President will agree to all decisions taken by Mr Churchill. Americans will stand hand to hand together with the Russians.”

Mr Churchill’s visit is the first occasion in history on which a British Prime Minister has visited the Russian capital. The conferences which took place are described as an epoch-making event, marking the turning point of the war.

Moscow correspondents say that it is understood that Mr Churchill stayed at a house in the country where he rested briefly after long hours at the Kremlin. He worked at high pressure throughout his stay, not permitting even the famed Russian ballet to take him away from work. Mr Churchill was in terrific form, full of fight and good health. His. spirits were at their highest. M. Stalin was calm and confident and. looked very well. In British circles in Moscow the impression is that the Russians were very happy over the meeting although there was little time for celebrations. “VERY JOCULAR PARTY” The dinner at the Kremlin in honour of Mr Churchill on Saturday evening lasted for over four hours. It was attended by numerous Soviet generals, many of whom were strikingly young and energetic men, and also by the staffs of both embassies, by Allied representatives and by other generals. The atmosphere was described as full of fun. It was a very jocular party with M. Stalin giving a number of toasts, speaking with sparkling humour and thoroughly enjoying his own jokes. Mr Churchill was accompanied on his visit by his personal physician, Sir Charles Wilson. A newsreel of the meetings is to be released in Moscow tomorrow and will then be shown in other big Russian cities. The New York Herald Tribune, in a leading article, says: “It is difficult to imagine better news than the fact that Mr Churchill and M. Stalin have reached definite decisions covering the war against Hitlerite Germany. This should end the doubts that began festering when the announcement last June of an agreement regarding a second front failed to lead to action. It should end the nonsensical suspicions that the delay is due to mistrust between the Governments. It should end the second front as a subject for popular clamour, parades and pressure tactics. Now |we are entitled to believe that the i over-all strategy, whether it includes a landing in Western Europe sooner or I later, has been agreed upon by the men of all three nations who know most about the problem.” GERMAN HOME GUARD IN FRANCE LONDON, August 17. All German civilians and officials in France have been compelled to undergo a minimum of a fortnight’s special military training in barracks as a precaution against the opening of a second front, declares Mr B. S. Townroe, who has for many years been secretary of the United Associations of Great Britain and France. Mr Townroe holds the Legion of Honour and was mentioned in dispatches for his work as Director of Intelligence in France in the last war. He says that the Germans hope to found a German Home Guard from the hordes of German officials who have descended on France. From Moscow the Tass News Agency reports that the Germans have ordered General Christiansen to transfer the headquarters of the Occupation Forces in Holland from The Hague to an undisclosed place near the eastern frontier of Holland.