Turkey

Country

Turkey, known officially as the Republic of Turkey, is a Eurasian country located 97% in Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and 3% in East Thrace in Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. ...

Read more at Wikipedia

Documents about Turkey

Tuesday 9th January 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet informed of finance deal with Turks, new government in China by Japan. Rumour Hitler's HQ moved to Dutch frontier
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Adolf Hitler
place Finland
place Turkey
organisation New Zealand Treasury
 

Assistance to Finland.

extract War Office reports on all measures short of military action that could be deployed to assist Finland against Soviet forces
place Finland
place Turkey
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet discusses strategy for the Middle East and possibility of Italian pilots supporting Finland against the Russians
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Samuel Hoare
person Kingsley Wood
person Arthur Robinson (Australian politician)
person Oliver Stanley
place Great Britain
place Afghanistan
place Greece
place Finland
place Turkey
place Kenya
place West Germany
place Iran
organisation Hopatcong High School
 

Negotiations with Italy.

extract Eden warns favourable trading conditions offered to Italy in pursuit of a settlement may alienate Dominion governments
person Anthony Eden
place Turkey
place Africa
 

Wednesday 28th February 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Finns forced to withdraw to second line of Mannerheim defence system. Rumour Germany anxious to mediate in this conflict
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim
person Woodrow Wilson
place Finland
place East Germany
place Gisborne, New Zealand
place Turkey
organisation New Zealand Treasury
 

Wednesday 6th March 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Notes on recent meetings. Hitler “bully and boaster, but at bottom a coward”. Attack on Western Front "desperate gamble"
person Adolf Hitler
place Finland
place Turkey
place Denmark
 

Meeting minutes

extract UK Ambassador Vatican passes on anxiety at Mussolini’s “increasingly pro-German course”
extract Cripps in Moscow says USSR wishes to improve relations with UK, does not want to be “too closely tied” to Germany
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Stafford Cripps
person Samuel Hoare
person Maxime Weygand
person Kingsley Wood
person John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon
place Hamburg
place Finland
place East Germany
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Rome
organisation Home Office
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Minister of Economic Warfare
 

Meeting minutes

extract Lord Chatfield meets junior ministers. Italy “more menacing”. “On balance little advantage in going to war with Russia”
place Finland
place Egypt
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Syria
place Iran
organisation Luftwaffe
 

Military implications of hostilities with Russia in 1940.

extract Chiefs of Staff report on "military implications of hostilities with Russia in 1940"
place Great Britain
place Afghanistan
place Murmansk
place Finland
place Russian Empire
place Egypt
place Iraq
place Narvik
place Turkey
place Basra
place Syria
place West Germany
place Iran
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Foreign Office (Germany)
organisation Minister of Economic Warfare
 

Meeting minutes

extract Finnish Minister informs Lord Halifax his government is awaiting new terms from Russia. Promises decision by March 12th
person Swedes (Germanic tribe)
place Greece
place Finland
place Helsinki
place Turkey
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Royal Air Force
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet discusses war with Russia. Air Chief: “Embarrassing diversions" not "vital blows”. No hastening of German defeat
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
place Heligoland
place Afghanistan
place Finland
place Russian Empire
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Burma
place West Germany
place Iran
organisation Hopatcong High School
 

Meeting minutes

extract “Berlin better blacked out than London” says US envoy. Ambassador to Vatican reports Hitler and Mussolini to meet shortly
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Sumner Welles
person Samuel Hoare
person Adolf Hitler
person Joachim von Ribbentrop
place Finland
place Vatican City
place Hong Kong
place Singapore
place Turkey
place Berlin
place Rome
organisation Luftwaffe
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract Churchill reports on defences after Scarpa attack. Warns of general feeling “Germans used bombs…we only dropped leaflets”
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Walter Hines Page
person Adolf Hitler
person Winston Churchill
person Neville Chamberlain
place Finland
place Gisborne, New Zealand
place Hong Kong
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
place South America
organisation Home Office
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
organisation Scapa
organisation Home Fleet
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet approves development of standard men’s suit to save wool. Halifax warns against “depression” over policy failures
person Sumner Welles
person Harold Wilson
person Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton
place New York, Lincolnshire
place Finland
place Halifax Peninsula
place Brussels
place Turkey
place Europe
place West Germany
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
organisation Scapa
 

The Grand Strategy of the Allies.

extract Easter break continues. Lord Hankey circulates his notes on the direction of Allied strategy: “continue static warfare”
person Sumner Welles
place Greece
place Finland
place Russian Empire
place Gisborne, New Zealand
place Hungary
place Turkey
place Bulgaria
place West Germany
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Royal Marines
 

South-Eastern Europe.

extract Lord Halifax also warns against action in South-Eastern Europe that does not involve “overwhelming force”.
place Greece
place Russian Empire
place Halifax Peninsula
place Hungary
place Turkey
place Paris
place Europe
place Bulgaria
place West Germany
 

Certain Aspects of the Present Situation.

extract Defence Chiefs sum up current situation, warn against military "projects that offer little prospect of decisive success"
person Robert German
person Sydney Brenner
place Russian Empire
place Eyre Peninsula
place Turkey
place Europe
place Bulgaria
place West Germany
organisation Air Force F.C.
 

Meeting minutes

extract Chiefs of Staff: “very little we could do to prevent Holland being overrun”. Effect of air action would be “very limited”
extract PM Chamberlain keen on mining operation on Rhine and Norwegian waters. Cabinet agrees to urge this in Allied War Council
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Harold Wilson
place Ankara
place Russian Empire
place Narvik
place Turkey
place Europe
place Rome
place West Germany
organisation Home Office
organisation New Zealand Treasury
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
organisation 335th Fighter Squadron
 

Meeting minutes

extract Dutch Foreign Minister rejects discussions with UK government over arrangements to resist German invasion of Netherlands
extract USSR offers to reopen trade talks with UK. Ambassador Maisky denies military alliance with Germany
person Harold Wilson
person Neville Chamberlain
place Athens
place Ankara
place Russian Empire
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Rome
organisation Home Office
organisation New Zealand Treasury
organisation RAF Coastal Command
 

Monday 1st April 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax: No guarantee Italy would not join Reich if Germans launch Blitzkrieg “and obtain...initial success”
extract Bad weather hampering air operations. French unwilling to support Rhine mining operation amid concern of German reprisal
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
place Ankara
place Turkey
place Paris
place Europe
place Libya
organisation Home Office
organisation BBC
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM meets junior ministers. Offered Attlee coalition, again refused. Nazi war alliance would cause Mussolini's overthrow
person Samuel Hoare
person Kingsley Wood
person Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton
person Paul Reynaud
place Lancaster, Lancashire
place Russian Empire
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Iran
organisation Labour Party (UK)
 

Wednesday 15th May 1940

Allied military action in the event of war with Italy.

extract Chiefs of Staff circulate report on suggested Allied military action in event of war with Italy
place Turkey
place Tunisia
 

The Question of an Alliance with Greece.

extract Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax proposes secret alliance with Greece as UK “likely at any moment to be at war with Italy”
person E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
place Portugal
place Greece
place Turkey
place Beirut
place Bulgaria
organisation Hopatcong High School
 

British strategy in a certain eventuality.

extract Without “full economic and financial support” from USA. Chiefs of Staff cannot see “any chance of success” in war effort
extract Chiefs of Staff circulate UK strategy for next phase of conflict. Paper assumes defeat of France, failure to evacuate BEF
place Portugal
place Russian Empire
place Egypt
place Iraq
place Eyre Peninsula
place Singapore
place Turkey
place Malta
place Europe
place Gibraltar
place Alexandria
place Africa
place Libya
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Minister of Economic Warfare
organisation Scapa
organisation United States Army
 

Monday 3rd June 1940

Western Front - British Military Policy.

extract Chiefs of Staff set out case for and against more help for France. Despatch of even two divisions "grave" security risk
person Francisco Franco
person Winston Churchill
person Edward Spears
person Paul Reynaud
place Great Britain
place Turkey
organisation British Army
 

Meeting minutes

extract Home Security Minister now taking into custody Italians resident in the UK. Cabinet keen to deport "as many as possible"
extract General Dill: French "fighting well", German advance "much slower" than expected. News scant due to move of French HQ
extract UK Ambassador Paris reports French morale "now everywhere good", sees "a general determination to fight to a finish"
extract PM to go to France for Supreme War Council meeting. Aims to find out French intentions, discourage move to separate peace
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person John Anderson (Australian politician)
person John Dill
place Portugal
place Egypt
place Halifax Peninsula
place Turkey
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Churchill: A "chapter in the war" now closing. "We must now concentrate everything on the defence of this island"
extract Eden: French politicians in favour of peace with Germany "might find themselves strong enough" to overthrow PM Reynaud
extract General Weygand to declare Paris an open city. "Full of defenceless people", will "not see it destroyed" by bombardment
extract PM: "Defeatist" Marshal Petain has "made up his mind that peace must be made". He is "a dangerous man at this juncture"
extract General Weygand: French army "almost completely exhausted". General de Gaulle supports "carrying on a guerrilla warfare"
extract PM: Talks with French "studiously polite and dignified" but clear that France "near the end of organised resistance"
extract War Cabinet meeting again on PM's return from talks with French. General Dill reports UK 52nd division now in France
extract UK Ambassador Cairo recommends installing new "loyal" PM in Egypt. If King objects, to be told "comply or get out"
extract Damage from overnight Italian bombing raids on Malta "neglible". RAF attacked targets in Italian Libya, Eritrea
extract French Command blocked some UK planes from bombing runs on Italy overnight. Halifax: "Prompted by fear of reprisals"
extract German advanced elements must be expected in Paris within 24-48 hours. State of the city's defences not known
extract Signs of heavy attack east of Rheims. Situation west of Rouen very obscure. Position of remains of 51st division critical
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Charles de Gaulle
person Stephen King
person John Anderson (Australian politician)
place Greece
place Egypt
place Halifax Peninsula
place Turkey
place Malta
place Eritrea
place Libya
 

Plans to meet a certain eventuality.

extract Chiefs of Staff predict German victory will cause "more actively opportunist" Japan but end support from "alarmed" Russia
place Great Britain
place Caribbean
place Singapore
place Turkey
place Europe
place South America
organisation Hopatcong High School
organisation French Navy
organisation United States Congress
 

Meeting minutes

extract Press uncertainty over possible announcement of neutrality by Spain. UK Ambassador: "We should take nothing for granted"
extract Turkey considering whether to declare war on Italy. Egyptian government has severed diplomatic relations
extract UK 52nd division having a "very good" morale effect on French. Eden: Their arrival "might make all the difference"
extract General Dill: Germans claim to be "within 12 miles of Paris already", capital being encircled. Rheims cut off to the east
extract PM Churchill and Lord Halifax in France for further meeting with French government. PM to return tonight to brief Cabinet
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person John Dill
place Great Britain
place Lancaster, Lancashire
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Paris
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation Royal Air Force
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet agree not to bomb Vatican but tell Papal Nuncio safety of rest of Rome depends on Italy observing "rules of war"
extract Roosevelt will not publish his message of support to France. PM: US holding back will have "disastrous effect" on French
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
place Egypt
place Halifax Peninsula
place Vatican City
place Turkey
place Sicily
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place Rome
organisation KEF
 

Meeting minutes

extract General Dill: "No confirmation" of report of Soviet forces massing on the frontier of East Prussia
extract Report Swiss government to capitulate to military coup, allowing German troops free passage. Halifax: "A wild story"
extract BEF no longer under overall French command. "Grave risk" if French agree Armistice force "involved and unable to escape"
extract General Brooke reports that organised resistance in France has "come to an end". French army "disintegrating"
extract Roosevelt says his message "in no sense" promised US military action. PM: "Nothing short" of this will sustain France
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person William Patrick Stuart-Houston
person Franklin D. Roosevelt
person Adolf Hitler
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Malta
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place Libya
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Foreign Office (Germany)
organisation United States Congress
 

Plans to meet a certain eventuality: French Colonial Empire and Mandated Territories.

extract Chiefs of Staff circulate suggested strategies to encourage French overseas territories to continue assistance to Britain
person Chiang Kai-shek
place Freetown
place Aruba
place New Caledonia
place Somaliland
place Madagascar
place Iraq
place Caribbean
place Singapore
place Turkey
place Europe
place Gibraltar
place Dakar
place Beirut
place Morocco
place Syria
place Africa
place Newfoundland, Kentucky
place Burma
organisation Minister of Economic Warfare
organisation United States Congress
 

Tuesday 9th July 1940

Comments on the recent conversation between His Majesty's Ambassador at Moscow and M. Stalin.

extract Halifax circulates progress of Cripps negotiations with Marshall Stalin. “Soviet-German co-operation is to continue”
person Adolf Hitler
place Great Britain
place Russian Empire
place East Germany
place Iraq
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Europe
place Istanbul
 

Meeting minutes

extract Attlee warns of "disquiet" in House of Commons over conditions in UK internment camps. Cabinet asks him investigate
extract Cabinet concerned at likely fall of Japanese government. May be replaced by anti-British regime "who might declare war"
extract Halifax: Signs France will not "close down" relations with UK entirely. Proposes UK Consul at Vichy. Cabinet accepts
extract Admiralty to tell France UK will "take no further action" against French ships in French Colonial or North African ports
extract General Dill: "No doubt" Germans assembling force in Norway. "Might" be for raid on Scotland, Shetland, Orkney or Faroes
extract Air Chief: “Harassing raids” on south and west coast ports yesterday. (Docks, shipping). Casualties “greater than usual”
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Jean Bart
person Robert Vansittart, 1st Baron Vansittart
place Halifax Peninsula
place Eyre Peninsula
place Turkey
place Malta
place Gibraltar
organisation Home Office
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
organisation Parliament of the United Kingdom
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract Newspapers are reporting French government is to move to German occupied territory at Paris or Versailles
extract PM rejects draft statement on India's future. Must declare "no avoidable delay" in making India a self-governing country
extract Cabinet approves widening membership of Viceroy's executive council in India to include "representative Indians"
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person John Anderson (Australian politician)
person Leo Amery
place Great Britain
place Ankara
place Turkey
place Paris
place Europe
place Africa
place Burma
organisation Home Office
organisation Indian National Congress
organisation United States Congress
organisation Canadian Forces Maritime Command
 

German Oil Supplies. Fourth Report by Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd's Committee on the German Oil Position.

extract Petroleum Minister calls oil "very weak link" in German hegemony. Suggests bombing German, Italian, French refineries
person Geoffrey Lloyd, Baron Geoffrey-Lloyd
place Portugal
place Russian Empire
place Hungary
place Turkey
place Europe
place Albania
place Denmark
 

Meeting minutes

extract Despite "some risk" Cabinet agrees to supply arms and equipment to Eire to protect the country against German invasion
extract France refusing to resume diplomatic contact with UK without "unacceptable" conditions being met. Halifax to consider
extract Overnight air attack on Dover shipping "most serious attack yet experienced". 5 UK vessels sunk, 26 enemy aircraft downed
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Stafford Cripps
person Clement Attlee
place Lancaster, Lancashire
place Halifax Peninsula
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Europe
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation Royal Air Force
 

Meeting minutes

extract Intelligence from Geneva: Relations between Vichy ministers “very strained”, may lead to fall of government "at any time”
person Anthony Eden
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Maxime Weygand
person Clement Attlee
person Robert Craigie (diplomat)
place Great Britain
place Belgrade
place Moscow
place Geneva
place Turkey
place Istanbul
place Tokyo
 

Friday 23rd August 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax: Relations with Japan "somewhat improved" but relations between Italy and Greece "have deteriorated further"
extract PM: Looking to see "some kind of Council of Europe", European court, "an international air force", no harsh postwar terms
extract Cabinet forms committee to look at future of UK and "new Europe" after the war to make clear Britain's aims for fighting
person Anthony Eden
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Adolf Hitler
person Clement Attlee
place Athens
place Greece
place Turkey
place Europe
organisation Home Office
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation Royal Air Force
 

Tuesday 3rd September 1940

The Munitions Situation.

extract PM: By devising new weapons and above all by scientific leadership we shall best cope with enemy's superior strength
extract PM circulates his views on UK's munitions position: "The Navy can lose us the war but only the Air Force can win it"
person Winston Churchill
place Egypt
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Europe
place Syria
place Iran
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation United States Navy
 

Spain, Gibraltar and Morocco.

extract Halifax warns of likely German "diversion" against Egypt or Iberian Peninsula. "Great pressure will be placed on Spain"
person Charles de Gaulle
person Francisco Franco
person Adolf Hitler
place Great Britain
place Portugal
place Egypt
place Halifax Peninsula
place Madrid
place Turkey
place Paris
place Europe
place Gibraltar
place Berlin
place Morocco
place Syria
place Africa
place Madrid, New York
organisation German Army
organisation Minister of Economic Warfare
 

Wednesday 9th October 1940

Meeting minutes

extract PM: We should "take advantage" of any delay caused by a German "Eastward thrust" to develop our army in the Middle East
extract War Secretary Eden to make personal visit to Middle East. PM: Sure that such a visit will be of great value
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person Stafford Cripps
person Miles Lampson, 1st Baron Killearn
person Sydney Brenner
place Russian Empire
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Kenya
place Khartoum
place Syria
place Libya
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Churchill: We are "straining every nerve" to counter night bombing. "The people of this country must stick it out."
extract Cabinet concerned civilians in London beginning to wonder if UK "hitting back hard enough at Germany" in bombing attacks
extract PM blocks moving more ships to protect NW Approaches. Intelligence German plans for invasion "still moving forward"
extract Admiralty: Sweep by HMS Ajax has sunk 3 Italian destroyers. Italian claims to have damaged one of our cruisers untrue
person Alexander Cadogan
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Herbert Morrison
person Stafford Cripps
person William Patrick Stuart-Houston
person Kingsley Wood
person Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso
person Andrew Duncan
place Russian Empire
place East Germany
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
place Berlin
place Northern Ireland
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation Royal Air Force
 

Meeting minutes

extract UK Ambassador Washington: "Almost miraculous change of opinion" in US now it is clear UK effectively resisting air attack
extract Halifax: Prospect of trade agreement with USSR "promising". Marshal Chiang Kai-shek also desires "closer co-operation"
extract Home Secretary: 370 casualties in London last night, damage to railways. Londoners "at the moment a little pessimistic"
extract Admiralty "certain" Germans using radio detection to locate convoys. "Taking all steps possible" to deal with situation
extract Admiralty: Shipping losses over weekend "the worst ever experienced". Germans using new tactics, attacking at night
extract Air Chief: Pilot detailed to attack Berlin overnight came down to 2,000ft and dropped four 500lb bombs on the Chancellery
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Herbert Morrison
person Stafford Cripps
person Samuel Hoare
person Francisco Franco
person Kingsley Wood
person Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso
person Clement Attlee
person Chiang Kai-shek
person Andrew Duncan
place Egypt
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
place Africa
place Republic of China
organisation Home Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax: "Pessimistic" over Greek resistance. "Not particularly sanguine" about USSR. Spain "another source of anxiety"
extract Halifax meets junior ministers. M. Petain wants "to be friendly with us" but UK has made "many mistakes of psychology"
person William Patrick Stuart-Houston
person Francisco Franco
person Maxime Weygand
person E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
place Athens
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Washington
place Africa
place Bulgaria
place Republic of China
place Rome
organisation Foreign Office (Germany)
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Friday 1st November 1940

An advance by the enemy through the Balkans and Syria to the Middle East.

extract Chiefs of Staff recommend more support for Turks, occupation of Iraq and Syria. Stress force unavailable till Spring 1941
place Greece
place Egypt
place Baghdad
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Syria
 

Meeting minutes

extract Halifax to warn Vichy its capital ships are barred from the Mediterranean "where they might fall into German hands"
extract Cabinet informed UK battalion arriving in Crete today. If Greek resistance good UK "prepared to take some risks" to help
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
place Athens
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
 

Meeting minutes

extract War Secretary reports on his N.Africa visit. Position "far more favourable than seemed possible a few months previously"
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
place Kassala
place Greece
place Egypt
place Alexandria Troas
place Cairo
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Malta
place Gibraltar
place Kenya
place Syria
place Africa
place Libya
place Tripoli
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation United States Navy
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet approves package of loans and credit for China. Ministers to examine possibility of supplying "obsolete" aircraft
extract UK Diplomats report Italy did not expect Greece to resist attack. Italians "still retreating in disorder from Konitza"
extract PM: This "naval occasion" brings home importance of hitting Italy as hard as we can. "We should press this advantage"
extract Admiralty: Fleet Air Arm has carried out "very successful attack" with torpedoes and bombs on Italian fleet at Taranto
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Stafford Cripps
person Samuel Hoare
person Kingsley Wood
place Lancaster, Lancashire
place Greece
place Halifax Peninsula
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Valona, California
place Albania
place Bulgaria
place Burma
place Libya
organisation Hopatcong High School
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet approves cancelling Boxing Day Bank Holiday "for workers engaged on essential production" after talks with unions
extract Britain to urge Turkey and Yugoslavia to announce they would declare war if German troops were allowed to enter Bulgaria
person Alexander Cadogan
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Herbert Morrison
person Stafford Cripps
person Kingsley Wood
person Clement Attlee
place Egypt
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Birmingham
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
place Berlin
place Albania
place Bulgaria
organisation Home Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract Attorney General to consider legal action against Daily Worker newspaper for libellous cartoon of Labour Minister Bevin
extract PM: Utmost importance to build reserve of gas weapons. If enemy uses gas "we must be in a position to retaliate at once"
extract Greenwood: Damage in Birmingham "probably more serious" than Coventry but recovery in both cities "going ahead well"
extract Cabinet told an explosion has sunk the SS Patria carrying "illegal immigrants" to Palestine. 385 people unaccounted for
extract Halifax: Upshot of various reports that "probably not very much" settled at Berlin talks between Hitler and Molotov
extract General Dill: Italians landing at Durazzo, Valona to retrieve situation by extensive reinforcement. Vital to impede this
extract Admiralty reports "good progress" made in devising means for dealing with acoustic mines
person Anthony Eden
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Hugh Dalton
person Herbert Morrison
person Adolf Hitler
person Kingsley Wood
person Clement Attlee
person John Dill
person Andrew Duncan
place Wellington, Nevada
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Birmingham
place Belgrade
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Malta
place Gibraltar
place Berlin
place Valona, California
place Bristol
place Bulgaria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Morning Star (UK newspaper)
organisation RAF Fighter Command
 

Monday 2nd December 1940

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet rejects plea from General Wavell to deport SS Patria survivors from Palestine. Decision to admit them will stand
extract PM: It might be that the President is waiting "for the election atmosphere to disperse before taking any striking action"
extract PM Churchill: "Rather chilled" by attitude of the United States since the Election
extract Morrison: Fire situation in Southampton remains "serious" but Fire Brigade have "stood up very well to their ordeal"
extract General Dill: Greek forces between 10 and 25 miles into Albanian territory. Thought they will attempt to advance further
extract Admiralty: German Destroyers proving "faster than ours". Measures being considered to give ours "an extra turn of speed"
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Andrew Greenwood
person Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Herbert Morrison
person Malcolm MacDonald
person Kingsley Wood
person Ernest Brown
person Clement Attlee
person Theodore Roosevelt, Jr.
place Cranborne
place Halifax Peninsula
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Africa
organisation Home Office
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Parliament of the United Kingdom
 

Meeting minutes

extract Admiralty brief junior Ministers on recent success against Italy with "very limited" forces. 27 Italian subs sunk so far
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Malta
place Gibraltar
place Albania
place Libya
organisation RAF Coastal Command
organisation Royal Navy
 

Draft letter from Prime Minister to President Roosevelt.

extract PM to cable Roosevelt on year ahead: "Unless we can establish our ability to feed this Island...we may fall by the way"
person Adolf Hitler
person Winston Churchill
place Great Britain
place Singapore
place Turkey
place North America
place Europe
place Africa
place Northern Ireland
place West Germany
organisation Air Force F.C.
organisation United States Navy
organisation Royal Navy
organisation Commonwealth of Nations
organisation French Navy
 

Report by the Far Eastern Committee.

extract Japan "likely to be encouraged by our enemies to attack British interests if she gets the chance", reports Foreign Office
person Chiang Kai-shek
place Portugal
place Turkey
place Europe
place Thailand
place Republic of China
place Burma
organisation New Zealand Treasury
organisation Minister of Economic Warfare
organisation Commonwealth of Nations
 

Saturday 4th January 1941

The question of bombing the Roumanian Oilfields.

extract Eden: Any attack on Roumania's oilfields would "certainly" put the lives of British embassy staff in Bucharest at risk
person Anthony Eden
place Greece
place Turkey
organisation Foreign Office (Germany)
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM: "Clear" Yugoslavs have told Greeks they would allow Germans passage to attack Greece if UK forces allowed to enter
extract Attlee: Greeks refuse to allow deployment of UK land forces in Greece. PM Churchill: Greece "must decide its own fate"
place Greece
place Turkey
 

Meeting minutes

extract Eden urges Yugoslavia and Turkey to make clear they would regard any German infiltration of Bulgaria as an open invasion
extract Weather on Continent makes invasion unlikely in next few weeks. War Secretary to consider extended leave for Home Forces
extract Information Minister to publicise an Italian cavalry charge on Sudan Front. Cavalry charged our gun position, losing 25
extract General Dill: Italian retreat continuing on Kassala front but Italians fighting better than in Libya
extract PM to send "private congratulatory telegram to General Wavell" on Tobruk capture. Number of prisoners taken not yet known
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Hastings Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Herbert Morrison
person Clement Attlee
place Kassala
place Greece
place Cranborne
place Turkey
place Sudan
place Ethiopia
place Africa
place Bulgaria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place Libya
organisation Home Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract Eden: Japan has sent an "unpleasant memorandum" over Dutch East Indies. Netherlands government will "play for time"
extract Eden: Balkans situation "disquieting", German divisions in Roumania rising to 20. Greece "frightened" to provoke Germany
extract Eden: Resistance in Eritrea less than expected. Possible we will be able to advance as far as Agordat and threaten Asmara
extract Eden meeting junior ministers. Says German morale remains good but "deteriorating" among troops in occupied territory
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person E. F. L. Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax
place Greece
place Russian Empire
place Turkey
place Malta
place Ethiopia
place Eritrea
place Tripoli, Greece
place Bulgaria
place West Germany
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Food Situation of the United Kingdom. Monthly Report for December 1940.

extract Food Minister: Imports short of projections by 13%. Wheat stocks "falling rapidly", eggs "down to half a week's supply"
place Great Britain
place City of London
place Greece
place South Wales
place Turkey
organisation Advanced Micro Devices
 

Monday 3rd February 1941

Meeting minutes

extract PM: Bulgarian government "conniving" at German infiltration of their country. UK has offered 10 RAF squadrons to Turkey
place Turkey
place Istanbul
place Bulgaria
organisation Royal Air Force
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM: US to despatch 250,000 more rifles and 50m rounds of ammunition. This cargo must be distributed between several ships
extract General Dill: Signs of Italian movements out of Benghazi. General Wavell has ordered our Forces to press on rapidly
person Anthony Eden
person Alexander Cadogan
person Edward Bridges, 1st Baron Bridges
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Herbert Morrison
person Malcolm MacDonald
person Ernest Brown
person Clement Attlee
person John Dill
person Leo Amery
place Cranborne
place Turkey
place Burma
place Libya
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cadogan: President Roosevelt had "frank talk" with Japanese Ambassador. Tension in the Far East seems to have lessened
extract General Dill: Greeks again taking offensive in Albania, apparently with success, but so far only 400 prisoners confirmed
extract General Dill: "Not yet known what success, if any" achieved in Operation Colossus before our parachutists taken prisoner
extract Air Chief: 3 lost enemy aircraft have landed or tried to land at UK aerodromes. One captured intact with crew
person Alexander Cadogan
person George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Herbert Morrison
person Francisco Franco
place Greece
place Cranborne
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Europe
place Kismayo
place Albania
place Thailand
place Africa
place Bulgaria
place Libya
organisation Home Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM: "We could not very well blame them." Hopes "we should not have to put any large part of our army into Greece"
extract Churchill warns Cabinet Germans could "offer the Greeks such attractive terms that they would feel bound to make peace"
place Athens
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Tripoli, Greece
place Bulgaria
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Churchill: In my opinion the enterprise is a risk we must undertake. At worst bulk of force could be got back to Egypt
extract PM Menzies: If enterprise "only a forlorn hope it had better not be undertaken." Is there substantial chance of success?
extract PM Churchill: "Difficulties...must not be under-rated". If colleagues have misgivings "they should express them now"
extract PM Churchill: Cabinet must now "reach a most important decision, namely, whether to open a new theatre of war in Greece"
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person Joseph Stalin
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Bulgaria
organisation Luftwaffe
 

Policy in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.

extract Chiefs of Staff outline advantages and disadvantages of sending UK forces to assist Greece as Foreign Secretary proposes
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Africa
 

Policy in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.

extract Eden calls on PM to "do everything in our power to bring fullest measure of help to Greeks at earliest possible moment"
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
place Republic of Macedonia
place Greece
place Turkey
place Kenya
place Bulgaria
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Churchill "deeply moved" by assent of Dominion Governments. They have "responded magnificently" to severe proposals
extract PM Menzies: Australian government concurs in the proposed use of two Australian divisions in Greece
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person Harold Wilson
place South Africa
place Republic of Macedonia
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Albania
place Bulgaria
place Libya
 

Saturday 1st March 1941

Possible revision of Italo-Yugoslav frontier in Istria.

extract Stafford Cripps suggests offering Yugoslavia Italian territory after the war to "intervene forcibly on behalf of Greece"
place Greece
place Belgrade
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Rome
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet approves public statement on gas weapons. Bevin calls for regular gas mask drill in workshops, offices, schools
extract UK Ambassador in Sofia authorised to break off diplomatic relations and leave Bulgaria as soon as position "impossible"
place Ankara
place Cranborne
place Turkey
place Malta
place Bulgaria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Menzies requests further briefing on Balkans situation. Chiefs of Staff calculating probable timing for German advance
place Greece
place Turkey
 

Meeting minutes

extract Cabinet again discusses deployment to Greece. Agree position has changed for the worse. Might be necessary to reconsider
place Republic of Macedonia
place Athens
place Greece
place Belgrade
place Turkey
place Albania
place Bulgaria
organisation Air Force F.C.
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Menzies concerned over Greece operation. All new factors add to difficulties, no reason offered why it should succeed
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
place Republic of Macedonia
place Greece
place Egypt
place Belgrade
place Turkey
place Albania
place Bulgaria
place West Germany
organisation Foreign Office (Germany)
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Meeting minutes

extract PM Churchill: Nobody could represent us forcing hopeless resistance on Greeks. "We should go forward with a good heart"
extract Eden: Key Service Chiefs "unanimously agreed" that, despite "grave risks" involved, action in Greece the "right decision"
person William Patrick Stuart-Houston
place Greece
place Ankara
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Bulgaria
organisation Royal Air Force
organisation Hopatcong High School
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
 

Monday 7th April 1941

Meeting minutes

extract Cadogan: Looks as though a "show of force" might be necessary before the position in Iraq can be redressed
extract Cadogan: Our Ambassador at Budapest "told to leave as soon as possible". Yugoslav government has left Belgrade
extract General Haining: Germans moving into Yugoslavia advanced towards Skoplje and Stip yesterday against slight resistance
person Alexander Cadogan
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan
person Stafford Cripps
person William Patrick Stuart-Houston
place Athens
place Cranborne
place Iraq
place Belgrade
place Hungary
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Basra
place Eritrea
place Addis Ababa
place Bulgaria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place Libya
 

Meeting minutes

extract General Dill: Now clear the Germans had assembled "a considerably stronger force in Libya than we had reckoned on"
extract Attlee: "Somewhat surprised at the rapidity and force" of Libya attack in face of telegrams received from Desert Front
extract Eden: Hitler's plans "retarded and thrown out of gear" by Greek resistance and Yugoslav coup - both with our support
extract Foreign Secretary Eden and the Chief of the Imperial General Staff outline discussions held in Balkans and Middle East
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person Stafford Cripps
person Adolf Hitler
place Republic of Macedonia
place Athens
place Greece
place Egypt
place Belgrade
place Turkey
place Sicily
place Malta
place Tobruk
place Cyprus
place Alexandria
place Bulgaria
place Libya
place Tripoli
organisation United States Navy
 

Meeting minutes

extract Eden: "We should try to open up discussions with the Soviet Union", although I am "not very sanguine of good results"
extract Air Chief: In my view our bombers are "flying too low over Germany". Issuing orders to deal with this
person Stafford Cripps
person Francisco Franco
place East Germany
place Cranborne
place Iraq
place Madrid
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation RAF Coastal Command
 

Policy towards Turkey.

extract Eden: "Most we can hope for" from Turks "benevolent neutrality". In our interest to supply and support their armed forces
person Anthony Eden
place Great Britain
place Greece
place Egypt
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Basra
place Europe
place Istanbul
place Cyprus
place Alexandria
place Syria
place Bulgaria
 

Meeting minutes

extract Eden: Position of Syria "serious", risk of German paratroop attack. UK to urge Vichy France to defend its territory
extract General Dill: Enemy advancing in Western Desert from Sollum. Have penetrated 5-6 miles across Egyptian frontier
extract General Dill: Evacuation of troops from Greece proceeding. 27,000 evacuated. 13,000 have landed in Crete of 59,000 total
extract Admiralty: British Ambassador to Yugoslavia taken prisoner. Submarine Regent found port of Kotor under enemy occupation
extract Air Chief: RAF bomber used cloud over Emden for 45 minutes this afternoon. 18 500lb bombs dropped, streets machine-gunned
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan
place Lancaster, Lancashire
place Greece
place Ankara
place Cranborne
place Turkey
place Malta
place Dakar
place Washington
place Syria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Parliament of the United Kingdom
organisation Foreign and Commonwealth Office
organisation House of Commons of Canada
 

Thursday 8th May 1941

Weekly Resume (No. 88) of the Naval, Military and Air Situation from 12 noon May 1st, to 12 noon May 8th, 1941.

extract Chiefs of Staff: General Fraser unable to occupy Basra. Population "hostile and imbued with anti-British propaganda"
person Richard Kiel
place Athens
place Wellington, Nevada
place Greece
place Iceland
place Eyre Peninsula
place Turkey
place Basra
place Sicily
place Europe
place Morocco
place Bristol
place Libya
organisation RAF Coastal Command
 

Meeting minutes

extract Home Secretary to inform Northern Ireland PM War Cabinet "disposed to apply conscription" and seek view of NI government
extract General Dill: All objectives taken in recent Libya operations but Capuzzo afterwards lost to a counter-attack
extract PM Churchill to bring the shipping position in the Central Atlantic "to the notice of President Roosevelt"
person Alexander Cadogan
person George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan
person James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon
place Cranborne
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Tobruk
place Syria
place Northern Ireland
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place Libya
organisation Home Office
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
 

Meeting minutes

extract Chiefs of Staff asking local commanders to improvise largest possible force to move into Syria at earliest possible date
extract PM: Give French last chance to stop passage of Luftwaffe through Syria, otherwise we should proclaim Syria independent
extract Eden: Germans in "strong diplomatic offensive" on Turkey. Turks "treating us in a frank way", asking our plans in Syria
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Syria
 

Our Arab Policy.

extract Eden outlines UK "Arab Policy". "No change" in Palestine, establish friendly Iraq government, "bring Syria over to us"
person Anthony Eden
place Iraq
place Turkey
place Syria
 

Future of Cyprus.

extract Eden: "Strong case" for ceding Cyprus to Greece after war. Suggest talks now to avoid German offer to "quisling" Athens
person Anthony Eden
place Great Britain
place Athens
place Greece
place Egypt
place Turkey
place Malta
place Cyprus
place Alexandria
place Syria
organisation Foreign Office (Germany)
 

Thursday 12th June 1941

Meeting minutes

extract Stafford Cripps: Likely Germany intends to "deliver an ultimatum to Russia" when her military concentrations are complete
person Stafford Cripps
place Russian Empire
place East Germany
place Egypt
place Turkey
 

Meeting minutes

extract War Cabinet informed German concentration against Russia proceeding and "should be by now nearly complete"
extract General Dill: "No reason to be dissatisfied with the progress made" although a number of tanks put out of action by mines
extract General Dill: Attack in Western Desert underway. Enemy at Halfaya still resisting. Fort Capuzzo, Bir Waer in our hands
person Alexander Cadogan
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Herbert Morrison
place Portugal
place Russian Empire
place Cranborne
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
organisation Home Office
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
 

Supplies to Turkey.

extract Foreign Secretary Eden urges continuing military supplies to Turkey in spite of new Turco-German agreement
person Anthony Eden
place Egypt
place Turkey
 

Meeting minutes

extract Attlee to nominate representatives from industry for Mission to United States. "Very unfortunate" details leaked to Press
extract Eden: Russians have bombed Finnish aerodromes. Prospects of Finnish neutrality being maintained "not very bright"
extract Eden: Spanish government apologises, promises compensation for damage to British Embassy Madrid in "organised riot"
extract General Dill: "Stiff fighting in Syria". Damascus and Merjayoun now in our hands. Have advanced 10-12 miles toward Beirut
extract General Dill: No first-hand information from USSR. Germans making some progress but Old Russian frontier not yet reached
person Walter Hines Page
person Duff Cooper
person Walter Citrine, 1st Baron Citrine
person Sumner Welles
place Finland
place Cranborne
place Madrid
place Moscow
place Turkey
place Gibraltar
place London, Ontario
place Beirut
place Syria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place Madrid, New York
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom
organisation Hopatcong High School
organisation House of Lords
 

Meeting minutes

extract Soviet Ambassador told UK with Russia "up to the hilt in all military and economic measures for the defeat of Germany"
extract Cabinet authorises Foreign Secretary Eden to telegraph terms for a cessation of hostilities in Syria
extract Eden: Of utmost importance Syria operation concluded as early as possible. Delay having unhappy effect on other countries
extract General Dill: Russian military position appears very grave although German air and land losses have been considerable
extract General Dill: Palmyra now completely surrounded. Further reinforcements being sent to Syria
extract Air Chief: Heavy losses of bombers over last week "due to phenomenal light conditions". PM: "Our attacks must continue"
person Claude Auchinleck
person Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell
person George Cadogan, 3rd Earl Cadogan
person Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos
person John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley
person Charles de Gaulle
person Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook
person Walter Hines Page
place South Africa
place Murmansk
place East Germany
place Cranborne
place Iceland
place Moscow
place Cairo
place Turkey
place Syria
place Greenwood, Nova Scotia
place West Germany
organisation House of Commons of the United Kingdom