Office of the Historian

740.00119 European War 1939/534a: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Algiers (Cole)

Washington, October 26, 1940—1 p.m.

82. The Department has received from the British Foreign Office the following message:

“The following comes from an absolutely sure source.

German peace terms for France:

For Italy: Department of Alpes Maritimes, half Algeria and Tunis.

For Spain: Morocco.

For Japan: Indochina.

For Germany: Alsace-Lorraine plus an internationalized zone from Switzerland to the sea. Naval and air bases in north France for the duration of hostilities. French fleet at the service of the Axis.

A tripartite France-German-Italian mandate over all French colonies and at the moment of the cessation of hostilities the relaxation of colonial conditions imposed on France.

Pétain has refused but his ministers are equally divided.”

You are instructed to make every effort to communicate this message personally and confidentially to General Weygand for his information.76

Hull
  1. The Consul General reported that General Weygand was absent at Dakar but that the message was delivered to him on the night of October 29.↩