861.24/1803: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Harriman) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 13—7:50 a.m.]
1206. Deliveries to the Soviet Union by the United States, Great Britain and Canada during the Soviet-German war were listed on the front page of the Moscow newspapers for June 11. About 40 column inches of text under a headline in large black type were devoted to this announcement. The announcement states that the United States and Great Britain united with the Soviet Union in the common and great purpose of achieving the earliest possible defeat of Hitlerite Germany and its associates in Europe, began to supply the USSR with armaments, industrial equipment and food soon after the incursion of the German Fascist hordes into the Soviet Union. A part [Page 1097] of these supplies has also been sent by Canada. It made deliveries to the USSR within the British obligations until July 1, 1943, and subsequently began to make them independently.
By supplying the Soviet Union with the above-mentioned valuable materials the United States of America, Great Britain and Canada are contributing to the successes of the Red Army in the cause of the liberation of its homeland from the Fascist invaders and in the cause of hastening the common victory of the Allies over Hitlerite Germany and its satellites.
These deliveries were made by the United States on the basis of the lend-lease law, by Great Britain chiefly on the basis of the agreement concerning mutual deliveries, credit and method of payments of the 16th August 1941 and also on the basis of the agreement concerning the financing of military supplies and other military help of the 22d June 1942, by Canada according to the Canadian law concerning mutual help between the United Nations.
Data supplied by the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Trade regarding deliveries to the Soviet Union by the United States of America, Great Britain and Canada are then listed in three sections.
The American section deals with lend-lease deliveries made between October 1, 1941 and April 30, 1944. Among other things it states that the United States despatched to the Soviet Union 7,400,000 [8,500,000] tons of shipments in the value of $5,357,000,000. Of these shipments there reached the Soviet Union 7,400,000 tons valued at $4,612,000,000. Breakdowns are given by years and by categories. Pravda published on page 3 a large photograph showing hundreds of American trucks captioned “American motor vehicles in the USSR before despatch to the front.”
Text of deliveries announcement follows by airmail.91
- Not printed.↩