J. C. S. Files
No. 185
The Commanding General, United States Military Mission
in the Soviet Union (Deane) to
the Chief of Staff of the Soviet Army (Antonov)1
No. 1142
Dear General Antonov: In connection with the agenda for discussions referred to in my letter of 28 June 1945 (No. 1134),2 the United States Chiefs of Staff have directed me to present the following proposal to you for your consideration prior to your meeting with them in Berlin in the middle of July. The proposal is laid before you now, not for the purpose of obtaining a decision at this time, but simply so that you can consider the matter prior to the meeting at which time appropriate action can be taken.
The United States Chiefs of Staff are of the opinion that a system of local liaison communication should be established between the American commanders in the Pacific and the Soviet commanders in the Far East to be effective on the outbreak of hostilities between the Soviet Union and Japan. They consider that it would be most desirable to enable local commanders to rapidly exchange air, ground, and sea [Page 224] combat intelligence. In addition, there will be certain matters that will require rapid coordination, especially with regard to anti-submarine activities, aircraft patrol activities, and merchant shipping convoy activities. They feel that liaison effected by communications almost circling the globe through Moscow and Washington will be obviously too slow for the purely local adjustments necessary between our forces in the Far East.
The United States Chiefs of Staff therefore propose that there be an exchange of liaison officers and a system of radio teletype communications established between the Soviet Far Eastern Headquarters and General MacArthur’s headquarters in Manila and Admiral Nimitz’s headquarters on the island of Guam. They propose that the communication facilities be established with the least possible delay in order to be operational at the outbreak of the Soviet-Japanese hostilities.
They propose that the American liaison group with the Soviet Far Eastern Headquarters and the Soviet liaison groups with General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz should each have one general officer of the Ground Forces, one general officer of the Air Forces, and one flag officer of the Navy. Each group should have the necessary clerical and signal communications personnel. The United States Chiefs of Staff envisage each group as being in the neighborhood of 10 officers and 30 enlisted men. They suggest that rations and quarters should be provided by the headquarters to which each liaison group is accredited. The United States is prepared to provide the necessary radio teletype equipment and install it at once in Manila and Guam. It will also provide the radio teletype equipment necessary for American use at the Soviet Far Eastern Headquarters, but for reasons of secrecy and security it is suggested that the installation be made at once by Soviet personnel. They propose further that the personnel comprising all three liaison groups should be flown to the various headquarters to which they are accredited immediately upon the outbreak of hostilities or as much sooner as may be agreed upon.
As stated above, the United States Chiefs of Staff would be pleased to discuss this proposal with you at the forthcoming conference.
Respectfully yours,
- Printed from a mimeographed text circulated to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on July 14 as J. C. S. 1420. This letter was delivered and explained to Lieutenant General Nikolay Vasilyevich Slavin, Assistant to the Chief of Staff, on July 5.↩
- Not printed. Cf. documents Nos. 171 and 174.↩