740.0011 PW/8–645
No. 1401
The French Chargé (
Lacoste
) to the Acting Secretary of State
1
Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that the Provisional Government of the Republic, having acquainted [itself] with the two memoranda addressed under date of July 19, 1945 by the Combined Chiefs of Staff to the French Military Mission at Washington2 on the subject of French participation in the war against Japan, desires to take formal note of the acceptance in principle by the Allied Command of the French offers of military participation. In addition it has noted with satisfaction the undertaking of the Combined Chiefs of Staff to inform the French representatives in due time of their intentions in so far as these will directly affect French territory or French forces in the Far East. In view of the efforts made by France toward the establishment of expeditionary forces for the Far East, my Government would nevertheless like to have concluded as soon as possible the special agreement with the interested Commander-in-Chief which will be necessary to render French participation effective. It hopes that the time at which the effective engagement of French units is envisaged will be appreciably shortened and, with the purpose of hastening the common victory against Japan, proposes to instruct its representatives at Washington to present new suggestions to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on this subject.
Accept [etc.]
- The French original bears the following manuscript notation: “August 6 left with Mr. Grew by Mr. Lacoste of French Embassy.”↩
- See document No. 1289, footnote 3, and document No. 1291, footnote 4.↩