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WAR DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF

WASHINGTON

MEETING OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL IN THE OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF 11:30 a.m., December 7, 1942 PRESENT: General General Colonel Colonel General General Colonel General McNarney, Deputy Chief of Staff White, G-l Betts, G-2 General Hanley, AAF Matchett, G-3 General Styer, SOS Moses, G-4Lt. Col. Thompson, Handy, OPD General Brown, IGD Galley, OPD General Surles, BPR Parks, AGF Colonel Nelson, OSGS

OPENING REMARKS OF THE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF Operation of the Pentagon Building Cafeterias. The Pentagon cafeterias will be taken over by the Welfare and Recreation Association on December 12. The cafeterias will be run under the provisions of AR 210-100 as post restaurants. The equipment will be owned by the War Department. A highly competent civilian recommended by General Somervell has been commissioned as a major and will be the Pentagon Restaurant Officer. Under his su pervision the cafeterias will be operated under the terms of a very severe contract which gives to the War Department the right to de termine hours of operation, the quality and price of the food, and the right to audit the books. This should produce a very satisfac tory arrangement. Air Raid Practice. General McNarney stated that so far the results of the practice air raid alarms in the Pentagon Building have not been too satisfactory and that he expects all commanders to take steps to in sure that the performance of their personnel when an air raid prac-, tice alarm is sounded is satisfactory. l-''
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Disaster Plan. ' General McNarney stated that he has asked General Lewis, Commanding General of the Military District of Washington, to draw up a disaster plan for the Pentagon Building t'o meet any contingen cy of that nature.

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REPORT OF THE G-l DIVISION Comptroller General's Decision on Commutation of Quarters for Officers on Duty with Troops. General White reported that as a result of a decision by the Comptroller General a few days ago, no officers on duty with troops are eligible for commutation of quarters unless they have dependents. This is a very undesirable situation both for the Navy and the Army, who have large numbers of officers on duty in and near large cities. The Navy submitted legislation to the Bureau of the Budget to correct this. However, this legislation is not acceptable to the War Department. The Navy has agreed to substitute the legis lation which the War Department will submit when the Bureau of the Budget asks its recommendations on the subject. Payment of Allowances and Allotments to Families of Missing Personnel. General White stated that difficulties have arisen in connection with paying of allotments and allowances to the fami lies of personnel reported missing. Under present regulations, the pay of military personnel missing for over a year is discontin ued. In a few weeks a large number of the Navy's missing-in-action list will have been missing for over a year, and the question comes up as to the continuation of the payments. The Army and the Navy together have over 4.0,000 men reported missing in action. To term inate the pay of some of these men who are definitely known not to be dead is quite a hardship on their families. The Army and Navy propose to submit joint legislation to continue to carry all people on the missing list until there is some definite reason why they should be eliminated. Cessation of the Induction of Men 38 and Over. General White' reported that the President last week ap proved the request of the War Department to stop the induction of all men 38 or over. At the same time, the policy has been liberal ized on the discharge of certain classes of limited-service person nel and men 38 or over. Since there are several hundred thousand men eligible for discharge under these policies, they cannot all be released at once. G-l is setting up the machinery by which they will be released in appropriate numbers. t j Selective Service Under the ManpowerCommission. Last week the President placed Selective Service under the supervision of the Manpower Commission and ordered the cessa tion of all voluntary enlistments for the Army, the Navy, the Marine Corps, and all of the Enlisted Reserves of both services. This ap plies to men between 18 and 38 years of age. General Surles pointed out that the Navy is now enlisting 17-year-olds. General White said that he was aware of this but thought that for the time being the Navy is taking but a few of that age group. These men can only be enlisted with parental consent. 4. 3. 2. 1.

The order also directed that the Army and Navy college training programs be coordinated with the Manpower Commission. The However, it has been effect of this has not yet been determined. learned that Dr. Elliott win handle the Manpower Commission's end of this problem, and Dr. Elliott has been working closely with the War Department on this program for some time. The President had ap proved the college training plan subject to its being coordinated with the Manpower Commission. General White indicated that forcing the Navy to procure its personnel through Selective Service will give the War Department The War Department is recommending that the Army many headaches. and Navy use joint induction centers, and that through the Joint Army-Navy Personnel Board, policies be established vHcli will in sure that the Army and the Navy both get their appropriate quotas General White stated that of desirable and undesirable personnel. unless some means of control were established, the Navy would at tempt to get the best personnel and leave the Army the rejects. General McNarney asked if the Chairman of the Manpower Commission did not have the final say-so on the type of personnel that each General White stated that he did not believe that service gets. the Manpower Commission could force on either the Army or the Navy He any personnel below specifications set up by the services. pointed out that what the Army sought to avoid was giving to the local boards the power to decide whether a man should go in the Army or the Navy. He stated that procuring personnel for the avia tion cadet program would be the biggest single problem. At present both services have a rather substantial backlog of enlisted reserv ists for this class, but that unless some means were set up in the future for allocating men for these programs,it would possibly mean that some of the schools would have to be closed, or that the Army would have to resort to the voluntary enlistment of 17-year-olds. xJU. REPORT OF THE G-2 DIVISION German Possiblities in Spain. Colonel Betts reported that during the past week, G-2 has been involved mainly with the possibility of a German invasion of The situation during the week, based on inconclusive re Spain. However, ports, indicated that there was much tension in Spain. further inconclusive reports indicate that the tension has let up over the weekend and the situation looks better. 1. REPORT OF THE G-3 DIVISION Training Aids to Division Camps. Colonel Matchett reported that action had been taken to add training aids to division camps, which would be helpful in in struction in the attack of permanent fortifications. These facili ties consist primarily of barbed wire grenades, flame throwers, and signal equipment. 1. Tentative Mobilization Plan for 19A.4. Colonel Matchett reported that a tentative mobilization * plan for the calendar year 1^4JSjy^n prepared by G-3 providing 2.

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for an additional 30 divisions during that 7ear. This number, based on shipping capacity of a 2^-month turn-around and a 2% loss rate, irould reduce the number of trained divisions in the United States at the end of 1944. to three, as against twelve at the end of 1943. This plan, if made effective, will require the induction of about 1.8 million men during 1944 and will give a total strength at the end of that year of 8.9 million men. Activation of a Greek Battalion. Colonel Matchett reported that G-3 had submitted a direc tive for the activation of a Greek Battalion, which was approved by the Chief of Staff on December 1. The Bureau of Public Relations has been requested to prepare a press release for the use of the Secretary of War at his next press conference. 4. Policy for the Assignment of 18- and 19-Year-Qld Inductees. Colonel Matchett stated that in accordance with the policy approved by the Chief of Staff last week, the 18- and 19-year-old inductees will be assigned as follows: (1) To keep replacement training centers operating at full capacity; (2) To new units, and to old units which are still at cadre strength on January 1, 1943> to bring them up to 75$ of their authorized strengths; (3) To all other units as determined by the three general commands, with the objective of providing at least 25/6 of the personnel of all units with men from the 18- to 20-year-old group.
REPORT OF THE OPERATIONS DIVISION

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Operations in the Middle East. On December 4th, B-24 bombers of the 9th U.S. Air Force made the first attack in history by Americans on Italy proper when they struck at shipping, Italian fleet units, and harbor and rail installations at Naples. Excellent results were accomplished with direct hits by heavy calibre bombs on all objectives. Direct hits on one battleship and two cruisers were observed, with very near misses on two other vessels. One heavy calibre bomb was seen to burst in the center of a large rail junction serving the dock area. Antiaircraft fire was heavy but inaccurate. There was no enemy air opposition. All our aircraft returned safely. One RAF and two US attacks were made on Tripoli on Novem ber 28 and 29j 84 tons of explosives were dropped on the harbor, hits being scored on three vessels and on the electric power plant and moles. All of our aircraft returned despite heavy and accurate AA fire and enemy interceptions. General Eisenhower requested some assistance from General Andrews in heavy bombardment but he replied that their job hadn't been completed yet and that many excellent targets still remained. As a result General Eisenhower agreed to the decision to leave the heavy bombers with General Andrews and one additional heavy group has been ordered down from England. 2. Operations in the Southwest Pacific. Timor: On December 4th our attack units executed a suc-

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cessful surprise raid on the airdrome. Eighteen enemy bombers and three fighters caught on the ground were damaged or destroyed with cannon and machinegun fire. Fires from burning aircraft and fuel dumps were visible 50 miles away. General Handy pointed out that a small group of Australian troops, together with detachments of friendly natives have been continually harassing the Japs on Timor ever since they occupied that island. Based on reports from these units, which should be very reliable, there are approximately 11,000 Japanese troops there. This indicates that they have re inforced the Island strongly in recent months and may point to an attack on Darwin, either as a diversion or as a raid. Guna-Gona area: The 7th Australian Division is continu ing its aggressive actionjits forward elements are advancing slow ly eastward after clearing out a pocket of enemy troops trapped near Gona. U. S. troops are continuing their reorganization near Buna, where Japanese transport airplanes, protected by Zeros, sup plied their forces by parachute. Our ground forces are slowly con tracting their grip on the enemyj our air forces continue in sup port. Throughout the afternoon and night of December 3rd our air force was heavily engaged with the enemy naval force covered by air escort off the coast attempting to reinforce the enemy's ground troops. Twenty-three enemy planes were shot down and others damaged. The naval convoy was forced to withdraw. The 32d Division (2d Bn, 126th US Inf and 2d Bn,128th US Inf) penetrated to the beach east of Buna village and the advanced elements were in contact with the enemy forces on all sides of Buna village. Operations in the South Pacific. Five B-17's attacked 2 enemy freighters and two destroy ers on November 28 j one freighter was left stationary and smoking. Three out of ten Jap pursuit aircraft attempting to intercept our bombers were shot down. The 3rd (and last) Battalion, 182d Infantry, part of the Americal Division, will move from Espiritu Santo to Guadalcanal on or about December 1. The remainder of General Patch's division is already on that island. General Harmon requested approval of the establishment of the Army Air Force, South Pacific Area, to be charged with the su pervision of all Army air activities in his area and coordination with Admiral Fitch. General Twining would command this organization. This request was approved and should give a better utilization of our planes in that area than the Navy has made in the past. Second Report on the M-l Rifle. General Handy reported that General Patton had recently communicated to the War Department that the M-l rifle was quite successful and that there had been no evidence of functional stop pages. As a result of this, the proposed inspection trip to North Africa by several officers of the Ordnance Department has been can celled. 4.. 3

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Radio Communications with Algeria. General Handy reported that direct radio communications had now been established between Algeria and Washington. 5. Activation of the Fifth Army. General Handy reported that authority had been granted to General Eisenhower to establish the Fifth Army Headquarters in North Africa with Lieutenant General Clark commanding. 6. West Coast Scare. General Handy reported that as a result of Navy repots concerning unidentified vessels off our West Coast, the entire West Coast was put on the alert and part of the 2d Air Force was concen trated at San Francisco. The reports later proved to be false, but the alert gave our units there a good work-out. 7. Alaskan Situation. General DeMtt replied to a telephoned inquiry by Opera tions Division that the return of the native population to St. Paul All available housing is now Island, Pribilofs, is not feasible. being used by the garrison, and insufficient shipping is available to provide housing for the troops and necessary supplies for the native population. The question was raised by the Interior Depart ment, and they have been informed of this decision by a letter from the Secretary of War stating that conditions in the Aleutians do not justify the return of evacuated natives to the Pribilofs for the 1943 sealing operations. 8. Operations in the Asiatic Theater. General Handy reported that our air forces in the Asiatic Theater continue active. On November 28 in an attack on the Hongkong-Canton area, our air forces sank one ferry boat and made direct This objective hits on the power plant five miles east of Hongay. is believed to be completely demolished. On December 1 a hostile airdrome under construction in northern French Indo-China was ef fectively attacked by four P-^O's. On December 4 six B-24's bombed a concentration of 300 enemy motor trucks 75 miles south of Mandalay. 9. Operations in North Africa. To give a clear picture of the situation General Handy read excerpts from a lengthy report received from General Eisen hower this morning. The substance of it is as follows: General Eisenhower is preparing with all speed practic able an early assault against the hostile forces in Tunisia. Once launched the assault will be pushed to the utmost since he and all of his staff are cognizant of the profound effect on the Gibraltar situation of a quick, decisive advance in Tunisia. However, grave difficulties beset the initiation of a de cisive attack, both with respect to Ground Forces and logistics, as well as with respect to the problems involved in our air effort. 10.

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In regard to the latter, for example, air casualties for one day were six Spitfires, ten Bisleys, five P-38's and one DB-7, all lost because of Axis fighter mastery of combat areas, this in spite of every possible effort on the part of our air forces. The six Spitfires were destroyed in our attempt to use a field well forward at Medjes El Bab, the use of which we had hoped would give us a better position with respect to hostile fighters. Now, how In order to be prepared for the ever, the field cannot be used. decisive effort the plan was to withdraw 50^ of our fighters from forward areas, but due to the present situation of our Ground Forces we have been unable to withdraw any of our fighters. There fore, the possibility of having effective air cover during the de cisive attack appears to be slim. On the ground, we have been forced back since December 1st from excellent positions forward of Tebourba and have lost some 4-0 tanks. The enemy meanwhile lost about 33 tanks. Twenty of our The Guards Brigade have good antitank guns were similarly lost. had one battalion cut off. Casualties all along the front are con siderable. For example, three of Anderson's battalions have lost from 300 to 4-00 men each and this does not include ground fighting on the 5th and 6th. By December 9th we calculate our reinforcements to be four infantry battalions and one tank battalion. Shortly thereafter replacements for front line troops are scheduled to reach the vicinity of Souk El Arba. Our bombing attacks against hostile positions are not reaching the intensity that we desire. From Tafaroui (oran) our heavy bombers are operating while from Maison Blanche (Algiers) our Only one Bisleys, working at night, are using all forward fields. sortie per day can be made by each plane. In the Tebessa area is one squadron of DB-7's. Undoubtedly we have done much damage to at least two hostile ports, but we cannot estimate the size of hostile reinforcements. The supply situation should be much better in another two days but a wrecked train at Souk-Ahris and lack of motor transport are real handicaps. However, all hands are working at top speed to open up a flow of supplies to the front. Hostile air forces are apparently operating principally from two main and four auxiliary fields in the Bizerte-Tunis area. There the enemy has good runways, short distances to combat areas, So far, our air and ample antiaircraft and radar installations. forces have been unable to overcome these manifest advantages. Moreover, the exposed, barren terrain permits very effective opera tions against our Ground Force vehicles. General Eisenhower does not desire to get into a battle of attrition. Every effort will be made to push the decisive attack at an early date,but in order to give Ground Forces a decent oppor tunity, better results in air coverage must be achieved.

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REPORT OF THE ARMY AIR FORCES.

Requests for Night Fighters* General Hanley stated requests have .been received from At present the Air Forces have no ing drawn up for the organization 2.

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that during the last week several overseas for night fighter units. such units but a plan is now be and training of several.

317th Troop Carrier Group. General Hanley reported that orders had been issued mov ing the 317th Troop Carrier Group to Australia in the near future. At present it is being used in the airborne training at Fort Bragg. General Parks stated that the Ground Forces had planned to use this group from December to February for training purposes and its loss was a serious blow to them. However, he recognized the importance of its use in actual operations and provisions had been made to con tinue the training with substitutions. General Hanley stated that he would like to present the other side of the picture on the movement of this group. He stated that the supply situation in New Guinea has licked the Japanese. We have two divisions intheBuna-Gona area which are "being supplied by air and a few small boats. The Japanese have sunk several of these boats and in order not to find ourselves in the same fix as the Japanese there, the decision was made to assign this Troop Car rier Group to Australia in December rather than in February as was originally scheduled. General Hanley stated that he realized the dependence the Ground Forces had put in using this group but that the emergency in Hew Guinea warranted sending it there.
3. Arrival of General Emmons. General Hanley reported that General Emmons arrived today from Hawaii for conferences in the War Department.

Operation of the Modification Centers. General Hanley reported that in November, for the first time, the Air Forces had gotten more planes out of the Modification Centers than they had put in them. This would indicate that the Modification Centers are now well established and are in a position to furnish a steady flow of planes to the Air Forces. Destruction of Secret and Confidential Papers in Airplanes. General Hanley stated that a policy was being formulated for issuance to all Army personnel concerning the destruction of secret and confidential items in airplanes. This will, of course, apply to planes operating in combat zones. REPORT OF THE ARMY GROUND FORGES Inspection of Airborne Training at Fort Bragg. General Parks reported that he had just returned from a quick inspection trip to the Airborne Command at Fort Bragg. He stated that training was progressing rapidly but that the loss of 1. 5.

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the 317th Troop Carrier Groii^^^^^ing training teiqporarily . He reported that the airfield at Laurinburg, N. C., had been completed Glider training will be con and was an excellent installation. ducted at that post. During the last storm nine gliders were lost. However only one soldier was injured.
REPORT OF THE SERVICES OF SUPPLY Japanese Uprising in War Relocation Centers. General Styer reported that as a result of a celebration staged by Japanese internees in a War Relocation Center in the Western Defense Command one Japanese had been shot and 9 wounded. General Surles continued the report stating that there had been quite a flare-up in the press concerning this, and he had investi He found that they have had trouble in the gated the situation. past with unreconstructed Japanese who have been imposing on and beating up those Japanese who have agreed to submit to restrictions we have placed them under. The trouble yesterday was the result of one of these instances where the beaten-up fellow had been taken to a hospital and the other Japanese had attempted to storm the hos pital. After tear gas had proved ineffective, gunfire was used to break up the attack. He stated that further difficulty had arisen when an officer on the West Coast refused to release the story to the Associated Press, thinking it was the only news agency. In con sequence, the other news agencies were carrying the story and the Associated Press was very indignant. General Surles had ordered the Western Defense Command Public Relations Office to make a state ment concerning the matter. He stated further that the information he had seen on the ticker-tape was not damaging to the War Depart ment. 1. REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC RELATIONS Proper Uniform of Officers in Pentagon Building. General Surles stated that as a result of finding large numbers of officers in the Beverage Bars without their blouses and without any insignia he nad issued an order that all officers in his Bureau wear blouses whenever they leave their offices or when General McNarney stated that this was an dealing with civilians. excellent idea and instructed General Styer to have The Adjutant General issue a similar order to the entire War Department. 1. REPORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE AMD LIAISON DIVISION Pay Adjustment Act. Colonel Thompson reported that the Pay Adjustment Act had been approved by Congress and signed by the President. This bill gives credit for longevity for enlisted service and also broadens the provisions of the present act which gives credit for inactive service in computing longevity. The chief effect of the bill per mits officers to use inactive service for the purpose of attaining a higher pay period, where in the past inactive service could only be used for longevity. 1

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Transportation Bill. Colonel Thompson reported that Congress had passed and the President approved the bill providing for payment of travel costs for furnishing transportation for personnel of the Government, other than military, which is necessary for the effective prosecu tion of the war. Bill for the Appointments to U. S. Military and Naval Academies. Colonel Thompson reported that Congress had approved and the President signed the bill providing for the appointment to the Military and Naval Academies of sons of soldiers, sailors, and marines who were killed in action or died of wounds received in ac tion in the first World War. Uniform Allowance Bill. Colonel Thompson reported that Congress approved and the President signed the bill which provides a uniform allowance for officers commissioned or appointed in the Army of the United States. The sum amounts to $250 and the purpose of the bill was to equalize some discriminations caused by the present enactment. Every officer on active duty on or since April 3,1939, whose original appointment was in the grade of captain or below, is entitled to $250. All pre vious payments of uniform allowances will be deducted. Bills Remaining in Congress. Colonel Thompson reported that there were maining in Congress which were sponsored by the War have the Senate's OK and the House Committees have An effort will be made to place them on the Consent If there are no objections, they will be passed there are objections the bills will have to go over gresj REPORT OF MAJOR GENERAL FOLLETT BRADLEY General McNarney introduced General Bradley, recently returned from a mission to Moscow. General Bradley stated that he had spent four months in Russia, having left here on July 26. He was assigned a dual mission, first, to arrange for the operation of the ferry route through Alaska and Siberia to Russia, and second ly, to inspect Russian air bases in the Manchurian area. The second mission was designed to acquire for the United States Air Forces sufficient knowledge of the situation in Manchuria to enable the "United States to render effective aid to the Russians in case of a Japanese attack. General Bradley reported that after many conferences and many delays the ferry route is now in operation. At first the Rus sians were dubious of their ability to establish the route success fully, but when they finally determined that it could be done they put tremendous efforts into its establishment. General Bradley stated that he has deep appreciation of the tremendous seriousness 5. eight bills reDepartment. All approved them. Calendar today, immediately. If to the new Con4. 3.

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with which the Russians are working on this ferry route. All th0 pilots along the route have had actual combat duty, and as soon as the United States furnishes the winterized equipment which is now promised and overdue, the route should be in full operation. Gen eral McNamey asked how many months in the year winterized equip ment was necessary on this route. General Bradley stated generally that it should be used from October to the latter part of April. General Bradley stated that he had a conference with Stalin on October 6 at the Kremlin. The purpose of the conference was to obtain permission to visit the Manchurian airfields. Stalin indicated to General Bradley that while Russia and Japan were oper-i ating under an armed neutrality agreement, neither Stalin nor JZ*^1**" any other Russian believed a single word that the Japanese say andF^ that they expect a Japanese attack whenever the Japs think it ad visable. He stated that Stalin granted him permission to visit t Manchurian airfields, but that he recommended to the War Departmentj that he not visit them at present. This recommendation was baaed on the thought that since we have led the Russians to believe that they will get a great deal more than they have actually obtained, no visits to Manchuria which will involve further commitments should be made until the commitments can be fulfilled. The War Department accepted General Bradley 1 s recommendation, and he was ordered to Washington for conference. Before General Bradley left he succeed ed in getting the Russians to designate an officer familiar with the Manchurian area to discuss the situation with him. He indica ted to the Russian general the type of information which he would need in order to work out joint plans for that area. The Russian general agreed to make a study and submit it to him later. General Bradley pointed out that a great many things in the way of supply and motor transportation would have to be worked out before the United States could operate in that area. General Bradley stated that he left Moscow November 12 and returned to this country by way of China. Since the plane that he was flying in made a forced landing and was damaged, he spent 10 days at one of the Siberian posts of the ferry route waiting for transportation to Alaska. This gave him a good opportunity to ob serve the actual operation of the ferry route,'and it was at that time that he got the impression that the Russians were definitely serious about making the ferry route successful. The Russians fin ally flew him to Nome and he returned to Washington December 3. He stated that along the ferry route fuel and other necessary supplies are sufficient for six weeks. However, when these are exhausted, most all supplies including fuel will have to be flown in by air. He stated that he was unable to determine where the supplies would come from but the Russians assured him that they would be available. General Bradley stated that it took him a long "time to get any information from the Russians. One can only get useful in-, formation from them by long acquaintance and a process of infiltra-! tion into their confidences. He stated that the Russian attitude toward the Americans was that they were sincere but quite ineffic ient. He believes that this is a step in the right direction for the Russians for a long time have doubted the sincerity of the Am ericans. They still have no use for the English and the English - 11 -

representatives in Moscow are aware of hope for its improvement.-

this situation and sec

THE CONFERENCE ADJOURNED AT 12:35.

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