Triumph and Tragedy (The Second World War) (23 page)

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2. You and I have always agreed that the destinies
of Greece are in the hands of the Greek people, and
that they will have the fullest opportunity of deciding
between monarchy or republic as soon as tranquillity
has been restored, but I do not expect you will relish
more than I do the prospect either of chaos and street
fighting or of a tyrannical Communist Government being
set up. This could only serve to delay and hamper all
the plans which are being made by U.N.R.R.A. for the
distribution of relief to the sorely tried Greek people. I
therefore think that we should make preparations
through the Allied Staff in the Mediterranean to have in
readiness a British force, not exceeding 10,000 men,
which could be sent by the most expeditious means
into the capital when the time is ripe. The force would
include parachute troops, for which the help of your Air
Force would be needed. I do not myself expect that
anything will happen for a month, and it may be longer,
but it is always well to be prepared. As far as I can see
there will be no insuperable difficulty. I hope therefore
you will agree that we may make these preparations by
the Staffs out here in the usual way. If so, the British
Chiefs of Staff will submit to the Combined Chiefs of
Staff draft instructions to General Wilson.

His reply, which arrived more than a week later, was decisive.

President Roosevelt

26 Aug. 44

to Prime Minister

I have no objection to your making preparations to
have in readiness a sufficient British force to preserve
order in Greece when the German forces evacuate that
country. There is also no objection to the use by
General Wilson of American transport airplanes that are
available to him at that time and that can be spared
from his other operations.

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I met M. Papandreou in Rome on the evening of August 21.

He said that E.A.M. had joined his Government because the British had been firm towards them, but the Greek State itself still had no arms and no police. He asked for our help to unite Greek resistance against the Germans. At present only the wrong people had arms, and they were a minority. I told him we could make no promise and enter into no obligations about sending British forces into Greece, and that even the possibility should not be talked about in public; but I advised him to transfer his Government at once from Cairo, with its atmosphere of intrigue, to somewhere in Italy near the headquarters of the Supreme Allied Commander. This he agreed to do.

At this point Lord Moyne joined us, and conversation turned to the position of the Greek King. I said there was no need for him to make any new declarations, because he had already said he would follow his Government’s advice about going back to his country. The British nation felt friendly and chivalrous towards him for his conduct at a difficult moment in both our histories. We had no intention of interfering with the solemn right of the Greek people to choose between monarchy and a republic. But it must be for the Greek people as a whole, and not a handful of doctrinaires, to decide so grave an issue. Although I personally gave my loyalty to the constitutional monarchy which had taken shape in England, His Majesty’s Government were quite indifferent as to which way the matter was settled for Greece provided there was a fair plebiscite.

I observed that now that E.A.M. had stopped demanding his withdrawal and were asking to join him M. Papandreou was head of a truly national Government. But I warned him against subversive influences. We agreed that the Greek

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mutineers ought not to be released from custody at this climax of the war, and that we should wait and see how they and their representatives behaved before sending any more arms to E.L.A.S. We should try instead to form a National Army for Greece.

M. Papandreou also complained that the Bulgarians were still occupying Greek soil. I said we would order them back to their own frontiers as soon as we were able to make sure they would obey us, but that Greek claims against them here and in the Dodecanese must wait till after the war. In the meantime we would do all we could for the relief and reconstruction of his country, which had suffered much and deserved the best possible treatment. They too must pull their weight, and the best thing M. Papandreou could do was to establish a Greek Government in Greece. Frontier questions must wait for the peace settlement.

I told Mr. Eden about all this.

Prime

Minister

22 Aug. 44

(Rome) to Foreign

Secretary

For reasons which will presently become apparent, I
shall be returning to Alexander’s army on the night of
the 22nd–23rd, and hope to be at Chequers in time for
Matins next Sunday.

2. We hope to effect some simplifications in the
military commands here, and the C.I.G.S. is working in
collaboration with Alexander and later with Wilson to
secure to the maximum extent the unique position held
by Alexander in Italy.

3. As to the King of Greece, they none of them want
him to make a fresh declaration now. Regarding his
proposal to return to London, I have advised him to wait
till he sees M. Papandreou when he gets back, and
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then come on home. At a later date a visit to Italy might
be considered, and he could then revisit the purged
and penitent Greek Brigade here, preferably when they
are in the line.

4. I like Papandreou, and there are great advantages in the removal of the Greek Government from the
Cairo atmosphere. I think it will do good to have an alert
in Greece both of foes and friends such as will be
produced by its movement. But, while the military affairs
are being planned and sorted out here under my
direction in accordance with the wishes you expressed,
a date cannot be fixed; it must be fitted in with other
needs, unless the situation itself takes charge. I cannot
be ready to act for a month, but thereafter we may be
able to pounce when the going is good. Moyne is
working with General Wilson this morning subdividing
the departments which remain and those which come
forward to Italy. Of course the heavy international
organisations and dumps will remain where they are.

I am very glad you had a tour in France in these
thrilling and decisive days.

I stayed while in Rome at the Embassy, and our Ambassador, Sir Noel Charles, and his wife devoted themselves to my business and comfort. Guided by his advice, I met most of the principal figures in the debris of Italian politics produced by twenty years of dictatorship, a disastrous war, revolution, invasion, occupation, Allied control, and other evils. I had talks with, among others, Signor Bonomi and General Badoglio, also with Comrade Togliatti, who had returned to Italy at the beginning of the year after a long sojourn in Russia. The leaders of all the Italian parties were invited to meet me. None had any electoral mandate, and their party names, revived from the past, had been chosen with an eye to the future. “What is your party?” I asked one group. “We are the Christian Communists,” their chief replied. I could not help saying, “It must be very inspiring to your party, having the Catacombs Triumph and Tragedy

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so handy.” They did not seem to see the point, and, looking back, I am afraid their minds must have turned to the cruel mass executions which the Germans had so recently perpetrated in these ancient sepulchres. One may however be pardoned for making historical references in Rome. The Eternal City, rising on every side, majestic and apparently invulnerable, with its monuments and palaces, and with its splendour of ruins not produced by bombing, seemed to contrast markedly with the tiny and transient beings who flitted within its bounds.

On August 23 I was received in audience by the Pope. I had visited his predecessor when I came to Rome as Chancellor of the Exchequer with Randolph, then very young, in 1926, and I preserved most agreeable memories of the kindness with which we had been received. Those were the days of Mussolini. Now I was received by Pope Pius XII with the highest ceremony. Not only did the Papal Guard in all their stately array line the long series of anterooms and galleries through which we passed, but the Noble Guard, formed of representatives of the highest and most ancient families of Rome, with a magnificent mediaeval uniform I had never seen before, were present.

The Pope received me in his study with the dignity and informality which he can so happily combine. We had no lack of topics for conversation. The one that bulked the largest at this audience, as it had done with his predecessor eighteen years before, was the danger of Communism. I have always had the greatest dislike of it; and should I ever have the honour of another audience with the Supreme Pontiff I should not hesitate to recur to the subject.

Our Minister to the Vatican, Sir D’Arcy Osborne, drove me back to the Embassy. Here I met for the first time the Crown Prince Umberto, who, as Lieutenant of the Realm, was commanding the Italian forces on our front. His Triumph and Tragedy

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powerful and engaging personality, his grasp of the whole situation, military and political, were refreshing, and gave one a more lively feeling of confidence than I had experienced in my talks with the politicians. I certainly hoped he would play his part in building up a constitutional monarchy in a free, strong, united Italy. However, this was none of my business. I had enough on hand as it was. The Warsaw rising had now been in progress for nearly a month. The insurgents were in desperate straits, and I was engaged in a tense correspondence with Stalin and the President which will be set forth in another chapter.

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8

Alexander’s Summer Offensive

IReturn to Alexander’s Headquarters at Siena,
August
24
— IVisit the New Zealand Division — A
Meeting with General Devers — A Visit to General
Leese
—
My Telegram to Smuts, August
26 —
The
Attack Begins, August
26 —
A Magnificent View —

An Adventurous Motor Drive — My Telegram to
the President, August
28 —
His Reply — Further
Correspondence — The President’s Vain Hopes

— I Fly Home to England, August
28 —
My
Message to the Italian People.

E
ARLY ON AUGUST 24, after my short visit to Rome, I returned by air to Alexander’s headquarters at Siena, living in the château a few miles away. The offensive was now fixed for the 26th. I took the opportunity of visiting the New Zealand Division. The last time I had inspected them was at Tripoli in February 1943. I did not wish to have another formal parade, and instead the soldiers gathered along the route and gave me an informal, enthusiastic welcome. I was delighted to see Freyberg and his officers again. To Mr. Fraser I telegraphed:

Prime Minister to

25 Aug. 44

Prime Minister of

New Zealand

It was with great pleasure that I saw about 15,000

men of your really magnificent division in the best of
spirits. The division is sorely needed in the forthcoming
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