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which had entered into Lend-Lease agreements with us. To meet the
 
requirements of these missions, the production capacity of the United
 
States then converted to War purposes was taxed to the limit, and
 
we retained for our own use only very meager training allotments.
 
       Upon the out-break of War, we were immediately obliged to 
 
dispatch munitions to our own forces in active theaters and to equip
 
our troops for the severe fighting that , must follow. This brought
 
about a sudden and new requirement for essential munitions and
 
supplies and compelled us in certain instances to secure equipment
 
manufactured in Great Britain for her own use, while both of us con-
 
tinued to send materials to other Allied Powers. Out of this situation
 
grew the Anglo-American Joint Staff, since, upon our insistence, all
 
supplies were to be pooled and allocated in accordance with the
 
general situation.
 
           I fear that there may have grown up some misunderstanding
 
concerning the functions and authority of this Anglo-American Joint
 
Staff and its various subsidiary boards including the Munitions
 
Assignments Board. The United States and the United Kingdom are
 
the only powers now in a position to dispatch to the other countries
 
opposing the Axis a portion of their own combat strength as represented
 
 in airplanes, munitions, ships, naval units, and other resources. The
 
Staff provides the administrative machinery through which this supporting
 
effort is coordinated between the United States and the United King-
 
dom according to their respective capacities for production. The