- 3 - never seen him as reasonable or as friendly; but he may not stay put. It is De Gaulle's opinion that an invasion of France is necessary if we are to hold the French people, and that even if it resulted in another Dunkirk, it would be worth the effort. He is fearful that a failure to attempt an invasion will depress the French and increase German control in France. I hope that you will have an opportunity to get Lyttelton's opinion on the independent elections, and also Averell's. Their opinions differ, but I feel that they could each throw some light on the general situation here. A victory in Lybia would, in my opinion, put the Prime Minister in a very strong position both in Parliament and in the country. At the moment, the British have prevented the Germans from carrying out their planned campaign, but Rommel is still strong, and both sides have suffered heavy casualties. The six-pounders have been effective, and Auchinleck has reported very favorably on the Grant tank. The Germans' initiating the attack allowed the English to get the slow infantry tank into early action in the engagement. The reports also show that the English concentrated their artillery fire against the enemy tanks, and used they own tanks against weaker objectives to a larger extent than in any previous engagement. A success in this campaign should particularly in- fluence neutral opinion in Turkey and the Mediter- ranean, as well as general opinion elsewhere. You undoubtedly know that Portal is the only Chief of Staff officer whom we can count on for the present to support an early 42 attack. Again reverting to this problem, I believe a Supreme Commander of all the services is necessary to ensure success, and the only man I can think of who is outstanding, to carry forward this project, is General Marshall. You might not be able to spare him, and the British would be reluctant to accept him, with Brooke against, Pound neutral, and Portal supporting. The other day, I cabled you that I had been asked by all factions if I would sit in with the Pacific Council. I wired back that I thought this would/ |