Russia at war 1941-1945

On October 18, at the end of his Moscow visit, Churchill received the press in the large Ambassador's study; outside the large windows were the bare trees and an autumn

twilight, and in the study hung the large oil paintings of Queen Victoria, King Edward VII in his regalia, Queen Alexandra, King George V and Queen Mary. Wearing a lounge

suit with a blue bow tie, Churchill looked in good form. He began by jokingly referring to his days as a war correspondent in South Africa and to "the bitter irritation of having my dispatches censored: and I sympathise when a good story is spoilt by the blue pencil—or it may be the red pencil here."

When I last came to Moscow (he said), Stalingrad was still under siege, and the

enemy was sixty or seventy miles from this city, and he was even nearer Cairo. That was in August 1942... Since then the tide has turned, and we have had victories and wonderful advances over vast expanses... Coming back here, I find a great sense of hope and confidence that the end of the trials will be reached... Some very hard

fighting will yet have to be done. The enemy is resisting with discipline and

desperation, and it is best to take a sober view of the speed with which the

conclusion will be reached on the Western Front. But there is good news everyday, and it is difficult not to be over-sanguine.

After referring to the "circle of fire and steel" closing in on Germany and the hunger, cold and shortages with which Germany was now faced, Churchill said:

It is a great change from the days when England and her Empire were left alone to face the mighty power of Germany... As for our work here, I shall only say this:

after Quebec and the long discussions I had with my great friend President

Roosevelt, I thought it right to see my other friend—as I think I may truly call him

—Marshal Stalin.

The smooth working of interallied relations, he said, was greatly assisted by these

conferences. In the course of these Moscow talks, "we were most deeply involved in the anxious questions concerning Poland, and I am quite sure I am entitled to say that very definite results have been gained and differences have been sensibly narrowed. The

Polish question stands in a better position than it did and I have good hope we shall reach full agreement eventually among all the parties concerned. Undoubtedly, we must not

allow Poland to become a sore place in our affairs. We British went to war for Poland, and our sympathy for Poland is great, and Britain has a special interest in her fortunes, now that Poland is about to be liberated by the great manly efforts of our Allies." He made no reference whatsoever to the Warsaw tragedy which had come to its gruesome

end only a fortnight before.

Churchill then referred to the "surprising events" that had been occurring in the Balkans, and said that each of the Balkan problems was difficult to handle by correspondence, which was another good reason for coming to Moscow. Eden here had had "a hard time".

But very sensible results had been achieved in co-ordinating the policies of the two governments in these regions. Then he spoke of the atmosphere of "friendship and comradeship" that had marked these Moscow talks:

We both have our armies in the field and I am glad the Russians no longer have the heavy feeling that they bear the whole brunt... Unity is essential if peace is to be secure. Let us cast our eyes forward beyond the battle-line to the day when

Germany has surrendered unconditionally, beaten to the ground, and awaiting the