Russia at war 1941-1945

decisions of the outraged nations who saved themselves from the pit of destruction that Hitler had digged for them.

He ended with a Churchillian tirade on Anglo-Russian-American friendship:

This friendship, in war as in peace, can save the world, and perhaps it is the only thing that can save the peace for our children and grandchildren. In my opinion, it is a goal easily attainable. Very good, very good are the results in the field, very good the work behind the lines, and hopes are high for the permanent results of

victory.

He also referred to "the great regard, and respect, and great confidence" he felt for "the great chief of the Russian State".

The Russians present at the conference were very pleased with the statement; they saw in Churchill a strong supporter of a Big-Three policy.

No doubt there were difficulties—no real progress was made during the long talks with Mikolajczyk, Romer and Grabski on the one hand, and the Lublin Poles on the other; nor did the agreement on the Balkans amount to very much, except that the Russians seemed ready to abandon Greece—but some useful talks had taken place on the possible partition of Germany, and, above all, Churchill had secured some fairly precise assurances from Stalin about the Russians joining in the war against Japan within three months after the defeat of Germany. At Roosevelt's request the discussion of the disagreements that had arisen at Dumbarton Oaks over UNO was postponed till the next Big-Three meeting.

So the results of the Moscow talks were rather a mixed bag. Nevertheless, there was a general impression that Churchill and Stalin were now on excellent terms, and that

Churchill was now genuinely starry-eyed about "the great chief of the Russian State", partly perhaps under the influence of Clark-Kerr.

The extreme cordiality in the Churchill-Stalin relations is reflected in the correspondence they exchanged during and just after the Moscow visit. These letters are reproduced in the volume published in Moscow in 1957, though they are not quoted by Churchill

himself.

Thus, his letter of October 17, in which he asked Stalin to see Mikolajczyk—"in whose desire to reach an understanding with you and with the National Committee I am more

than ever convinced" —concludes with the words:

My daughter Sarah will be delighted with the charming token from Miss Stalin and

will guard it among her most valued possessions. I remain, with sincere respect and goodwill,

Your friend and war comrade,

Winston S. Churchill.

On October 19, Stalin wrote:

Dear Mr Churchill,

On the occasion of your departure from Moscow please accept from me two modest

gifts as souvenirs. The vase, "Man in a Boat" is for Mrs Churchill and the vase

"With Bow against Bear" for yourself. Once again I wish you good health and good cheer.

J. Stalin.

In reply Churchill wrote:

My dear Marshal Stalin,

I have just received the two beautiful vases... We shall treasure them amongst our most cherished possessions... The visit has been from beginning to end a real

pleasure to me... most particularly because of our very pleasant talks together. My hopes for the future alliance of our peoples never stood so high. I hope you may long be spared to repair the ravages of war and lead All The Russias out of the years of storm into glorious sunshine.

Your friend and war-time comrade,

Winston S. Churchill.

After a further message of overwhelming cordiality sent during his and Eden's return journey, Churchill sent Stalin from London an almost gushing message of thanks for the