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ENCLOSURE TO ANNEX.
A TÁM, MÁ PARE) ANA PRADA PA
Copy of Telegram No. 1212 dated 29th December, 1940
ro Foreign Office to Sir M. Palairet (Athens) 29th December, 1940 1.5 a.m.
IMPORTANT.
- M
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Your telegram No. 1349 of 16th December: possible use of air bases in Northern Greece and similar telegram from Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Middle East, which was not repeated to you, have been carefully considered by His Majesty's Government including Chiefs of Staff,
2.
An essential part of our plan to assist in the defence of Greece is to make preparations which will enable us to operate the largest possible air force in Greece. Unless the Greek Government are prepared to give us every possible facility and assistance in this matter it may well prove impossible for us to operate air forces urgently required by Greece at a later stage in the war. New aerodromes cannot be built, and existing aerodromes cannot be improved sufficiently to allow the operation of modern types of aircraft without preparations which take a long time and it is essential that any steps of this nature which are necessary should be taken immediately.
3.
It would appear from the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief's telegram, referred to above, that the Greek Government may be prepared to allow us to survey possible air bases south of the line Olympus - Arta. Their reluctance to permit surveying parties to proceed further north owing to the danger of provoking the Germans is appreciated, but they appear to have forgotten the point raised by the King of the Hellenes in his letter of the 17th November to the King, that we had failed so far to send air units to the "Northern Salonika area. He stated in the same letter that if we could establish ourselves in Greece with a strong air fighting force, we might not only deal the Italians crippling blows, but might even deter the Germans from moving against Greece during winter for fear of losing Roumanian oil. You might be able to make use of these points if a suitable opportunity arises.
It is impossible to operate modern aircraft properly in the defence of Salonika, the second largest city of Greece, unless the sites available in that area and in the north generally can be examined and the work necessary to make them suitable assessed and commenced at once. Furthermore the route from Northern Greece to Tirana and Durazzo is not only by far the best air route to these important objectives since it avoids the worst of the hills, but is also the shortest route.
5.
We are also undertaking extensive improvements in aero- dromes in Anatolia. This work has been in progress for the past year and is now being expedited and its scope increased. We cannot at this stage forecast exactly how far the Balkan States will become involved in this war in days to come, but if our Allies will not allow us to take precautions in advance they cannot reasonably complain if we are unable to give them adequate assist- ance when their need arises or increases.
6.
While it is, of course, difficult to gauge the degree of provocation which would be required to bring the Germans into action against Greece, we consider that the Germans do not want matters to come to a head this winter. There can be no doubt that the Germans have already elaborated any plan they may have
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