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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
Printed for the War Cabinet. January 1941.
SECRET
J,P, (41) 25. (Revise.)
January 17, 1941.
TO BE KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY.
It is requested that special care may be taken to ensure the secrecy of this document.
WAR CABINET.
193
Copy No. 29
Joint Planning Staff.
FUTURE PLANS: BASIC REQUIREMENTS.
REPORT BY THE JOINT PLANNING STAFF.
ON the 18th October we submitted a statement* of basic requirements for certain future plans, recommending that preparations should be made both at Home and in the Middle East to enable us to land a force of about two divisions in the face of opposition after an open sea passage.
2. The Chiefs of Staff agreed that the proposals in this paper should be examined by Service Ministries in conjunction with the Ministry of Shipping. This examination has now been completed.
3. Since our original proposals were submitted and since the comments of each Chief of Staff on those proposals have been circulated,‡ three new considera- tions must be taken into account.
4. Firstly, the shipping situation has deteriorated. When the problem was examined in November, the mounting of a major overseas operation might or might not have encroached upon the minimum import figure of 35 million tons. Now we understand that this minimum import figure may not in any case be maintained and the further reduction of imports consequent upon the require- ments of an expedition (1-2 million tons) would therefore have a proportionately more serious effect.
and
5. Secondly, new designs of tank assault ships ("Winettes "Maracaibos ") and M.L.C. carriers (Fleet Oilers) have been produced. Some further experience has also been gained with T.L.C.'s and smaller landing craft. These facts necessitate some amendments to our previous requirements for operations involving an open sea passage. The points upon which decisions are now invited are summarised in Annex I. A more detailed statement on Special Shipping and Landing Craft is attached as Annex II.
6. Thirdly, we have given some thought to the question of landing a considerable force across the Channel with a view to embarking upon a Continental campaign. It will be recalled that we have been instructed by the Prime Minister to prepare plans for operations of this nature. § The arguments upon which we have based this investigation, and the requirements additional to those for a long voyage are set out in Annex III.
7. Even excluding cross-channel operations, the requirements of special shipping and landing craft are considerable and serve to bring into relief the chief question of the extent to which we should accept interference with other
* C.O.S. (40) 18 (0.) (J.P.) (also Paper No. J.P. (40) 561).
+ C.O.S. (40) 356th Meeting, Minute 4.
† C.O.S. (40) 928, 943, 958, 1018 and 1057.
§ C.O.S. (40) 14 (0.) (J.P.), Annex I, paras. 4 and 5.
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