CAB80-25 — Page 255

Page 255

Page 255

TO BE KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY.

↑ is requested that special care may be taken to

Ensure the secrecy of this document.

(THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT).

27a

The document was considered at Co.(1) 27 Meeting.

209

SECRET.

C.0. S, (41) 50.

(Also . P. (1)14).

23RD JANUARY 19.

WAR CABINET.

CHIEFS OF STAFF COMMITTEE.

33

COPY NO.

Page 255

1,

CHEMICAL WARFARE.

Report.

At their Meeting held on the 20th January, the War Cabinet considered the state of readiness of our anti-gas preparations.

In the course of discussion, the following point,. was made

X

X

X

X

"(iii) If we were to give special publicity to

anti-gas precautions in this country, the enemy might treat this as a pretext for starting gas warfare, on the ground that our precautions showed that we meant to use gas ourselves.

The suggestion was made that the accounts of German gas preparations might be allowed to become public in the United States of America".

50

X

X

X

X

2.

The War Cabinet

Invited the Chiefs of Staff to consider the above suggestion.

The Ministry of Home Security is now overhauling civil anti-gas measures and it has been arranged that steps should be taken towards the end of February, or possibly earlier if necessary, to wake up. the public to the possibility of invasion during the early spring. Protection against gas will form part of this campaign.

3.

In our view it would be better that the anti-gas measures now being taken, and those incidental to the stiffening up of public opinion to invasion, should be

It is carried through with the minimum of publicity. particularly necessary that there should be no publicity until our anti-invasion campaign is launched.

+W.M. (41) 8th Conclusions, Minute 1.

-1-

Page 255

Page 255Page 256