Telegram from Ambassador Averell Harriman to President Harry S. Truman and Secretary of State James Byrnes

NLT-136 SECRAT DISPATCH Copy 1 DRAFTER EXT. ADDRESSEES 1845 PRECEDENCE FROM ALUSNA MOSCOW ASTERISK (*) MAILGRAM ADDRESSEE 1 PRBRPPP 2 THE PRESIDENT 3 RELEASED BY ROUTINE THE SECRETARY OF STATE 4 DATE 9 AUG 1945 DEFERRED 5 BASEGRAM 6 0432/9 DECLASSIFIED by authority of 7 TOR CODEROOM State Dept its to 8 NARS 8-10-72 CONNORS memo from NL PRIORITY 9 DECODED BY to NLT 4-12-73 10 PARAPHRASED CHECKED ROUTINE 11 BY CONNORS B CMDR GARDNER Initials BBZ Date5/21/74 DEFERRED 12 DITTOED ROUTED BY CONNORS BY CONNORS BASEGRAM 13 14 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOICATED THIS DISPATCH WILL BE TRANSMITTED ECEDENCE AND AS ADMINISTRATIVE IF OPERATIONAL 15 082310 U.S. SERVICES CHECK BELOW 16 COVERN MENT NCR 8794 17 18 Originator till in DATE AND TIME GROUP (Use G. C. T.) 19 ON OUTGOING DISPATCHES PLEASE LEAVE ABOUT ONE INCH CLEAR SPACE BEFORE BEGINNING TEXT 20 21 PERSONAL AND TOP SECRET FOR THE PRESIDENT AND THE SECRETARY OF 22 STATE FROM HARRIMAN. 23 24 I SAW STALIN AND MOLOTOV THIS EVENING. STALIN SAID THAT HIS 25 26 ADVANCE TROOPS HAD ALREADY CROSSED THE FRONTIERS OF MANCHURIA 27 28 BOTH FROM THE WEST AND THE EAST NOT MEETING HEAVY RESISTANCE ON 29 ANY FRONT AND HAD ADVANCED 10 OR 12 KILOMETERS IN SOME SECTIONS. 30 31 THE MAIN FORCES WERE SRARTING ACROSS THE FRONTIER AS WE SPOKE. 32 HE SAID THAT THERE WERE 3 MAIN ATTACKS FROM THE WEST ONE SOUUTH 33 34 TOWARDS BALLAR, THE SECOND EAST FROM OUTER MONGOLIA TOWARDS 35 36 SOLUN, AND THE THRRD A CAVALRY COLUMN THROUGH THE GOBI DESRRT 37 38 TOWARD SOUTH MANCHURIA, IN THE VLAD1VOSTOK AREA THERE WAS ONE 39 DRIVE WEST FROM GRODEKOVO. HE EXPLAINED THAT HIS OBJECTIVES 40 41 FROM ALL DIRECTIONS WERE HARBIN AND CHANGCHUN. HE SAID THAT HIS 42 FORCES FROM THE NORTH IN THE KHABAROVSK AREA WERE BEING HELD TO 43 44 ATTACK WHEN THE ENEMY HAD BEEN COMPELLED TO WEAKEN THEIR FORCES 45 DEFENDING THAT FRONT. HE SAID FURTHER THAT THEY HAD NOT YET 46 47 48 49 No. I ADMIRAL. No. 2 FILE. No. 3F- I OR CHARTROOM. No. 4 SPECIAL. 50 51 TOP SECRET 52 Handle only in accordance with "Top Secret" instructions contained in Article 76, Navy Regulations COPY NO. 082310 OPNAV 19-78