[Winston Churchill, as First World War Minister of Munitions.] Typed minute 'From. Minister of Munitions, Mr. Winston Churchill. | To. The War Cabinet.', regarding 'the Munitions Programme for 1918'.

19pp., foolscap 8vo. Found in a tatty file marked 'War Office' (discarded!). Not duplicated, rather a carbon copy in purple ink of a typescript, with the indentation of the type apparent on the reverse. Minor correction on p.14: 'practises' to 'practised'. In very good condition, on lightly-aged paper, with each of the nineteen leaves carrying punch-holes for a ring binder. An important document, written in characteristic style, quoted in the fourth volume of Churchill's 'World Crisis'. Divided into 31 numbered parts, beginning: '1. In deciding upon the Munitions Programme for 1918 the first question to be answered is, "What is the War Plan? When is it to reach its climax? Have we the possibility of winning in 1918, and if so, how are we going to do it?" | 2. It is obvious that the defeat and breaking-up of the German armies in the West affords the best, the simplest and the swiftest method of arriving at decisive victory. The only question is, "Have we the power to do it?" It would be a thousand pities to discard this direct and obvious method of victory in favour of weaker, more roundabout, protracted and far less decisive strategy, unless we are convinced that we have not the power to conquer on the Western Front.' The document concludes (such short sections not being representative): '31. A survey of these mechanical possibilities with a computation of our resources compared to those of the enemy should afford the best means of judging the fatal question already postulated, viz., whether we have the means of overthrowing finally the enemy's main armies on the Western Front during the campaign of 1918...... [sic]'. A few minor differences were found from the text in "World Crisis".