[Guy Eden of the Daily Express.] Typed report, headed 'MOST SECRET', on the progress of the Second World War in Italy (including the signing of the secret Italian Armistice), Denmark and Russia (Stalin's ill treatment of 'Winston and Roosevelt').

3pp., 4to. 113 lines of text, under the subheadings 'Italy', 'Denmark' and 'Russia'. In fair condition, aged and worn, on high-acidity paper browned with age, and slight loss to corners. Each page is headed 'MOST SECRET', with the heading on the first page underlined in red pencil, and the phrase repeated at the end. A well-informed report, vivid and detailed, and clearly not meant for publication (one paragraph begins 'As I said in my story in the Sunday Express last week,'). The document begins by confirming the secret Italian Armistice, signed on the same day): 'MOST SECRET. | From Guy Eden | Sept 3, 1943. | Italy: The whole thing has been arranged, and the Italians will give in when we want them to. We have made our plans with Badoglio, and without the knowledge of the Germans. This, incredible as it may seem, is KNOWN to be true, for the Germans have been making frantic efforts to find out what is happening. | There will be only a "token" resistance - if any - to our landings in Italy, and it will be kept up until we reach some agreed points in Italy. Then, the Italian Govt will agree to unconditional surrender in face of our forces. The fact that they refer to our landing forces as being "overwhelmed" is an indication of their attitude. They will build up an atmosphere of yielding to our enormous power, and this will make the unconditional surrender more palatable to the Italians.' The account of Italian affairs continues for most of the first page, and is followed by a short report on Denmark: 'We are trying to get some important Danes - Royalty if possible - over here, so as to start a Free Danish movement. Things may be very interesting in Denmark soon, both politically and militarily.' The following two pages are entirely concerned with affairs in Russia, beginning: 'Russia is still the great difficulty in the war. Stalin is in a bad temper about Britain and the USA. [...] Maisky, reflecting his views, told Eden that the Soviet Government was "seriously displeased" with Britain. Eden, a bit heatedly, retorted that we had lost 780 planes in attacks on Germany which had had the effect of withdrawing all but 300 German fighters from the Russian front. [...] Stalin has ignored personal letters from both Winston and Roosevelt. They offered to go anywhere he wished, to see him. Roosevelt, in a hand-written letter, offered to go to any part of the world Stalin indicated, even though it is so difficult for him to travel owing to his inability to walk. Stalin ignored the letter. When the Quebec Conference was on, Stalin sent the PM and Roosevelt a "snorter" in the middle of the night, complaining that their treatment of him was "intolerable" and that, whole [sic] pretending to tell him everything, they were really concealing all items of imprtance from him. Winston and Roosevelt got very angry about this, and were on the point of making an acid retort. It was eventually found that the cause of all the trouble was a long cable we had sent to Stalin, part of which had been messed up in transmission and was therefore unable to be de-coded. Stalin took this as a deliberate plot to prevent his knowing something! I mentinoed this as an indication of the difficult relations which exist between Stalin and the rest.' The document continues with references to 'Benes, of Czecho-Slovakia', and Eden's 'plans to get the Three-Power Conference' [the Tehran Conference would be held from 28 November to 1 December 1943], with further reference to the responses of Stalin, Roosevelt and 'Winston'. It concludes with the prescient remark that 'The war is now becoming, in effect, a r[a]ce between us and the Russians.', and the claim that 'Benes [...] thinks the war will end in March or April next. This is also a view held by at least two members of our War Cabinet.' Eden's book 'Portrait of Churchill' was published in 1945. From the papers of John Rutherford Gordon (1890-1974), editor of the 'Daily Express'.