Minutes of the twenty-fifth Meeting of the sub-committee, held in the Secretary's Room, Great George Street, S.W.1. on Tuesday, 11th May, 1943, at 10.15 am

2. SPHERE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND FUNCTION OF THE INTELLIGENCE BRANCH OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER (C.O.S.S.A.C.) (Previous Reference J.I.C.(43) 23rd Meeting (0), Item 1) THE SUB-COMMITTEE considered a Minute by the Secretary (No. J.I.C./617/43) dated the 8th May, covering a copy of a letter from General Whitefoord, regarding proposed amendments to the Memorandum circulated under cover of J.I.C.(43) 195 (O). A brief discussion took place, in the course of which THE CHAIRMAN urged that the Intelligence Branch of C.O.S.S.A.C. should normally obtain its intelligence from I.S.(0) or from the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee and not from the sections in the Service Ministries. THE SUB-COMMITTEE:- (i) Agreed to adjourn the discussion of this matter until their next weekly meeting. (ii) Invited the Director of Military Intelligence in the meantime to discuss the matter further with General whitefoord with a view to arriving, if possible, at an agreed solution. 3. APPRECIATION REQUIRED BY C.O.S.S.A.C. THE SUB-COMMITTEE considered a Minute by the Secretary (No. J.I.C./620/43) dated the 8th May, covering a copy of a letter from General Whitefoord to Colonel Thornton and the document therein referred to. In the course of discussion the following principal points were made:- (a) Appreciations of the kind which General Whitefoord required ought to be prepared by the Joint Intelligence Staff, and it was undesirable that requests for documents of this kind should be made to individual Service Ministries. (b) The assumptions on which General Whitefoord suggested that the appreciation should be based were unrealistic. In particular it was not clearly stated what situation was assumed to be obtaining in Italy, there was no mention of the Balkans, or of the Dodecanese, and it was inconceivable "X" that the Germans could appreciate a threat to southern France unless the United Nations were already in possession of Sardinia and Corsica. After discussion, THE SUB-COMMITTEE:- (i) Invited the Director of Military Intelligence to discuss the matter with General Whitefoord, and to explain to him the reasons why the Sub-Committee felt that it was undesirable that appreciations of this kind should be asked for from individual Service Ministries, requesting that he would arrange in future that requests for such Papers should be addressed to the secretary of the Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee. -2-