Cablegram 172 LONDON, 29 May 1940, 3.16 p.m.
MOST SECRET
Your telegram 242 of 28th May. [1]
We are preparing and will send the appreciation as soon as possible. But in the meantime, though future developments cannot be foreseen, we should not like it to be thought that we regard a French collapse as imminent or as other than a possibility here- possibility for which we must naturally take thought in order to be prepared. During the last few days the French have given many indications that they are in good heart and M. Reynaud’s reaction to King Leopold’s surrender is a striking instance of this. [2]
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1 Document 294.
2 Leopold III, King of the Belgians, surrendered on 28 May 1940.
The French Prime Minister, Paul Reynaud, condemned Leopold’s action and proposed a joint Anglo-French appeal to President Roosevelt.
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[FA: A3195, 1.3673]