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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, Commander, Southern Ireland

October 17th, 1918.

My dear Admiral,

     Things are really popping in great style. The military representatives of the War Council and the representatives of the Allied Naval Council have drawn up conditions which they thing [i.e., think] should be demanded in case an armistice is accorded. We are all standing by here in England for a call for a combined conference in Paris on these and allied subjects. I do not think there will be any other announcement from the Allies side until after the Allies have gotten together for discussion.1

     There is a mission leaving the United States, headed by Colonel House, and of which the Naval representative is Admiral Benson They are going directly to Brest on one of the big transports.2

               Very sincerely yours,

Source Note: LT, DLC-MSS, William S. Sims Papers, Box 24. Addressed below close: “Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly, R.N.,/Admiralty House,/Queenstown.” Notation in top left-hand corner: “Admiral Sims/Personal File.” Document identifier in top right-hand corner: “1/3/J.”

Footnote 1: Sims’ brief summary here masked a series of exchanges, some of them quite heated, between Washington and the other allies over how an armistice should be arranged and what the terms should be. For a more on these exchanges, see Trask, Captains and Cabinets, 314-31.

Footnote 2: For more on the delegation headed by Presidential advisor Col. Edward M. House and including Adm. William S. Benson, see: Sims to Anne Hitchcock Sims, 15 October 1918.

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