29. Nearly five years: Adolphe Lepotier, La Battaille de l’Or, p. 133.
30. Commander John Younghusband: Donald A. Bertke and Don Kindell, World War II Sea War Vol. 2, Listings May 10-May 20, 1940.
31. Ordered to blow up: Gerard Aalders, Eksters, pp. 24-25.
32. Hook of Holland: TCA Holland, p. 2. NACP RG59/62D115 Box 23.
33. A tempting target: Alfred Draper, Operation Fish, pp. 131-134.
34. The British soldiers: Ibid., p. 130.
35. On both cheeks: Jacques Benoist-Méchin, Sixty Days that Shook the West, p. 89.
36. Center of the city: Hugh Trevor-Rober, Hitler’s Directives, pp. 64-65.
37. A capitulation order: TCA Holland. NACP RG59/62D115 Box 23.
38. Bottom of the waterway: Interview with Ronald Dijkstra, author of the forthcoming book on the rescue of the Dutch gold, Failed Gold Transport.
39. At the Reichsbank: IMT EC-3724.
40. Saving 70.6 tons: TCA Holland, p. 2, NACP RG59/62D115 Box 23. London Gold Conference, pp. 355-358.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG TRUST FRANCE
1. Financing for it: Ernest Mühlen: Monnaie et circuits financiers au Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. TCA, Luxembourg. NACP RG59/62D115 Box 21.
2. A small country: Walter and Jan Pluym, Or à la Dérive, pp. 8-10.
3. Slightly dictatorial temperament: Ibid., p. 21.
4. Antwerp for London: Herman Van der Wee and Monqui Vrbreyt, A Small Nation in the Turmoil of the Second World War, p. 25.
5. Moving it to France: Pierre Kauch, Le Vol de l’Or de la Banque National par les Nazis 1940-1943, pp. 6-7.
6. Under French control: BNB, Boekhouding, I, dossier 601.I.
7. South Africa Reserve Bank: BNB, Boekhouding, 2, file 88.02.02.00.
8. Belgian-French coast: Alister Horne, To Lose a Battle, pp. 124-125 and 220-223.
9. Would come first: Camille Gutt, La Belgique au Carrefour, 1940-1944, p. 125.
10. Was a military secret: Walter and Jan Pluym, Or à la Dérive, pp. 6-9.
11. And the king’s: Paul-Henri Spaak, Continuing Battle, pp. 46-47.
12. With the currency: Herman Van der Wee and Monique Verbreyt, A Small Nation, p. 41.
13. Duration of the war: Revue Générale, February 1985. L’Or et les valuers de la Banque Nationale dans la tourmente de 1940.
14. To the French: Jean Crombois, Camille Gutt and Postwar Internaitonal Finance, p. 34. Herman Van der Wee and Monique Verbreyt, A Small Nation, pp. 45-67.
15. Go on fighting: Orville H. Bullitt, For the President Personal & Secret, p. 433 Bullitt telegram 912.
16. Puppet king’s request: Pierre d’Ydewalle, De Memoires 1912-1940, pp. 397-398. Roger Keyes, Outrageous Fortune, pp. 357-359.
17. Onto British vessels: Revue Générale, Hubert Ansiaux, L’Or et les valuers de la Banque Nationale dans la tourmente de 1940.
18. But he left: Camille Gutt, pp. 60-62. His testimony in the case of Daniel De Gorter and Henri Wild v. Banque de France, Supreme Court, County of New York, 1940.
19. A military secret: Revue Générale, Hubert Ansiaux, L’Or et les valuers de la Banque Nationale dans la tourmente de 1940.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: THE FALL OF FRANCE
1. Stepping around Europe: Federal Reserve Bulletin, January 1941, Gold, Capital Flow and Trade During War. Liaquat Ahamed, Lords of Finance, pp. 376-377.
2. The new war: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, pp. 80-93. William Slany, U.S. Allied Wartime and Postwar Relations and Negotiations with Argentina et. al., p. xlv. FNB, Box 372. 1280200801.
3. Or so lonely: Jean Monnet, Memoirs, p. 124.
4. Halifax with 147 tons: HM January 4, 1940, 233:227
5. Wonderful so far: Alistair Horne, To Lose a Battle, p. 283.
6. Rapid Nazi offensive: Erich von Manstein, Lost Victories, p. 121.
7. The French army: Orville H. Bullitt, For the President Personal & Secret, p. 426.
8. Escape the conflict: Lucient Lamoureux, La sauvetage de l’Or en 1940, Revue des Deux Mondes, June 1, 1962, pp. 348-360.
9. Own country’s defense: Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Their Finest Hour, p. 42.
10. Need of argument: Ibid., pp. 45-49.
11. Officer on board: Adolphe Leportier La Bataille de l’Or, pp. 107-120.
12. Pounds of gold: Ibid. pp. 121-128.
13. To the Luftwaffe: Ibid.
14. Most decisive mistakes: Erich von Manstein, Lost Victories, p. 124.
15. As possible stop: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, pp. 129-130.
16. Trip to Europe: Ibid. pp. 148-164.
17. Man who has fought: Frans de Waal, Peacemaking Among Primates. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1990.
18. Out of Halifax: IMT EC-1618.
19. Enough for me: Tristan Gaston-Breton, Sauvez l’Or de la France!, pp. 15-16.
20. Out of the country: Ibid., pp. 15-25.
21. Ending hostilities: Jacques Benoist-Mechin, Sixty Days that Shook the West, p. 382.
22. Lots of gold: Internet, ambafrance-us.org/IMG/pdf/General_de_Gaulles_Address_-_June_22_1940.pdf.
23. Have to wait: René Auque and Paul Carré, Le Croiseur Émile Bertain, pp. 68-75.
24. Late that night: Ibid. Inspecter General Report by Martial. Banque de France report by Millain on February 2, 1948.
25. Also have cannons: Banque de France report on the incidents from June 18-21, 1940. FNB 1060200101-27, 1280199901/91.
26. In three stop: Ibid.
27. Get out fast: Ibid.
28. Land at Dakar: Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers, Vol. II, p. 400.
29. Fuel oil left: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 139. Martial report to the Banque de France. 1280199901/91.
30. Did not move: HM, 256:156, February 11, 1942.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE VATICAN’S SECRET GOLD
1. With the Pope: New York Times, December 24, 1939. “Envoy to Vatican Ends 72-Year Gap.” p. 12. Wartime Correspondence Between President Roosevelt and Pope Pius XII. pp. 17-19.
2. CEO until 1938: Time magazine, April 22, 1929. W. David Curtiss, Cornell Benefactor, Industrial Czar, and FDR’s Ambassador Extraordinary, www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library.
3. The European situation: New York Times. November 6, 2936, “Pacelli Lunches With Roosevelt.” p. 1.
4. More permanent peace: Myron Taylor, Wartime Correspondence, p. 11.
5. The United States: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, February 28, 1940.
6. From a pedestal: Owen Chadwich, Britain and the Vatican During World War II, p. 101.
7. Not carefully considered: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, Folder “Documentation of the Mission of President Roosevelt to his Holiness Pope Pius XII by His Personal Representative Myron C. Taylor 1940-1945.” April 20, 1940.
8. Mouthpiece of the Jews: Owen Chadwich, Britain and the Vatican During World War II, p. 109.
9. To do worse: Ibid., p. 111.
10. Days to come: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 10, 1940.
11. Recommended to him: W. David Curtiss, Cornell Benefactor.
12. Until the end: Taylor fourth audience, FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 11, 1940.
13. Avoid any publicity: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 17, 1940.
14. Handling this business: NYFED C261 Italy-Vatican State folder, June 12, 1940.
15. The next day: Ibid.
16. Deal in gold: Ibid. May 22, 1940 memo.
17. Keep quiet: NYFED C261 Italy-Vatican State, June 12, 1940.
18. Other foreign accounts: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 20, 1940.
19. Way by this: NYFED C261 Vatican State.
20. About the transfer: BA FO 371/25194 and 371/24935/98.
21. New York Fed: NYFED C 261 Vatican State. June 23 report and June 10 memo.
22. Arranged by J. P. Morgan: NYFED C261 Italy State, June 12, 1940.
23. Tonight for Florence: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 17, 1940.
&nbs
p; 24. End of the line: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 17, 1940.
25. Hours on anything: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 19, 1940.
26. Be given him: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, May 17, 1940.
27. Duration of the war: NYFED C261 Italy-Vatican State.
28. For a time: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, June 14, 1940.
29. Care of yourself: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, July 29, 1940.
30. Confer with you: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, August 2, 1940.
31. The United States: FDR, Papers of Myron Taylor, August 20, 1940.
32. To bomb Rome: Robert A. Graham, The Vatican and Communism During World War II, pp. 35-40.
33. It is wonderful: W. David Curtiss, Cornell Benefactor, Part II.
CHAPTER NINETEEN: ESCAPE TO CASABLANCA
1. Shipment to the U.S.: Tristan Gaston-Breton, Sauvez l’Or de la Banque de France, p. 91.
2. As much as 900 tons: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 182.
3. Moving it to the fort: Ibid., appendix and pp. 180-183.
4. The Phony War: Ibid.
5. Next morning at 6:00: Tristan Gaston-Breton, Sauvez l’Or de la Banque de France, p.91.
6. Job was finished: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, pp. 184-185.
7. Had to wait: Ibid.
8. And the docks: Tristan Gaston-Breton, Sauvez l’Or de la Banque de France, p. 96.
9. Doing the impossible: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, pp. 187-189.
10. Tons of bullion: Ibid., p. 202.
11. June ten stop: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 178.
12. North by train: Ibid.
13. Twenty-four hours stop: Ibid., p. 179.
14. Absolute secrecy stop: Ibid., p. 195. Zygmunt Karpiski sworn deposition in Supreme Court of the State of New York, 1941 in the case Sigismond J. Stojowski et al against Banque de France. Court Index N. 34164-1941.
15. For our destination: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 199.
16. On a 248 course: Ibid., p. 200.
17. Speed 15.5 knots: Ibid., p. 201.
18. Polish State Bank: Ibid., p. 203.
19. Ploy of German warfare: Ibid., p. 205.
20. Pulled into Casablanca: Ibid., 208.
21. He was told: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père, Cahiers Anecdotiques de la Banque de France.
22. Stop in Casablanca: Charles Ibid, Annex II, Cahiers Anecdotiques de la Banque de France. Report d’Oran du Verdon à Casablanca, convoi M. Moreton, June 9, 1940, FNB 1060200101-27.
23. Very busy track: Ibid.
24. Whole affair grotesque: Ibid.
25. Going to Canada: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père. Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or p. 169.
26. Monitor the transfer: Ibid.
27. No ships available: Tristan Gaston-Breton, Sauvez l’Or de la Banque de France, p. 84. Orville H. Bullitt, For the President Personal & Secret, p.434.
28. France and Spain meet: Orville H. Bullitt, For the President Personal & Secret, pp. 434-435.
29. Handle the shipment: Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France (1940-44), p. 200.
30. Arrived in New York: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père. Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or pp. 164-194. Villard report of February 18, 1948, Banque de France, Villard report of February 2, 1948, FNB 1060200101-27.
31. Near the bank: Charles Moreton report on the voyage of the Primauguet from Le Verdon to Casablanca June 21, 1940. Banque de France, 1280199901/07.
32. Business very well: Ibid.
33. Also raining hard: Ibid.
34. Lingered for days: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 224 and Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
35. First French port: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
36. At fifteen tons: Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 228.
37. For grandsons stop: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
CHAPTER TWENTY: BRITAIN ON THE BRINK
1. Won by evacuations: Martin Gilbert, The Churchill War Papers, Vol. II, pp. 240-247.
2. Chamberlain will return: John Colville, The Fringes of Power, May 11, 1940, p. 123.
3. Land nor gold: Max Hastings, Winston’s War, p. 79. Horatio: ancienthistory.about.com/library/bl/bl_horatiuspoem.htm.
4. With Britain’s gold: www.laurentic.com.
5. Million a month: Duncan McDowell, Bank of Canada, Due Diligence, p. 125
6. Up to 4,748 bars: Ibid., summary p. 4.
7. Way we can: BA BOC File A 18-17.
8. About sending some: BA BOC file A 16-2.
9. Prescribed sterling price: BA T177/45.
10. The country’s safety: John Colville, The Fringes of Power, p. 139.
11. The special cargo. Alfred Draper, Operation Fish, pp. 15-17.
12. Months were enormous: Ibid., p. 22.
13. Facilities were disorganized: BA T177/56, Memorandum by War Cabinet Secretary E. E. Bridges from October 6, 1939.
14. With all dispatch: Augustus Agar, Footprints in the Sea, pp. 233-240.
15. For our retirement. Ibid.
16. Heading that way: Alfred Draper, Operation Fish, Appendix.
17. Otherwise we’re done: David Dilks, The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan 1938-1945, p. 288.
18. To invade Britain: BA, T160.1054.
19. Twelve months ago: David Dilks, The Diaries of Sir Alexander Cadogan, p. 288.
20. The country’s wealth: Alfred Draper, Operation Fish, pp. 150-155.
21. Finance their war: BA T/177/56.
22. For every eventuality: Ibid.
23. By end-July: BA T/177/56.
24. Shall we go ahead: BA T160/1054.
25. Be welcomed here: BA 77/177-56.
26. Most frightful rot: BA NC 2/24A and John Lukacs, Five Days in London, p. 17.
27. For peace conditions: Ibid., pp. 151-155.
28. Invasion of England: Karl Dönitz, The Conduct of the War at Sea, p. 12.
29. The Atlantic Ocean: Alfred Draper, Operation Fish, pp. 152-169.
30. Not be insured: Ibid., pp. 209-215.
31. Signal-lamp.message godspeed: Ibid., pp. 206-211.
32. Company in Montreal: Leland Stowe, How Britain’s Wealth Went West.
33. The port bow: Alfred Draper, Operation Fish, p. 215.
34. Four-hour shifts: Operation Fish, pp. 213-230.
35. More than £100 million: Ibid., Appendix I and IV.
36. Just about over: BA T160/1054.
37. Former Naval Person: Warren F. Kimball. Churchill & Roosevelt: The Complete Correspondence. Vol. 1, p. 24.
38. Our last reserves: Jon Meacham, Franklin and Winston, p.81. HM 389:60, April 15, 1940.
39. Are now disappearing: BA W.P. (40) 334.
40. More than £20 million: Ibid.40
41. Unprecedented third term: Winston Churchill, The Second World War, Their Finest Hour, pp. 24-25.
42. Money we want: Victoria Schofield, Witness to History, pp. 112-113.
43. Indiscretion more calculated: Ibid.
44. Times as much: Churchill, Finest Hour, pp. 369-370.
45. Our common purpose: Warren F. Kimball, Churchill & Roosevelt: The Complete Correspondence, Vol. 1, pp. 102-109. BA MR PREM 3/486/1/299-313.A.
46. Fire is over: University of Santa Barbara, The American Presidency Project. www.presidency.ucsb.edu. December 17, 1940 press conference.
47. Whole of recorded history: Churchill speech on November 10 1941 speech at the Mansion House in London. Richard Langworth, Churchill by Himself, p. 131.
48. Arsenal of democracy: www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15917.
49. Interview of Thomas McKittrick, Princeton University Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: DESTINATION DAKAR
1. Weighed in at 1,097 tons: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père, Cahiers Anecdotiques de la Banque de France.
2. Car and plane: Didier Brun
eel, Les Secrets de l’Or, p. 135. Adolphe Leportier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 251. Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, p. 202.
3. Still meant to fight: Cordell Hull, Memoirs, p. 345.
4. In the afternoon: Adolphe Lepotier, La Bataille de l’Or, pp. 235-242. Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
5. Along the way: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
6. From the Germans: FNB AVdF-1280199901-box 24.
7. Between their buttocks: Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
8. Belgian and Luxembourg: FNB AVdF-1280199901-box 24.
9. For his grandchildren: Charles Moreton, Lettre d’Un Grand-Père.
10. Sessions in Paris: Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, pp. 10-15.
11. Sent to Dakar: Adolphe Lepotier, La Bataille l’Or, p. 324, Annexe IV.
12. Troops could land: Didier Bruneel, Les Secrets de l’Or, p. 134, Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944 pp. 202-204 and p. 230.
13. Standoff dragged on: Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, pp. 227-236.
14. Held in the interior: Winston Churchill, Their Finest Hour, p. 487.
15. The final victory: Henry Adams, Years of Deadly Peril 1938-1941, pp. 299-336.
16. He considered suicide: Charles de Gaulle, Memoirs, p. 125. Michael E. Haskew, De Gaulle, p. 135.
17. Before the cease-fire: Adolphe Lepotier, La Bataille de l’Or, p. 318.
18. All the foot dragging: Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, pp. 232-234.
19. Embassy in Bucharest: Ibid., pp. 235-238 and 249-250. Didier Bruneel, p. 138.
20. It eventually did: Herman van der Wee and Monique Verbreyt, A Small Nation in the Turmoil of the Second World War, p.187. Ansiaux, Hubert. L’Or et les valeurs de la Banque National dans la tourmente de 1940, Revue Générale, Brussels, part III.
21. Watch it happen: HM, Book 345.
22. That never happened: Yves Bréart de Boisanger to Hemmen, March 22, 1941, FNB No. 15,733/DE. Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, pp. 255-258. Herman van der Wee and Monique Verbreyt, A Small Nation in the Turmoil of the Second World War, p. 184.
23. Nazi war effort: Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, pp. 209-226.
24. Algiers to Marseilles: FNB No. 993 CM/15, Didier Bruneel, Les Secrets de l’Or, pp. 137-141.
25. Belgium never responded: Pierre Arnoult, Les Finances de la France 1940-1944, p.261.
Chasing Gold: The Incredible Story of How the Nazis Stole Europe's Bullion Page 50