Marching Orders: The Untold Story of How the American Breaking of the Japanese Secret Codes Led to the Defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan

by Bruce Lee

England’s Air Marshal Welsh says: “He felt it necessary to consider what was the object of the occupation of Germany. Was it merely to keep the peace for a limited period of time or to secure ourselves in the future? Plans ought to be made to push out defenses and aircraft warning systems as far to the east as possible in northwest Europe, which, indeed, was the essential line of approach to the United Kingdom. If one considered the possibilities of a future war, there seemed to be every reason why the British sphere should include northwest Europe in order to assist in making the necessary defensive preparations.” This statement by Welsh is probably the earliest official pronouncement on record saying that the British fear the possibility of a postwar attack from the east by the Soviet Union. It may also be one of the first official statements of policy considerations that will lead to the formation of NATO and the concept of containing the expansion of the Soviet Union.