At Highest Level of Strategic Coordination Between Allies, Churchill Manages the War Effort

On January 31, 1944, U.S. armed forces performed an amphibious assault on Japanese-occupied and defended Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. With Americans on the beach and the foe preparing to counterattack, February 1, 1944, Kwajalein was the target of the most concentrated bombardment of the Pacific War. Thirty-six thousand shells from naval ships and ground artillery on a nearby islet struck Kwajalein. American B-24 Liberator bombers aerially bombarded the island, adding to the destruction. Despite stiff Japanese resistance, within a few days the Americans prevailed. For the U.S., the battle represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan and a significant moral victory because it was the first time the U.S. penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific sphere.

The Bismarck and the Tirpitz were sister battleships built for the German Navy in World War II and were the centerpieces of the fleet. As dangerous craft, the two ships were the particular subjects of British attention and attack planning. The Bismarck was launched first, and the cry in England was “Sink the Bismarck!”?This was done in May 1941. The Royal Navy caught up with the Tirpitz on April 3, 1944, and it launched Operation Tungsten, during which 40 fighters and 40 Barracuda bombers from six carriers attacked the ship. They scored 15 direct hits and two near misses, which caused heavy damage, killed 122 men, and wounded 316 more. The results seemed promising, but the Tirpitz slipped away, and it was not sunk until November 12.

U.S. Navy Admiral Charles M. Cooke was the principal planning officer for Admiral Ernest J. King, who was both Commander in Chief of the U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations in the Pacific. Cooke played such a vital planning role in the U.S. Navy that he accompanied President Roosevelt to every major international conference during World War II, including those at Casablanca, Cairo and Tehran. There he met and worked with Churchill, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, and other British leaders. Cooke finished the war as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. After the war he was commander of U.S. Naval Forces in the Western Pacific.

…an excellent record of a very fine operation and I am glad to have them

Cooke sent Churchill detailed information on the bombing of Kwajalein gathered by the U.S. Navy, so that Churchill would be fully informed on the results of strategies and implementation. And Churchill responded with details of the attempt to sink the Tirpitz. Typed Letter Signed on 10 Downing Street letterhead, London, April 12, 1944, to Admiral Cooke. “It was thoughtful of you to send me the book of photographs showing the effects of the bombardment of Kwajein Island early in February. They are an excellent record of a very fine operation and I am glad to have them. I am sending you a set of photographs of the recent attack on the Tirpitz, together with a copy of the Interpretation Report. Although photographically these do not compare with those you sent me, I think you may be interested to see them.” Military cooperation between the U.S. and Great Britain was one of the determinative elements of World War II, and indeed of international politics in the 20th century. A very uncommon Churchill letter of highest quality from the war and about the war. It has never previously been offered for sale.