agreeableArgentia Bay

Argentia Bay

Herman Wouk

1. Argemtia Bay

Gray peace pervaded the wilderness-ringed Argentia Bay in Newfoundland, where the American

ships anchored to await the arrival of Winston Churchill. Haze and mist blended all into gray: gray

water, gray sky, gray air, gray hills with a tint of green. Sailors and officers went about their chores

as usual on these ships, amid pipings and loud-speaker squawks. But a primeval hush lay heavy in

Argentia Bay, just outside the range of the normal ships

’

noises.

At nine o'clock, three gray destroyers steamed into view, ahead of a battleship camouflaged

in swirls of color like snakeskin. This was H. M. S. Prince of Wales, bigger than any other ship in

sight, bearing the guns that had hit the Bismarck. As it steamed past the Augusta, a brass band on

its decks shattered the hush with

”

Quiet fell. The band on the quarter

-deck of the Augusta struck up

Pug

Henry

stood

near

the

President,

under

the

awning

rigged

at

number-one

turret,

with

admirals, generals, and august civilians like Averell Harriman and Sumner Welles Churchill was

plain to see not five hundred yards away, ? an odd blue costume, gesturing with a big cigar. The

president towered over everybody, stiff on braced legs, in a big brown suit, one hand holding his

hat

on

his

heart,

the

other

clutching

the

arm

of

his

son,

an

Air

Corps

Officer

who

strongly

resembled him. Roosevelt's large pink face was self-consciously grave.

Save

the

King

ended.

The

President's

face

relaxed.

I'

ve

never

heard

'My

Country' Tis of Thee' played better.

and

Roosevelt

laughed

too.

The

squeal

of

boatswains'

pipes

broke

up

the

dress

parade

on

the

cruiser's deck.

2. Harry Hopkins

Admiral King beckoned to Pug.

the Prince of Wales, and put yourself at Mr. Harry Hopkins's service. The President desires to talk

with him before Churchill

comes to call, so expedite.

Passing from the Augusta to the Prince of Wales in King's

barge, over a few hundred yards of still water, Victor Henry went from America to England and

from peace to war was a shocking jump. King's spick-and-span flagship belonged to a different

world than the storm-whipped British vessel, where the accomodation ladder was salt-crusted

，

the

camouflage paint was peeling, and even the main battery guns looked pitted and rusty. Pug was

aghast to see cigarette butts and wastepaper in the scuppers, though droves of blue jackets were

doing an animated scrub- down. on the superstructure raw steel patches were welded here there --

sticking plaster for wounds from the Bismarck's salvos.

yes,

Captain

Henry,

said

the

officer

of

the

deck,

smartly

returning

the

salute

in

the

different British palm-out style.

for

you

in

his

cabin.

The

quartermaster

will

escort

you.

Victor

Henry

followed

the

quartermaster

through

passage-ways

quite

like

those

in

American

battleships,

yet

different

in

countless details: the signs, the fittings, the fire extinguishers, the shape of the watertight doors.

two, though their last counter had been early in March, and meantime Hopkins had travelled to

London and Moscow in a blaze of worldwide newspaper attention.

the wardroom. In one he carefully placed paper s, folders, and books; in the other he threw clothes,

medicine bottles, and shoes as they carne to Hopkins looked thinner than before, a bent figure with

a gray double-breasted suit flapping loosely on him.

’

s like a boy going on his first date. Well, it's quite a

historic moment, at that.

Hopkins

paused,

a

stack

of

papers

in

his

hand,

and

pursed

his

mouth

before

speaking

decisively.

hurried packing.

solid

green

forests

and

brown

swamps.

Often

you

don't

see

a

village

from

horizon

to

horizon.

Hitler's bitten oft a big bite this time.

gave him a hand.

said

promptly.

of

airplanes.

'

Same

as

the

French

were

yelling for last year.

that -- his number one item was

anti-aircraft

guns.

Next

comes

aluminum.

Wants

a

lot

of

Army

trucks,

too.

Stalin

isn't

planning to get beaten in three weeks, or six weeks, or three years.

the smaller case, and closed it.

As Hopkins shakily stepped aboard King's barge from the accomodation ladder, the stern rose

high on a swell then dropped away from under him. He lost his balance and toppled into the arms

of the coxswain, who said,

flopped on my face

boarding the seaplane that flew me to the Soviet Union. That nearly ended my mission right

there.

around at the flawlessly appointed barge.

in War Plans. You'll attend the staff meetings, then.

.

at

sea

with

the

Prime

Minister.

Hopkins

held

out

one

wasted

hand

and

ticked

off

points

on

skeletal fingers.

they

won't

get

that.

But

it

softens

the

ground

for

the

second

demand,

the

real

reason

Winston

Churchill has crossed the ocean. They want a warning by the United States to Japan that any move

against the British in Asia means war with us. Their empire is mighty rickety at this point. They

such a warning will shore it up. And they'll press for big war supplies to their people in Egypt and

the

MiddleEast.

Because

if Hitler

pokes

down

there

and

closes

the

canal,

the

Empire

strangles.

They'll

also

try,

subtly

but

hard--and

I

would

too,

in

their

place

--

for

an

understanding

that

in

getting

American

aid

they

come

ahead

of

Russia.

Now

is

the

time

to

bomb

the

hell

out

of

Germany from the West, they'll say, and build up for the final assault. Stuff We give Russia, it will

be hinted, may be turned around and pointed against us in a few weeks.

Victor Henry said,

even

if

the

Japanese,

move.

The

fight

over

there

is

of

inconceivable

magnitude

There

must

be

seven

million

men

shooting

at

each

other,

Pug.

Seven

million,

or

more.

”

Hopkins

spoke

the

figures

slowly,

stretching

out

the

wasted

fingers

of

both

hands.

Russians

have

taken

a

shellacking so far, but they're unafraid. They want to throw the Germans out. That's the war now.

That's where the stuff should go now.

drew near the Augusta.

the

British

Prime

Minister

are

meeting

face

to

face

to

discuss

beating

the

Germans.

That's

achievement enough for now.

”

Hopkins gave Victor Henry a sad smile, and a brlliant light came

into

his

large

eyes.

He

pulled

himself

to

his

feet

in

the

rocking

boat.

Pug,

this

is

the

changing of the guard.

3. Churchill calls

Winston Churchill came to the Augusta at eleven o'clock, which saw the dramatic handshake

of

Roosevelt

and

Churchill

at

the

gangway.

They

prolonged

the

clasp

for

the

photographer

s,

exchanging smiling words.

In an odd way the two leaders diminished each other They were both Number One Men. But

that was impossible. who, then, was Number One? Roosevelt stood a full head taller ,but he was

pathetically braced on lifeless leg frames, clinging to his son's arm, his full trousers drooped and

flapping. Churchill, a bent Pickwick in blue uniform, looked up at him with majestic good humor,

much

older,

more

dignified,

more

assured.

Yet

there

was

a

trace

of

deference

about

the

Prime

Minister.

By

a

shade

of

a

shade,

Roosevelt

looked

like

Number

One.

Maybe

that

was

what

Hopkins had meant by

The

picture- taking

stopped

at

an

unseen

signal,

the

handshake

ended,

and

a

wheelchair

appear ed. The erect front page President became the cripple more familiar to Pug, hobbling a step

or

two

and

sinking

with

relief

into

the

Chair.

The

great

men

and

their

military

chiefs

lett

the

quarterdeck.

The staffs got right to business and conferred all day. Victor Henry worked with the planners,

on

the

level

below

the

chiefs

of

staff

and

their

deputies

where

Burne-Wilke

operated,

and

of

course

far

below

the

summit

of

the

President,

the

Prime

Minister,

and

their

advisers.

Familiar

problems came up at once: excessive and contradictory requests from the British services, unreal

plans,

unfilled

contacts,

jumbled

priorities,

fouled

communications.

One

cardinal

point

the

planners hammer ed out fast. Building new ships to replace U-boat sinkings came first. No war

materiel

could

be

used

against

Hitler

until

it

had

crossed

the

ocean. This

plain

truth,

so

simple

once

agreed

on,

ran

a

red

line

across

every

request,

every

program,

every

projection.

Steel,

aluminum,

rubber,

valves,

motors,

machine

tools

copper

wire,

all

the

thousand

things

of

war,

would

go

first

to

ships.

This

simple

yardstick

rapidly

disclosed

the

poverty

of

the

of

democracy,

steel mills, and plants to turn the steel into combat machines and tools.

Through all the talk of grand hypothetical plans

-- hundreds of ships, tens of thousands of

airplanes and tanks, millions of men -- one pathetic item kept recurring: an immediate need for a

hundred

fifty

thousand

rifles.

If

Russia

collapsed,

Hitler

might

try

to

wrap

up

the

war

with

a

Crete-like

invasion

of

England

from

the

air.

Rifles

for

defending British

airfields

were

lacking.

The

stupendous

materiel

figures

for

future

joint

invasions

of

North

Africa

or

the

French

coast

contrasted sadly with this plea for a hundred fifty thousand r if les now.

4. Roosevelt hobbles across

Next morning, boats from all over the sparkling bay came clustering to the Prince of Wales

for church services On the surrounding hills, in sunlight that seemed almost blinding after days of

gray mist, the forests of larch and fir glowed a rich green.

An American destroyer slowly nosed its bridge along-side the battleship, exactly level with

the

main

deck,

and

a

gang-plank

was

thrown

across.

Leaning

on

his

son's

arm

and

on

a

cane,

Franklin Roosevelt, in a blue suit and gray hat, lurched out on the gangplank, laboriously hitching

one leg forward from the hip, then the other. The bay was calm, but both ships were moving on

long

swells.

With

each

step,

the

tall

President

tottered

and

swayed.

Victor

Henry,

like

all

the

Americans crowding the destroyer bridge, hardly breathed as Roosevelt painfully hobbled across

the

narrow

unsteady

planks.

Photographers

waiting

on

the

Prince

of

Wales

quarter

deck

were

staring at the President, but Pug observed that not one of them was shooting this crippled walk.

His foot touched the deck of the Prince of Wales. Churchill saluted him and offered his hand.

The

brass

band

burst

forth

with

Star

Spangled

Banner.

Roosevelt

stood

at

attention,

his

chest

heaving,

his

face

stiff

with

strain.

Then,

escorted

by

Churchill,

the

President

hitched

and

hobbled all the way across the deck, and sat.

The British chaplain, his white and crimson vestments flapping in the wind, his thick gray

hair blowing wildly, read the closing Royal Navy prayer:

sea, and from the violence of the enemy, that we may be a security for such as pass upon the sea

upon their lawful occasions

with the fruits of our labors

…

and to praise and glorify Thy Holy Name; through Jesus Christ our

Lord

…

fro m

their

blouses.

When

nobody

stopped

them

and

the

two

leaders

smiled

and

waved,

a

rush

began.

Cameras

appeared

by

the

dozens.

The

sailors

swarmed

into

a

laughing,

cheering

ring

around

the

two

men.

Pug

Henry,

watching

this

unwonted

disorder

on

a

warship

with

mixed

feelings of amusement and outrage, felt a touch on his elbow. It was Lord Burne Willie.

there, my dear fellow. A word with you?

5. A request from the British

Burne-Wilke's

cabin

had

the

dark,

warm,

comfortable

look

of

a

library

den.

say,

Henry,

what is your position on shipboard drinking? I have a fair bottle of sherry here.

us an excellent wine.

know

that

this

ship

crossed

the

ocean

without

escort,

the

air

commodore

resumed.

first

night out of England, we ran into a whole gale. Our destroyer s couldn't maintain speed, so we

zigzagged on alone.

’

t you think, to give the Hun a

fair shot at him on the open sea. Three thousand miles without air cover or surface escort, straight

through the entire submarine fleet.

”

well,

at

any

r

ate

her

e

we

are.

But

it

might

be

prudent

not

to

overwork

those

good

angels, what? Don't you agree? On our way back, every U-boat in the Atlantic will certainly be on

battle alert. We shall have to run the gamut.

stretched

thin

for

escorts,

you

know.

We've

rounded

up

four

destroyers.

Admiral

Pound

would be happier with six.

Victor Henry quickly said,

”

understand

that

this

cannot

be

a

request

from

us.

The

Prime

Minister

would

be

downright annoyed. He's hoping we'll meet the Tirpitz and get into a running gun fight.

On

the

after

deck,

the

photographing

was

still

going

on.

Officers

with

cameras

were

now

shouldering sailors aside, as the two politicians cheerfully chatted. Behind them stood their glum

chiefs

of

staff

and

civilian

advisers.

Hopkins,

squinting

out

at

the

sunny

water,

wore

a

pained

expression. The military men were talking together, except for Admiral King, who stood woodenly

apart. Pug walked up to him, saluted, and in the fewest possible words recount-ed his talk with

Burne-Wilke.

The

lines

along

King's

lean

Jaws

deepened.

He

nodded

twice

and

strolled

away,

without a word. He did not go anywhere. It was just a gesture of dismissal, and a convincing one.

Amid

much

wining

and

dining,

the

conference

went

on

for

two

more

days.

One

night

Churchill took the floor in the Augusta wardroom after dinner, and delivered a rolling, rich word

picture of how the war would go. Blockade, ever growing air bombardment, and subversion would

in time weaken the grip of Nazi claws on Europe. Russia and England would

slowly, inexorably tighten it, If the United States became a full-fledged ally, it would all go much

faster, of course. No big invasion or long land campaign would be needed in the West. Landing of

a

few

armored

columns

in

the

occupied

countries

would

bring

mass

uprisings.

Hitler's

black

empire

would

suddenly

collapse

in

rubble,

blood,

and

flame.

Franklin

Roosevelt

listened

with

bright-eyed smiling attention, saying nothing, and applauding heartily with the rest.

On the last day of the conference, just before lunch, Admiral King sent for Pug. He found the

admiral in under-shirt and trousers in his cabin, drying face and ears with a towel.

point 3 point 1, consisting of two destroyers, the Mayrant and the Rhind, has bee formed,

said

without

a

greeting.

will

escort

the

Prince

of

Wales

to

Iceland.

You

will

embark

in

the

Prince of Wales as liaison officer, disembark in Iceland, and return with our task unit.

Maybe by next week. Hell, our own marines are occupying the place now. The President's even

sending a young officer along as a naval aide to Churchill while he tours our Iceland base. Ensign

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Junior.

the war by then, that is, Mr. Hopkins has brought up your name. He appears impressed, and the

President too, by your expertise on landing craft and so forth. Now your service record has been

checked, and it seems you claim a 'poor to fair

’

knowledge of Russian. Hey? How is that? That's

very unusual.

I

put

that

down

when

I

enter

ed

the Academy

in

1911.

It

was

true

then.

I

don't

remember

ten

words

now.

Henry

explained

the

circumstances

that

had

given

him

:

Russian-speaking chums in his Sonoma County boyhood.

War Plans to pre-pare yourself, with an intensive refresher course in Russian, for a possible trip to

the Soviet Union on special detached duty. You'll have interpreters. But with even a smattering,

your intelligence value will be greater.

King put on his uniform jacket, stared at Victor Henry, and for the first time that Henry could

recall, favored him With a smile.

you

heard

that

extension

of

the

draft

passed

the

House

of

Representatives

an

hour

ago?

but there it is. Our job is to keep going anyway.

6. U-boat sightings

To brass band anthems and booming gun salutes, in a brisk breeze smelling of green hills and

gunpowder, the Prince of Wales left Argentia Bay. The great conference was over.

In the wardroom of the Prince of Wales, Victor Henry could sense the subtle gloom hanging over

the

ship.

What

the

conference

had

accomplished

to

increase

help

for

Eng-land

remained

undisclosed;

and

in

itself

this

clearly

struck

the

battleship's

officers

as

a

bad

sign.

These

men,

veterans of two combat year s, of air attacks and gun fights, had a subdued dismal air, despite the

grandeur

of

their

ship

and

the

stuffy

luxury

of

their

wardroom .

The

predicament

of

England

seemed soaked in their bones. They could not Believe that Winston Churchill had risked the best

ship in their strained navy, and his own life, only to return empty-handed. That wasn't Winnie's

style. But vague hope, rather than real confidence, was the note in their conversation

Major-General Tillet came up to Victor Henry after dinner that evening, and laid a lean hand

on his shoulder.

thought you might.

Red

secrecy

warnings

blazed

on

the

steel

door

that

Tillet

opened.

Dressed

in

a

one-piece

garment

like

a

mechanic's

coveralls,

stooped

and

heavy-eyed,

Churchill

pondered

a

map

of

the

Russian

front

all

across

one

bulkhead.

Opposite

hung

a

chart

of

the

Atlantic.

Young

officers

worked over dispatches at a table in the middle of the

room, in air thick with tobacco smoke.

Union with his cigar.

The

crimson

line

of

the

front

east

of

Smolensk

showed

two

fresh

bulges

toward

Moscow.

Churchill coughed, and glanced at Henry.

explicitly, basing myself on very exact intelligence. Surely no government ever had less excuse to

be surprised.

At

Argentia,.Churchill

had

appeared

strong,

rubby,

springy,

and

altogether

ten

year

s

younger.

Now his cheeks were ashy, with red patches.

Little black coffin-shaped markers dotted the wide blue spaces, and an officer was putting up

several

more,

in

a

cluster

close

to

the

battleship's

projected

course.

Far

ther

son

stood

large

clusters of r ed pins, with a few blue pins.

patrol plane at twilight, sir,

Henry,

Berlin. Eh? Did you enjoy that, Captain?

Churchill uttered a hoarse chuckle.

He has also ordered me not to smoke. I shall attend Saps at Sea, and bring my cigars.

Pug Henry's enjoyment of Saps at Sea was shadowed by an awareness that at any moment the

battleship

might

re

into

a

U-boat

pack.

Greman

skippers

were

adept

at

sneaking

past

destroyer

screens. But the film spun to the end uninterrupted.

Prime Minister remarked in a heavy, rheumy voice, as he plodded out.

7.

Clement Attlee's broadcast the next day packed the wardroom. Every officer not on watch,

and all staff officers and war planners, gathered in the wardroom around one singularly ancient,

crack-voiced

radio.

The

battleship,

plowing

through

a

wild

storm,

rolled

and

pitched

with

slow

long groans. For the American guest, it was a bad half hour. He saw perplexed looks, lengthening

faces, and head-shakes, as Attlee read oft the

not a shred of increased American commitment. Abuse of Nazi tyranny, praise of

zero.

Some

sentences

about

free

trade

and

independence

for

all

peoples

meant

the

end

of

the

British Empire, if they meant anything.

Franklin

Roosevelt

was

indeed

a

tough

customer,

thought

Captain

Henry,

not

especially

surprised.

there was more to it than that. How about it, Henry?

All eyes turned on the American.

Pug saw no virtue in equivocating.

”

Pug said.

Questions shot at him from all sides.

a

good

question,

but

day

before

yesterday

it

came

within

one

vote

of

practically

dissolving the United States Army.

’

s happening in the world?

That caused a silence.

Tillet said,

had

Chamberlain

then

for

a

leader,

sir,

said

a

fresh-faced

lieutenant.

have

Roosevelt.

”

said Pug.

and Roosevelt can't help that. They don't want to fight anybody. Life is pleasant. The war's a ball I

game they can watch. You're the home team, because you talk our language. Hence Lend-Lease,

and this Atlantic Charter. Lend-Lease is no sweat,

it just means more jobs and money for everybody.

”

An

unusually

steep

roll

brought

a

crash

of

crockery

in

the

galley.

The

crossfire

stopped.

Victor Henry went to his cabin. Before disembarking in Iceland, he did not talk much more to the

British officers.

(from The Winds of War, 1971)

NOTES

1)

Herman

Wouk

(

1915-

):

American

novelist.

After

graduation

from

Columbia

University,

he

became a radio scriptwriter. During World War II he served in the United States Navy and began

his

first

novel

during

off- duty

hours

at

sea.

His

novels

include

The

Caine

Mutiny

(1951),

a

Pulitzer

Prize

novel

of

events

aboard

a

naval

vessel,

The

Winds

of

War

(1971)

and

War

and

Remembrance (1977).

2) Argentia Bay: better known as Placentia Bay, wide inlet of Atlantic Ocean, SE Newfoundland,

Canada. Here on the British battleship Prince of Wales the Atlantic Charter was signed on Aug. 14,

1941 by President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

3) Newfoundland: island in Atlantic Ocean, off east coast of Canada, be-came (with Labrador on

the mainland) a province of Canada in 1949.

4) H. M. S.: His (Her) Majesty's Service, Ship, or Steamer

5) Prince of Wales: sunk by the Japanese in the South China Sea in December 1941

6) Bismarck: German battleship of 45 000 tons, completed early in 1940, for operations against

British convoys in the North Atlantic. In an en-counter with the British fleet on 24 May, 1940, it

sank the British cruiser Hood and damaged the Prince of Wales; the Bismarck was also hit by the

guns of the Prince of Wales. The Bismarck was finally sunk on 27 May, 1940.

7) The Star-Spangled Banner: This is the official national anthem of the United States, by a Bill

which passed the Senate on 3 March 1931,

8) God Save the King:the British national anthem. It is usual in Britain to play the tune whenever

the monarch appears in public.

9)

Averell

Harriman:

(1891-1986)

American

financier,

diplomat

and

cab'net

member;

became

successively

chairman

of

the

Business

Advisory

Council

of

the

Department

of

Commerce,

overseas administrator of lend lease, and ambassador (1943-46) to the U. S. S. R. Enjoying the

confidence

of

President

Roosevelt,

he

was

present

at

the

Quebec,

Casablanca,

Moscow,

and

Tehran

conferences,

participated

in

the

SanFrancisco

Conference

which

established

the

United

Nations, and accompanied President Truman to the Potsdam Conference.

10) The President: referring to F. D. Roosevelt (1882-1945), 32nd President of the United States

(1933-45)

11) Sumner Welles: (1892-1961) American diplomat, political columnist and author. He served as

U. S. assistant secretary (1933-37) and under-secretary (1937-43) of State. He later was a political

columnist for the New York Herald Tribune.

12) his son: referring to Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr. (1941- ), third son of President Roosevelt.

He served (1941-46) in the U. S. Navy and in1949 was elected to Congress as a Liberal.

13) ' My Country' Tis of Thee': the first line of

composed by the Rev. Samuel Francis Smith in 1831 and sung to the music of the British national

anthem,

14)

Harry

Hopkins:

(1890-1946)

American

social

worker

and

public

administrator,

intimate

associate and adviser of President Franklin roosevelt, and U. S. secretary of commerce (1938-40).

As

the

personal

repersentative

of

President

Roosevelt,

he

went

on

missions

to

London

and

Moscow,

conferring

with

Churchill

and

Stalin.

He

also

attended

the

major

war

conferences

at

Washington, Casablanca, Quebec, Cairo, Tehran, and Yalta.

15) Admiral

King:

Ernest

Joseph

King

(1878-1956), American

naval

officer.

He

was

appointed