As the Soviet
Union enters the second year of the war I, as Prime Minister of
Great Britain, which in a few months' time will enter on its fourth
year of war, send to you, the leader of the great allied Soviet peoples,
a renewed expression of our admiration for the magnificent defence of
your armed forces, guerrilla bands, and civilian workers during the
past year, and of our firm conviction that those achievements will be
equaled and surpassed in the coming months. The fighting alliance of
our two countries and of our other allies, to whom there have now been
joined the vast resources of the United States, will surely bring our
enemies to their knees. You can count on us to assist you by every means
in our power.
During the year which has passed since Hitler fell upon your country without warning, friendly relations between our
two countries and peoples have been progressively strengthened. We have
thought not only of the present, but of the future, and our Treaty of
Alliance in the war against Hitlerite Germany and of collaboration and
mutual assistance in the post-war period, concluded during M. Molotov's
recent visit to this country, has been welcomed as sincerely by the
British people as I know it has been welcomed by the Soviet people.
That Treaty is a pledge that we shall confound our enemies and, when
the war is over, build a sure peace for all freedom-loving peoples.