Major International Conferences

Throughout the war, the Axis military powers did not seek to coordinate their campaigns. On the other hand, the Allies regularly held international conferences during which they discussed major strategies and plans for the post-war period.

Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill were the main participants at these meetings, but gradually British influence was eclipsed by the growing military and political influence exercised by the Americans and Soviets.

-  August 41, the first of these conferences was attended by Churchill and Roosevelt on a battleship off the Newfoundland coast.

Although the United States were still officially neutral in the war, this meeting demonstrated that they had already chosen their camp.

This conference ended with the publication of the Atlantic Charter, which outlined the “principles relating to world civilisation”.

- A second meeting between Roosevelt and Churchill was organized in Washington in late 1941 and early 1942, soon after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. During this conference, the Americans and British decided to give priority to the war against Germany and created a joint staff for operations in Europe.

- In August 1942, Churchill met with Stalin in Moscow, accompanied by Roosevelt’s representative Averell Harriman.

The British Prime Minister informed Stalin that Operation Torch would be launched in North Africa before the second front could begin in Europe.

- the Casablanca conference in January 1943 brought together Roosevelt, Churchill and two French generals, De Gaulle and Giraud, both of whom wanted to take command of the French forces fighting with the Allies.

During this conference, plans were made for troop landings in Sicily and later in Italy, once Tunisia had been liberated.

- The Cairo conference was held in November 1943 and attended by Roosevelt, Churchill and Chiang Kai-shek, representing China.

This meeting established the objective of unconditional surrender by Japan and the return of all occupied Chinese territory, in particular Manchuria and Formosa.

- A few days later, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met for the first time in Tehran. The British and Americans gave Stalin assurances that a second front in Europe would be launched with troop landings on French coasts by spring the following year. The proposal put forward by the British for an attack in the Balkans was rejected.

- The three men met again in February 1945 at Yalta in Soviet territory. This conference concentrated mainly on carving up Europe after the defeat of Germany and on establishing conditions for the creation of the United Nations. In addition, the USSR agreed to declare war on Japan in the three months following Germany’s surrender.

- The last major Allied conference was held in Potsdam in July-August 1945, two months after Germany surrendered. It was attended by Stalin, the new American President, Truman, and Churchill, who was replaced by the new British Prime Minister, Attlee, for the final meetings.

During this conference, the victors laid down conditions for dismantling Nazi Germany.

But there were many differences of opinion between Stalin and the American and British leaders which made it impossible to come to an agreement on the fate of Eastern Europe and the Balkan countries.