Hitler`s last stop in North Africa had already been lost in May with the occupation of Tunisia by Anglo-American troops, who were thus able to focus their efforts on Churchill`s “soft abdomen” of the Axis in Europe. The leaders then turned to the conditions under which the Western Allies would open a new front through the invasion of northern France (Operation Overlord), as Stalin had urged them to do since 1941. Until then, Churchill had advocated the expansion of joint operations by British, American, and Commonwealth forces in the Mediterranean, as Overlord was physically impossible in 1943 due to a lack of navigation, leaving the Mediterranean and Italy as viable targets for 1943. It was agreed that Overlord would perform in May 1944; Stalin agreed to support them by simultaneously launching a major offensive on the German Eastern Front to divert German forces from northern France. Iran and Turkey were discussed at length. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin all agreed to support the Iranian government. In addition, the Soviet Union had to pledge to support Turkey if that country went to war. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed that it would also be highly desirable for Turkey to join the Allies before the end of the year. The Americans suspected Stalin of inventing the assassination as a pretext for Roosevelt`s move to the Soviet embassy. Mike Reilly, Roosevelt`s head of the secret service, advised him to go to the Soviet or British embassy for his safety. One of the factors that influenced their decision was the distance Churchill and Stalin had to travel for meetings in the American legation. Harriman reminded the president that if Stalin or Churchill were assassinated, Americans would be held accountable when they visited Roosevelt throughout the city. [21] Earlier in the day, Molotov had agreed to hold all meetings in the U.S.
legation because it was difficult for Roosevelt to travel. Molotov`s timing of announcing an assassination plot later that night raised suspicions that his motives were to keep Stalin safe within the guarded walls of the Soviet embassy. [21] Harriman doubted the existence of an assassination plan, but urged the president to act to avoid the perception of endangering Churchill and Stalin. Roosevelt did not believe there was a credible death threat, but accepted this decision so that he could be closer to Stalin and Churchill. [21] Living in the Soviet embassy also allowed Roosevelt to have more direct access to Stalin and build his confidence. Stalin liked having Roosevelt in the embassy because it eliminated the need to travel off-site and made it easier for him to spy on Roosevelt. The Soviet embassy was guarded by thousands of secret policemen and was located next to the British embassy, allowing the big three to meet safely. [22] Image of Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at the Yalta Lecture of the Imperial War Museum. Other offensives were also discussed to complement the operation of Operation Overlord, including the possible Allied invasion of southern France before the Normandy landings in an attempt to keep German forces away from the northern beaches, and even a possible strike at the northern tip of the Adriatic to bypass the Alps and head towards Vienna. Both plans were based on Allied divisions deployed against the German army in Italy at the time of the conference.
[8] Roosevelt and Churchill had just emerged from the first Cairo Conference, which outlined the future strategy to be pursued against Japan at the end of a year of continued American, British and Australian successes in Southeast Asia, including major offensives in Burma and numerous landings in Japanese-occupied territories throughout the area of operations. In July and August, in the battles for the Kursk, Orel and Kharkov protrusions, the German forces were subjected to another blow that the Soviet forces were able to eliminate and after which they never lost the main initiative again. Iran has gone to war with Germany, a common enemy of the three powers. Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt addressed the issue of Iran`s special financial needs during the war and the possibility of needing help after the war. The three powers said they would continue to provide assistance to Iran. The Iranian government and the three powers reach an agreement in all differences of opinion in order to preserve Iran`s independence, sovereignty and integrity. The United States, the USSR and the United Kingdom expect Iran, along with other allied nations, to follow suit to create peace once the war is over. After World War I, the term “Big Four” referred to France, Britain, the United States and Italy. The heads of state of these countries met at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919. The Big Four were also known as the Council of Four. As soon as the German-Soviet War broke out in June 1941, Churchill offered his help to the Soviets, and on July 12, 1941, a corresponding agreement was signed. [2] However, Churchill reminded listeners in a talk radio program announcing the alliance with the USSR that this alliance would not change his stance against communism. [3] Delegations had traveled between London and Moscow to organize the implementation of this support, and when the United States entered the war in December 1941, the delegations also met in Washington. .