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From Isolation to World War II: 1930–1945
The War in Europe
U.S. History Textbooks Boundless U.S. History From Isolation to World War II: 1930–1945 The War in Europe
U.S. History Textbooks Boundless U.S. History From Isolation to World War II: 1930–1945
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Concept Version 10
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War Aims and Strategy

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin, known as the "Big Three," developed a plan of action for Allies in a series of informal meetings and official conferences.

Learning Objective

  • Describe the war aims and strategy of the "Big Three."


Key Points

    • During the War, the Allies formulated a war strategy in a series of high-profile conferences, as well as contact through diplomatic and military channels. The "Big Three" consisted of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin.
    • Together with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, the Big Three cooperated informally on a plan in which American and British troops concentrated in the West; Soviet troops fought on the eastern front; and Chinese, British and American troops fought in Asia and the Pacific.
    • From January 14 to 24, 1943 leaders of allies nations met in Casablanca, French Morocco, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. Stalin refused to participate in the meeting. 
    • Stalin eventually met with Roosevelt and Churchill at the Tehran Conference (November 28 - December 1, 1943). Although the three leaders arrived with differing objectives, the main outcome of the conference was the Western Allies' commitment to open a second front against Nazi Germany.
    • The Big Three met again major war conference in Yalta (sometimes called the Crimea Conference), held from February 4 to 11, 1945. The meeting was intended mainly to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe.
    • The final major conference took place after Roosevelt's death. From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the three major Allied powers met in Potsdam where they decided how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany.

Terms

  • The Big Three

    A term used to refer to the leaders of the three major Allied powers during WWII: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin.

  • "Arsenal of Democracy"

    A slogan used by Franklin D. Roosevelt in a radio address, in which he promised to help the United Kingdom fight Nazi Germany by giving them military supplies while the United States stayed out of the actual fighting. The term came to specifically reference America and its industrial machine as the primary military supplier for the Allied war effort.

  • Chiang Kai-Shek

    A political and military leader of 20th century China, an influential member of the Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang (KMT) who became the leader of the KMT in 1925. In 1926, he led the Northern Expedition to unify the country, becoming China's nominal leader. He served as Chairman of the National Military Council of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 to 1948.

  • Joseph Stalin

    The Premier of the Soviet Union from May 6, 1941 until his death on March 5, 1953. Among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the Russian Revolution in 1917, he held the position of General Secretary of the party's Central Committee from 1922 until his death.

  • Winston Churchill

    A British Conservative politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the second World War. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century, he served as Prime Minister twice (1940–45 and 1951–55).


Full Text

During World War II, the Allies formulated a war strategy in a series of high-profile conferences, as well as contact through diplomatic and military channels. The "Big Three" (Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin), together with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, cooperated informally on a plan in which American and British troops concentrated in the West; Soviet troops fought on the Eastern front; and Chinese, British, and American troops fought in Asia and the Pacific. Roosevelt guaranteed that the U.S. would be the "Arsenal of Democracy" by shipping $50 billion of Lend Lease supplies, primarily to Britain, the USSR, China, and other Allies.

Roosevelt, Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek

Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of China (left), Roosevelt (middle), and Winston Churchill (right) at the Cairo Conference in December of 1943.

The U.S. War Department believed that the quickest way to defeat Germany was to invade France across the English Channel. Churchill, wary of the casualties he feared this would entail, favored a more indirect approach, advancing northwards from the Mediterranean Sea. Roosevelt rejected this plan. Stalin advocated opening a western front at the earliest possible time, as the bulk of the land fighting in 1942–44 was on Soviet soil. In May 1942, Stalin's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov, met with Roosevelt in Washington and got a commitment from FDR to open a second war front in 1942 against the Germans, by way of England. However, In October 1942, Roosevelt was advised that military resources were desperately needed at Guadalcanal to prevent its being overrun by the Japanese. FDR heeded the advice, redirected armaments, and the Japanese Pacific offensive was slowed. The Allies undertook the invasions of French Morocco and Algeria (Operation Torch) in November 1942. The operation marked the formal war entry of the US in the west. 

CASABLANCA CONFERENCE

From January 14 to 24, 1943 leaders of allies nations met in Casablanca, French Morocco, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Also attending and representing the Free French forces were Generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud. Premier Joseph Stalin had declined to attend, citing the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad as requiring his presence in the Soviet Union. 

Throughout the conference, Roosevelt's attention was prominently focused on the Pacific war front and he faulted the British for what he felt was not a full commitment against Japanese entrenchment. The Italian strategy was agreed upon, a compromise between the two leaders, Roosevelt acceding to the Churchill approach for Europe. Churchill, in turn, pledged more troops and resources to the Pacific and Burma to reinforce positions held by Chiang Kai-Shek against the Japanese. America would provide assistance to the British in the Pacific by supplying escorts and landing craft. The conference produced a unified statement of purpose, the Casablanca Declaration, which announced to the world that the Allies would accept nothing less than the "unconditional surrender" of the Axis powers.

In 1943 it was apparent to FDR that Stalin, while bearing the brunt of Germany's offensive, had not had sufficient opportunity to participate in war conferences. Roosevelt made a concerted effort to arrange a one-on-one meeting with Stalin in Fairbanks. However, when Stalin learned that Roosevelt and Churchill had postponed the cross-channel invasion a second time, he cancelled.

TEHRAN CONFERENCE

Stalin eventually met with Roosevelt and Churchill at the Tehran Conference (November 28 - December 1, 1943), held in the Soviet Union's embassy in Tehran, Iran. It closely followed the Cairo Conference which had taken place on 22–26 November 1943 and was attended by Roosevelt, Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek. Although the three leaders arrived with differing objectives, the main outcome of the conference was the Western Allies' commitment to open a second front against Nazi Germany. The conference also addressed the Allies' relations with Turkey and Iran, operations in Yugoslavia and against Japan, and the envisaged post-war settlement. A separate protocol signed at the conference pledged the Big Three to recognize Iran's independence. One of the critical outcomes was agreement on Operation Overlord (Battle of Normandy) and general war policy. Operation Overlord was scheduled to begin in May 1944, in conjunction with the Soviet attack on Germany's eastern border. 

The Allied leaders of the European theater: Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meeting at the Tehran Conference in 1943.

From left to right: Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill on the portico of the Russian Embassy during the Tehran Conference to discuss the European Theater in 1943. Churchill is shown in the uniform of a Royal Air Force air commodore.

YALTA CONFERENCE

The Big Three met again major war conference in Yalta (sometimes called the Crimea Conference), held from February 4 to 11, 1945. The meeting was intended mainly to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe, becoming a crucial turning point in the Cold War. Within a few years, with the Cold War dividing the continent, Yalta became a subject of intense controversy.  

The outcome of Yalta focused on the post-war order. The priority of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany. After the war, Germany and Berlin would be split into four occupied zones and Germany would undergo demilitarization and denazification. It was also agreed to reorganize the communist Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland that had been installed by the Soviet Union "on a broader democratic basis." The Polish eastern border would follow the Curzon Line, and Poland would receive territorial compensation in the west from Germany. Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective countries, regardless of their consent. Roosevelt managed to obtain a commitment by Stalin to participate in the UN and it was agreed that Nazi war criminals were to be found and put on trial.

POTSDAM CONFERENCE

The final major conference took place after the formal defeat of Nazi Germany  and after Roosevelt's death. From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the three major Allied powers met in Potsdam, occupied Germany. They were represented by Stalin,  Churchill and Clement Attlee (who at the time replaced Churchill after his Labor party won the 1945 general election in the UK), and President Harry S. Truman.  They gathered to decide how to administer the defeated Nazi Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender nine weeks earlier, on May 8. The goals of the conference also included the establishment of post-war order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war. The Conference decided on the post-war fate of Indochina, Poland, and Germany. In addition to the Potsdam Agreement, on July 26, Churchill, Truman, and Chiang Kai-shek issued the Potsdam Declaration which outlined the terms of surrender for Japan during World War II in Asia.

 

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