Eureka, Argonaut, and Terminal. While these may seem like random words, they were the codenames for the meetings that shaped the outcome of World War II and much of the post-war world. Leaders from the US, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union met three times between 1941 and 1945. These meetings were for the Allied countries to collaborate on war strategies.
Wartime Conferences Definition
Wartime conferences during the Second World War were essential to the Allied war strategy. The meetings were a chance for the powers to come together and discuss strategy, including coordinating attacks on the Axis powers.
The conferences were attended by the Big Three.
The Big Three.
This compound noun refers to the leaders of the Allied powers of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
WWII Wartime Conferences
There were a series of three significant conferences by the Allied Powers during World War II:
The conferences were a chance for the Allied Powers, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States to meet and discuss wartime and post-war strategies.
Diplomacy And Wartime Conferences
Each nation involved in World War II had reasons for entering the war and visions of how the post-war world should look.
Diplomacy was essential for the Allied forces during World War II as the Big Three often butted heads because of differing political and economic views. The US wanted to protect democracy and capitalism, Great Britain was a large empire at the time, and the Soviet Union was a communist nation.
The conferences were when the Allied countries could make either joint decisions or compromises.
Diplomacy:
Relationships between international groups or countries; usually in terms of peacekeeping.
France was also an Allied country but was not included in the conferences as Nazi forces occupied them at the time.
Allied Wartime Conferences
The Big Three met three times during World War II. These conferences brought the major Allied powers together to discuss wartime plans.
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference occurred between November 28 and December 1, 1943, with Joseph Stalin, President FDR, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill in attendance. The meeting was convened in Tehran, Iran, and was the first of the three wartime conferences.
Fig 1: From left: Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill pose at the Tehran Conference.
FDR, Stalin, and Churchill discussed the future of the war, including operations and strategy. One of the most critical strategic decisions to come from this meeting was the decision to launch Operation Overlord, a plan for the Allied powers to invade Northern France in May 1944 - eventually evolving into D-Day - while the Soviet Army launched an attack on the Eastern Front, distracting the German troops from that campaign in Northern France.
Another essential aspect discussed at the Tehran Conference was the war in the Pacific Theatre, mainly fought by the US. Stalin agreed to come to their aid in the Pacific, but only after Germany was defeated. In exchange for military support, Stalin negotiated with the US and Great Britain a deal in which the Soviet Union got to keep the territory gained during the war in Eastern Europe, like in the Baltic States, Finland, and Romania. The US allowed Stalin to keep the land; however, they violated the Atlantic Charter.
In terms of diplomatic matters, the Big Three arranged the fate of Iran–occupied by both British and Soviet forces at that point. Iran was to be independent.
The Atlantic Charter:
A series of promises that would avoid future wars and conflicts; signed between President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill in 1941; it is considered the predecessor of the United Nations Charter.
The Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference took place in the town of Yalta, located in the Crimean Peninsula, between February 4 through 11, 1945, and was the second Allied Wartime Conference. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin attended the conference.
The Allied position was seemingly headed toward a decisive European victory in the war. However, fighting in the Pacific still raged, especially between the Japanese and American forces. The Allied powers used the Yalta Conference to plan their next moves, including convincing the Soviet Union to join the fight.
Fig 2. Joseph Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt conversing at the Yalta Conference.
The Soviet Union agreed to join the fight in exchange for a sphere of influence in Manchuria, giving them power and a communist ally in that region. Many would later criticize President Roosevelt for not getting enough in return.
Their primary task was figuring out how to defeat Nazi Germany and what the country and Europe would look like after the war. Stalin agreed to sign the Declaration of Liberated Europe at Yalta, which stated that the lands liberated from Germany would install democratic governments. It was at the Yalta Conference that Stalin agreed to join the United Nations.
They also agreed to a clause that would force Germany to pay heavy postwar reparations–a large amount of which would go to the Soviet Union. They also planned to put Germany into occupation zones, one for each Allied country, and decided Germany would undergo denazification.
Sphere of influence:
A region in which another country has indirect power.
Denazification:
The process of removing Nazi leaders and philosophy.
This was the last wartime conference attended by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He died on April 12, 1945. The subsequent meeting, Potsdam, was attended by President Harry S. Truman.
The Potsdam Conference
Potsdam held on July 17 to August 2, 1945, was the last of the three Wartime Conferences. Germany surrendered earlier that year, on May 7, 1945.
By this time, the lineup of the Big Three had changed; President Truman was not the only newcomer. Winston Churchill had lost his reelection bid to be Prime Minister, and Clement Attlee stepped in to represent Great Britain. The conference's dynamic had changed with the additions, especially between the US and the Soviet Union. President Truman was warier of the Soviet Union than his predecessor, President Roosevelt.
The Potsdam Agreement, signed by all Allied powers on August 1, 1945, planned to demilitarize Germany and remove the Nazi party from power.
Fig 3. The round table at the Potsdam Conference.
Did you know? Each conference had a codename: Tehran was Eureka, Yalta was Argonaut, and Potsdam was Terminal.
Cold War Wartime Conferences
While the wartime conferences took place during World War II, they all influenced and shaped how the Cold War evolved. The subjects discussed at the wartime conferences transcended warfare strategy and often led to diplomatic compromises, where one country would make concessions to solidify alliances during the war.
The Cold War:
A conflict between the democratic Western nations, mainly the US and the communist Soviet Union.
These decisions would have lasting effects after the war. Despite the United States and the Soviet Union working together at wartime conferences, the tepid relationship turned cold after World War II ended. The Soviet Union did not keep its promises, such as those made during the Yalta Conference. The Soviet Union failed to ensure free and democratic elections in Eastern European countries such as Poland and Bulgaria.
Yalta Conference - Key takeaways
- There were three wartime conferences during World War II:
- Tehran: November 28-December 1, 1943
- Yalta: February 4-11, 1945
- Potsdam: July 17-August 2, 1945
- The Big Three of the Allied Forces attended the conferences: Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
- The three conferences discussed military tactics and plans and the post-war order of Europe.
- Starting just a few months after the war, many compromises between the Soviet Union, the democratic US, and Great Britain dissolved and led to the Cold War.
- The United Nations was founded due to the diplomatic talks of the wartime conferences.
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