Arcadia Conference

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The Arcadia Conference was held in Washington, DC from December 22, 1941 to January 14, 1942 . The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and their delegations discussed the war situation in Europe . The conference was the continuation of the secret British-American Atlantic Conference held from August 9-12 , 1941 in Placentia Bay , Newfoundland . The Atlantic Charter passed there formed the basis for the talks in Washington.

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After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in early December, the United States entered World War II ; therefore the war in the Pacific was also discussed. The participants named Europe as the main theater of war and decided to eliminate the German threat first. This goal became known under the catchphrase “Germany first” . The Convention read as follows (excerpt):

“In 1942, the methods of wearing down Germany's resistance will be… ever increasing air bombardment by British and American forces… assistance to Russia's offensive by all available means… [and operations] the main object [of which] will be gaining possession of the whole North African coast…. It does not seem likely that in 1942 any large scale land offensive against Germany, except on the Russian front, will be possible ... [but] in 1943, the way may be clear for a return to the continent across the Mediterranean, from Turkey into the Balkans, or by landings in Western Europe. Such operations will be the prelude to the final assault on Germany itself. "

The military and strategic forces should be given a joint command, the CCS ( Combined Chiefs of Staff ); this was founded on January 14, 1942. During the conference, the CCS discussed a plan to invade North Africa , Operation Gymnast .

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Individual evidence

  1. ibiblio.org: footnote 21