Casablanca Conference
The Casablanca Conference (code name: Symbol ) was a secret meeting of the anti-Hitler coalition between US President Franklin D. Roosevelt , British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) during World War II . It was held from January 14 to 24, 1943 in the Moroccan city of Casablanca .
Josef Stalin was invited, but stayed away from the conference on the grounds that he could not leave the Soviet Union due to the encirclement of the German 6th Army in the Battle of Stalingrad , where his military leadership was needed .
situation
Together with their chiefs of staff , Roosevelt and Churchill determined the further conduct of the war against the Axis powers . For the first time, the Allies felt able to determine when and where to relocate the war to mainland Europe . North Africa was already largely under the control of the Allies, as the fighting only continued in Tunisia . The Red Army made further progress with its offensives in the Don Basin after the Germans trapped in Stalingrad were about to surrender. The US had reached a turning point against Japan with the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Pacific War .
On the other hand, the German submarines in the Atlantic posed a threat to the supply routes from the USA to Great Britain and Africa . During the first CCS meeting in Casablanca, General Alan Brooke stated that the scarcity of shipping was cutting off all offensive operations and that if the Allies could not effectively combat the submarine threat, they might not win the war.
The lack of resources was a decisive factor in planning further operations. Although the United States used all its economic potential to produce war material, the troops of the Western Allies have so far only been capable of small offensive actions. Where and when the allied armed forces could most effectively be used against the enemy was a central point in the deliberations of the CCS conference. The options included an invasion of Western Europe in 1943 or concentrating the main efforts on the Mediterranean region .
plans
Churchill's plan was to conquer the African coasts and attack the Axis powers from the south by means of bases to be built there . General George C. Marshall disagreed. For him it was a mistake to launch uncoordinated attacks against the axis from day to day and to ignore the overriding plan for the quick surrender of Germany.
General Brooke stated that the only ally with a large land force in the current battle scene was the USSR. Together with the hoped-for around 21 divisions that the Western Allies tried to land in France, any other offensive would be absolutely unimportant in the overall plan. However, this army could only hold its own against the assumed 44 German divisions with the appropriate equipment and supply security.
The CCS then concluded that preparations for Operation Roundup would not be finished until mid-August. This means that the invasion cannot start before the late autumn of 1943, which means that Roundup cannot support the Russian summer offensive. Churchill then again brought up the plan for Operation Sledgehammer . The Mediterranean actions should be limited accordingly. He also thought of including Turkey in the war in order to reach the Romanian oil fields and the Soviet Union via the Black Sea from the bases established there .
As a result of the CCS consultations, the Commander-in-Chiefs, together with the US President and the British Prime Minister, agreed to first bring the African war to an end with the conquest of Tunisia in the summer of 1943, in order to use the forces released there to land on the Italian coast to use in Sicily . The invasion of Western Europe was postponed to 1944, with the British still reserving the option of a small beachhead from late 1943. The USA initially set its priority for soldiers and material for the next few months on an offensive plan in the Pacific , without, however, losing sight of an early European landing offensive in the event of a corresponding Soviet success. The Roundup Invasion Plan should be further elaborated in all the necessary details.
Official war targets
After ten days of deliberation, the Western Allies communicated the official war aims to the press for the first time: unconditional surrender of the German Empire , Italy and Japan . In addition, the Western Allies decided to step up air strikes on German cities ( Combined Bomber Offensive ) . From then on, the British flew at night and the US bombers during the day. The demand for the unconditional surrender of Germany meant, among other things, that it could not refer to the principles laid down in the Atlantic Charter . The work of the German resistance was made more difficult because the Allies were unwilling to deviate from the demand for unconditional surrender.
Side event
In addition, the reconciliation of the two French generals Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud was only half successful during the Casablanca Conference . Giraud, who had the support of Roosevelt and Churchill, left the Committee for National Liberation (CFLN). The half-hearted support of the “rest of the French” Vichy government , which collaborated with the Nazis under Field Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain , was completely over.
Trivia
The feature film Casablanca , published at the same time, addresses the situation of European refugees who had arrived in Morocco from southern France and tried to get to Portugal and from there to the USA. They were stuck in a territory that was under the Vichy government collaborating with Hitler. The different attitudes of French citizens towards their own government is also an issue. The script was adapted to the changed situation when the USA entered the war by summer 1942.
See also
literature
- Charles de Gaulle : Memoirs 1942-1946 . Droste, Düsseldorf 1961.
- The Atlantic Charter and the Casablanca, Moscow, Cairo, Tehran, Yalta Conferences . Volk und Zeit, Karlsruhe 1946 (= Volk und Zeit Collection, Volume 4).
Web links
- Chapter I: The Roots of Strategy . In: Gordon A. Harrison: Cross-Channel Attack ( United States Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations at HyperWar Foundation)
- The Conferences at Washington, 1941-1942, and Casablanca, 1943 (1941-1943) . United States Department of State / FRUS