Trident conference

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At the Trident Conference (Third Washington Conference), which took place from May 12 to 27, 1943 in Washington, DC , the focus was on questions of the future common strategy of the USA and Great Britain in the war against Germany and Japan . The two participating delegations were led by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt . There was also a meeting of the Pacific War Council .

course

At the conference, the different views of the American and British sides on several points became clear. The Casablanca Conference in January 1943 did not set any goals for Europe for 1943 beyond the invasion of Sicily planned for the summer of 1943 ( Operation Husky ). The British concept of improving the chances of success for an invasion of northern France in 1944 by continuing operations in the Mediterranean region , of persuading Italy to leave the Axis front and thus relieving the Soviet Union as best as possible, met with American reservations. It was feared that too many troops and resources would be permanently tied up in the Mediterranean theater and that Operation Roundup would be jeopardized. It was finally agreed on the continuation of limited operations against Italy, which should be finally decided at a follow-up meeting (→  Quadrant Conference ). At the same time, Operation Bolero (building up US troops in Great Britain) should be carried out as planned. May 1, 1944 was set as the preliminary target date for the invasion of France.

Another controversy concerned the prospect of Operation Anakim in Casablanca to recapture Burma in the dry season of 1943/44. Neither the American nor the Chinese representatives invited for this purpose succeeded in dissuading the British from their point of view that such a far-reaching undertaking would have little chance of success and should therefore be avoided. Instead of attempting to open the Burma Road, it was decided to intensify efforts to supply China with air via " The Hump " and to carry out only limited ground operations to secure the necessary bases.

Other topics discussed included the planned occupation of the Azores to better secure the Atlantic convoys, a detailed plan for the air war against Germany and an air strike planned by the USA on the oil refineries in Ploiesti, Romania (→  Operation Tidal Wave ), as well as military supplies to Turkey and the equipment of the Free French Armed Forces in North Africa.

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