Pictured are (left to right): unknown, Winston Churchill, Mrs. Roosevelt’s Top Cottage, Hyde Park, New York. Without these conditions, an attack would be a waste of lives, and would do little to help the Soviet Union. They felt the fastest way to lose the war, or at best to delay victory, was to launch any major ground attack in Western Europe before the Allies were ready with appropriate and overwhelming material, troops, and training. Their strategy was to avoid a direct confrontation with the German military in Western Europe, at least until the enemy had become considerably weaker through the air war over Germany, and from fighting in Russia. The British military leadership, led by the Prime Minister, disagreed. The Soviet Union also needed relief, and a second front would draw German troops away from their armies – hopefully forestalling a Soviet collapse in the east. With that approach, the best way to defeat Germany would be to strike at it directly through France, and not to prolong the conflict by attacking the Axis forces on the periphery of Europe. Marshall, felt it was critical to open a second front in Western Europe as quickly as possible. In contrast, the US military’s planners, in particular Army Chief of Staff, General George C. This included a US led attack through French Northwest Africa, known then as Operation Gymnast, to help relieve this pressure and stop the enemy’s advance. Early on in joint planning with the US, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and his military staff, had pressed for US assistance, including troops to help defend the Middle East. Concern grew of the potential for the German and Japanese militaries to link up in South Asia and push the British out of the crucial oil supplying regions near the Persian Gulf. Axis gains in North Africa, and in Russia, had put considerable pressure on the British military in the Middle East. The United Kingdom, fatigued after fighting against Germany for two and a half years, was grateful for US participation in the fight. The disagreement over strategy began as soon as America entered the war. Therefore it is disapproved as of the present. Third: it does not help Russia or the Near East Secondly it does not in fact provide use of American troops in fighting except in a lot of islands whose occupation will not affect the world situation this year or next. My first impression is that it is exactly what Germany hoped the United States would do following Pearl Harbor. Arnold – I have carefully read your estimate of Sunday. In July, the disagreement over how to use American resources in the fight against Germany had arrived at a stalemate – straining the patience of the commanders and civilian leadership of the US Army and Navy – to the point that they recommended to the President that perhaps Japan should instead be the primary focus of the country’s military.Īt this critical juncture in the Second World War, the President stepped in, and delivered a strong response to the discord.Ĭopy to Adm. But the adoption of an overall strategy of how to defeat Germany was not so easily agreed upon amongst the Allied Powers. Lend Lease, and with it, the distribution of military equipment to the United Kingdom (UK) and Soviet Union, made the tension strong to deliver results against Germany’s armies. By the summer of 1942, thousands of US Army personnel were staged on the British Isles, poised to attack. Roosevelt had recognized the importance of placing US ground troops in combat in Europe as quickly as possible. Since America’s entry into the war in 1941, President Franklin D. – Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Ed.) Act of cooperating joint operation concurrent effort or labor. Roosevelt with Winston Churchill at the Casablanca Conference, Casablanca, Morocco.
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