Summit of Strategy

🤝 Early Allied Cooperation

The genesis of this high-level meeting can be traced back to June 1941, when the German-Soviet War erupted. Winston Churchill promptly extended assistance to the Soviets, formalizing this support with an agreement on July 12, 1941. However, Churchill, in his public address, made it clear that this alliance was purely strategic against a common enemy and did not signify a shift in his anti-communist stance. Following the United States' entry into the war in December 1941, a Combined Chiefs of Staff committee was established to synchronize British and American military operations and their aid to the Soviet Union.

Tensions Emerging Suspicions and Strategic Divides

Despite the necessity of alliance, the complexities of a global conflict, coupled with the absence of a unified Allied strategy, fostered mutual suspicions among the Western Allies and the Soviet Union. Key points of contention included the urgent Soviet demand for a second front in Europe to relieve pressure on the Red Army, and the allocation of resources. Both the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union sought credit and material support from the United States, leading to friction, particularly as the Americans were wary of inadvertently bolstering the British Empire post-victory. Furthermore, neither the U.S. nor the U.K. was prepared to grant Stalin unfettered influence in Eastern Europe, and a common policy for post-war Germany remained elusive. These critical issues necessitated direct, face-to-face negotiations.

✈️ Leaders' Journeys

The logistical challenges of bringing the leaders together were considerable. Stalin, known for his reluctance to travel far from Moscow and his aversion to air travel, eventually agreed to Tehran in November 1943 after declining alternative locations like Cairo, Baghdad, or Basra. His journey involved a train ride to Baku, followed by an air trip, where he notably chose the aircraft piloted by a colonel over one by a colonel-general, remarking on the rarity of such piloting. Roosevelt, physically disabled, also found travel arduous. Churchill, a more seasoned traveler, had already met Roosevelt five times in North America and twice in Africa, and Stalin twice in Moscow, highlighting the unique nature of this tripartite summit.

⚔️ The Second Front: Operation Overlord

A central point of contention and ultimate agreement was the opening of a second front in Western Europe. Stalin had been advocating for this since 1941 to relieve pressure on the Eastern Front. Churchill initially favored expanding operations in the Mediterranean, citing logistical constraints for a cross-channel invasion in 1943. However, the leaders ultimately reached a consensus: Operation Overlord, the invasion of northern France by American and British forces, would be launched by May 1944. In a coordinated effort, Stalin pledged that Soviet forces would initiate Operation Bagration, a major offensive on the Eastern Front, concurrently to prevent German forces from redeploying to the West. This decision was pivotal in shaping the remainder of the war.

🗺️ Post-War Poland and Germany

Discussions also delved into the post-war geopolitical landscape, particularly concerning Poland's future borders. Stalin pressed for a revision of Poland's eastern border with the Soviet Union, aligning it with the Curzon Line established in 1920. To compensate Poland for this territorial loss, the leaders agreed to shift the German-Polish border westward to the Oder and Neisse rivers. This plan aimed to provide Poland with industrialized German land and create a territorial buffer for the Soviet Union. Roosevelt, mindful of Polish voters in the upcoming 1944 U.S. election, requested to be excused from formal discussions on Poland. These decisions, though agreed upon in principle, were not formally ratified until the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences in 1945. The USSR had also unilaterally withdrawn recognition of the Polish government-in-exile prior to the conference, conducting negotiations covertly.

🌍 Regional Engagements: Turkey and Iran

The status of Turkey and Iran was also a significant agenda item. The Big Three agreed to support the Iranian government, acknowledging the economic hardships caused by the war and pledging continued economic assistance, considering global military demands and resource shortages. Furthermore, the leaders deemed it highly desirable for Turkey to join the war on the Allied side before the year's end. To incentivize this, they agreed to offer Turkey the islands of Crete and the Dodecanese, strategically located near Turkey. Stalin also stated that if Turkey entered the war and Bulgaria subsequently attacked Turkey, the Soviet Union would immediately declare war on Bulgaria, a point to be used in negotiations with Turkey.

🤝 Military Coordination and Deception

To ensure the success of the impending European operations, the leaders agreed to maintain close contact among their military staffs. A critical aspect of this coordination was the development of a cover plan designed to mislead the enemy about the timing and scale of the Allied offensives. This emphasis on deception highlights the strategic sophistication of the Allied command at this stage of the war.

⚠️ Operation Long Jump

Soviet intelligence reports alleged that German agents had planned to assassinate the "Big Three" leaders during the Tehran Conference, an operation supposedly codenamed "Long Jump." The NKVD, the Soviet counterintelligence unit, reportedly informed Mike Reilly, Roosevelt's chief of security, of the suspected plot several days before Roosevelt's arrival. Reilly, who was in Tehran to assess security, was told that dozens of German agents had been parachuted into the city, with the NKVD expressing concerns for the leaders' safety.

🏠 Roosevelt's Relocation

Initially, Roosevelt intended to stay at the American legation to maintain an appearance of neutrality between his allies, despite invitations from both Stalin and Churchill to stay with them. However, close to midnight on November 27, Vyacheslav Molotov, Stalin's senior aide, summoned the British and American ambassadors, Archibald Clark-Kerr and Averell Harriman, to the Soviet embassy. Molotov warned them of the assassination plot, claiming some assassins had been apprehended but others were still at large, and advised Roosevelt to move to the safety of either the British or Soviet embassy.

🤔 Suspicions and Strategic Moves

American officials, including Mike Reilly and Averell Harriman, harbored suspicions that Stalin might have fabricated or exaggerated the assassination plot. They believed his motive was to persuade Roosevelt to relocate to the Soviet embassy, thereby ensuring Stalin's own safety within his heavily guarded compound and facilitating easier surveillance of the American president. Harriman, while doubting the plot's credibility, urged Roosevelt to move to avoid any perception of endangering Churchill or Stalin by making them travel across the city for meetings. Roosevelt, prioritizing closer access to Stalin and Churchill and recognizing the security benefits, agreed to the move. The Soviet embassy, adjacent to the British embassy, provided a secure meeting location, guarded by thousands of secret police.

❓ Historical Ambiguity

After the conference, Harriman directly questioned Molotov about the assassination threat. Molotov's response downplayed the existence of a specific plot, instead emphasizing Stalin's belief that Roosevelt would be safer at the Soviet embassy. Subsequent American and British intelligence reports generally dismissed the plot's existence. Otto Skorzeny, the alleged leader of the German operation, later claimed that Hitler had deemed the idea unworkable even before planning began. Despite these assessments, the alleged plot continues to be a subject of discussion among certain Russian historians, highlighting the enduring intrigue surrounding wartime intelligence and diplomacy.

📜 References