| "Germany First" Winston Churchill welcomed the American entrance into the war. He traveled to the White House that same December to meet with FDR. The two decided on a “Germany First” strategy—to fight a holding action in the Pacific while putting most men and materiel into the fight against Hitler. |
| North Africa The Versailles Peace Treaty gave Britain a “mandate” over Egypt and Palestine. Now, the British fought to protect these territories from the Germans. General Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox,” and his crack Afrika Korps, drove eastward from Libya toward Egypt. Only General Bernard Montgomery stood in the way. At El Alamein, “Monty” stopped Rommel’s advance. |
  Left: General Montgomery. Right: General Rommel. |
| "Operation Torch" Anxious to get the Americans into the war, the British and Americans decided on an invasion of French North Africa (under the control of the Vichy government). The invasion would give the Americans a chance to “blood” their troops—test out leadership, equipment, tactics—as well as test the Allied command structure. Overall command was in the hands of an untried field commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower. In November 1942, the Allies landed on the coast of North Africa. In spite of predictions to the contrary, the Vichy French fought to protect their soil. However, within a few weeks, French Admiral Daldier negotiated a cease fire with the Allies, in return for sharing power in North Africa. This agreement, negotiated in the field, sent alarm bells ringing in London and Washington—it smacked of appeasement and collaboration, and pointed out the need for an overall strategy in approaching the war. |
 |
Casablanca Conference In January 1943, FDR met secretly with
Churchill at Casablanca to decide long-term
goals and strategies. First, to appease Stalin, who suspected the
Americans
and British might negotiate a separate peace with Germany, the two
agreed
to accept only unconditional surrender from the Axis Powers (Germany,
Italy,
and Japan). Second, they agreed to open a second front in Europe,
though
not against France, as Stalin wanted, but against what Churchill termed
the
“soft underbelly” of Europe: Italy. |
[WWII in Europe: II] [WWII in Europe: IV]