Tehran Conference

Setting the scene

The Tehran Conference was held November 28-December 1, 1943, the first meeting of the 'Big Three' Allied leaders—U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin—in Tehran, Iran. The conference was held to coordinate strategy against Germany and plan the postwar world. It was the first time Roosevelt and Stalin met in person. Security was intense—German assassins allegedly plotted to kill the leaders in Operation Long Jump.

What happened

The main decision was to open a second front in France in May 1944 (Operation Overlord), which Stalin had demanded for two years to relieve pressure on the Eastern Front. Churchill, who favored a Mediterranean strategy, reluctantly agreed. The leaders also agreed to support Yugoslav partisans under Tito, to draw Turkey into the war, and to establish the United Nations after the war. They discussed Poland's postwar borders, agreeing to shift Poland westward at Germany's expense, and the division of Germany.

Why it still matters

Tehran marked the high point of Allied unity and established the personal relationships that would shape the war's end. Roosevelt's rapport with Stalin worried Churchill, who feared Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. The conference demonstrated that the U.S. and USSR, not Britain, would dominate the postwar world. Decisions made at Tehran—particularly on Poland and Germany—set the stage for Cold War divisions. The conference also showed Roosevelt's declining health; he would die 16 months later. Tehran was a crucial step toward Allied victory and the postwar order.

Background

The second front in France was confirmed.