Churchill and international relationshops 1939-51 Flashcards
When did the USA repeal the Neutrality Act, and what did this mean?
- November 1939
- Britain could purchase American arms
When did the USA declare a neutral zone along the coast?
October 1939 - prevented sinking or merchant ships by Germany
When and what did the US exchange for leases to the British Navy?
- September 1940
- 50 old US destroyers
How and when did Roosevelt defend sales of arms to Britain?
- Roosevelt used ‘arsenal of democracy’ to defend sales
- December 1940
When was the Lend-Lease Act and what were its results?
- March 1941
- $31.6 bn assistance to Britain by 1945
When did US troops occupy Iceland and why?
- 1 July 1941
- Stop Germany from using it as a military base
When was Roosevelt’s first meeting with Churchill, where, and what was agreed there?
- August 1941
- Placentia bay, Canada
- Atlantic Charter
Atlantic Charter (1941)
- Winston Churchill not acquire new territory as a result of WWII and to work for peace after the war.
- Also to set up new international organizations to mediate disputes between nations that would come in the form of the United Nations.
- Roosevelt ignores British Colonialism for the sake of alliance in the war effort
- signed by FDR and Churchill
What were 3 things the USA was concerned about Britain for in 1941?
- Dispersing its forces in N Africa, rather than a second front in France
- Britain would want to gain territories [like in 1919 with Turkish colonies]
- morally wrong for ruling over empire subjects
What were the 3 terms which weren’t fair for Britain?
- Destroyers provided were obsolete
- US took gold reserves as security for Lend-Lease payment
- USA made large profits from selling arms
When did Hitler declare war on the USA, and what was it after?
- 7th December 1941
- Pearl Harbour
What did Churchill do after war was declared war on the USA and what was its outcome?
- Visited Roosevelt in Washington, even though Roosevelt wanted to wait
- Made a positive impression, so he was seen as heroic, rather than war mongering
What policy resulted from the Washington meeting?
- British prevailed
- US general Marshall didn’t get his way, so there was no invasion of northern France until 1944
- US supported British strategy of Mediterranean campaign
What conference was Europe First agreed at, and when was it held?
- Arcadia Conference, Washington DC
- December 1941
How many members were there in the Grand Alliance by December 1941?
26 nations
How many American troops were shipped to Britain, then N Africa/Italy, and when?
- Over 1 mill
- January 1942
When did Churchill manage to convince Roosevelt against ‘Operation Sledgehammer’, and what was it?
- June 1942
- An invasion of France to take pressure off Russia
when did the US pressured for a date of invasion of northern France
- In Washington in may 1943
- agreed invasion would be in May 1944
When did Churchill meet Roosevelt in Cairo and then move to Tehran to meet Stalin?
November 1943
What changed at Tehran between Churchill and Roosevelt
- Roosevelt refused to meet Churchill privately to decide on joint policy
- USA abandoned ‘Europe First’ and focused on the defeat of Japan
- Churchill’s plan of setting up the Balkan front in Turkey rejected
- ## Roosevelt attempted to distance himself from Churchill to be closer to Stalin
Clash over policy Churchill and Roosevelt (1943)
- Churchill; wanted to invade sicily and southern France from N africa (Dragoon)
- Americans wanted a quick cross channel invasion of Northern France (dynamo)
How many meetings between Churchill and Roosevelt
10 personal meetings
Churchill and Stalin
- Churchill despised Communism
- After Hitler invaded Russia (Operation Barbarossa) Churchill put aside his concessions on Communism for the sake of alliance.
- USSR had sacrificed a lot of losses that were not matched by Britain or USA that inevitably helped win the war.
- By 1943 the scale of the Russian war effort convinced the US that Stalin was the key figure in the alliance.
- They also were both anxious to maintain their empires
- The Percentages Agreement represent the ruthlessness and capacity for ‘dirty politics’ within the 2 men, diving up countries without much thought
Churchill and de Gaulle
- Colonel Charles de Gaulle who saw himself as the spirit of a free France and led the Free French
- Churchill admired de Gaulle but De Gaulle was uncompromising and was disliked by the Americans.
- De Gaulle was not a political leader or a high-ranking officer but he saw himself as the natural leader of post-war France - something that Churchill and Roosevelt did not accept.
- De Gaulle would not work closely with former Vichy leaders in North Africa which annoyed Roosevelt and embarrassed Churchill.
what was the Yalta Conference
- February 1945
- Meeting of the Big 3 to talk about post-WWII plans
- Germany was to be divided into American, British, French, and Soviet zones (%s agreement)
- Stalin didn’t want France to get land
- Russia would help by attacking Japan three months after Germany’s collapse in exchange for the Sakhalin and Kurile Islands
- Agreement was made to hold a conference in San Francisco to from a peacekeeping organization (UN)
When does Roosevelt die?
- April 1945
Iron Curtain Speech
- march 1946
- Given by the former Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, in Missouri along with US president Truman
- Iron Curtain had descended between east and West Europe
- Soviets desire ‘indefinite expansion of its power and doctrines’
- Stalin described Churchill as a ‘war mongerer’ for the speech
