User:Kennjones/sandbox

General Notes
Simone noticed that one of the sources listed in the Bibliography is never actually cited in the article and it cites a page number that makes no sense. The page number cited is actually the past last page of the books index. The correct citation would also need to have the city and name of the publisher corrected. I planned to utilize the same source, so I will will need to correct this citation in the Bibliography. It is Paul Mayle's book Eureka Summit.

Kenneth hopes to be able to help make the results section of the Tehran Conference (can't believe I actually did that) much more expansive, with a well referenced, unbiased overview. There were several important elements to the Tehran Conference and the current results section is quite limited in its scope and spectrum. Kenneth identified several useful, peer reviewed references which he is reading. He will upload a bibliography which I plan to update regularly.

Rachel is expanding the Dinner meeting section to include more information regarding the discussions.

Dinner Meeting
Before the Tripartite Dinner Meeting of 29 November 1943 at the Conference, Churchill presented Stalin with a specially commissioned ceremonial sword (the "Sword of Stalingrad", made in Sheffield), as a gift from King George VI to the citizens of Stalingrad and the Soviet people, commemorating the Soviet victory at Stalingrad. When Stalin received the sheathed sword, he took it with both hands and kissed the scabbard. (He then handed it to Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, who mishandled it, causing the sword to fall to the ground.) "Without American production the United Nations could never have won the war."

- Joseph Stalin Stalin proposed executing 50,000–100,000 German officers so that Germany could not plan another war. Roosevelt, believing Stalin was not serious, joked that "maybe 49,000 would be enough". Churchill, however, was outraged and denounced "the cold blooded execution of soldiers who fought for their country". He said that only war criminals should be put on trial in accordance with the Moscow Document, which he himself had written. He stormed out of the room, but was brought back in by Stalin who said he was joking. Churchill was glad Stalin had relented, but thought Stalin was testing the waters.

The three leaders also discussed holding bases in post-war Germany and Japan to prevent future wars. Roosevelt stated that there should be a trusteeship for any occupied territory. Churchill was willing to commit to occupying bases, with financial assistance from the other Allies but stated that Great Britain had no interest in taking new territories. Stalin did not indicate at that time what bases or territory the Soviet Union might occupy following the war.

Alleged Assassination Plot
The NKVD, Russia's counterintelligence unit, first notified Mike Reilly, Roosevelt's chief of security, of the suspected assassination plot several days prior to Roosevelt's arrival in Tehran. Reilly had gone to Tehran several days early to evaluate security concerns and explore potential routes from Cairo to Tehran. Just before Reilly returned to Cairo, the NKVD informed him that dozens of German's had been dropped into Tehran with parachutes the day before. The NKVD suspected German agents were planning to kill the Big Three leaders at the Tehran Conference.

When housing accommodations for the meeting were originally discussed, both Stalin and Churchill had extended invitations to Roosevelt, asking him to stay with them during the meeting. However, Roosevelt wanted to avoid the appearance of choosing one ally over another and decided it was important to stay at the American legation to remain independent. Roosevelt arrived in Tehran on November 27th, 1943 and settled into the American legation. Close to midnight, Vyacheslov Molotov, Stalin's top aide, summoned Archilbald Clark-Kerr (the British Ambassador in the Soviet Union) and Averell Harriman (the American Ambassador in the Soviet Union) to the Russian embassy, warning them of an assassination plot against Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Molotov informed them several assassins had been apprehended, but reported additional assassins were at large and expressed concerns for President Roosevelt's safety. Molotov advised Roosevelt should be moved to the safety of the British or Russian embassy.

Americans suspected Stalin had fabricated the assassination plot as an excuse to have Roosevelt moved to the Russian embassy. Mike Reilly, Roosevelt's chief of Secret Service, advised him to move to either the Russian or British embassies for his safety. One of the underlying factors influencing their decision was the distance Churchill and Stalin would need to travel for meetings at the American legation. Harriman reminded the President that the Americans would be held responsible if Stalin or Churchill were assassinated while traveling to visit Roosevelt all the way across the city. Earlier that day, Molotov had agreed to hold all meetings at the American legation because traveling was difficult for Roosevelt. The timing of Molotov announcing an assassination plot later that night aroused suspicion that his motives were to keep Stalin safely within the guarded walls of the Russian embassy. Harriman doubted the existence of an assassination plot, but urged the President to relocate to avoid the perception of putting Churchill and Stalin in danger. Roosevelt did not believe there was a credible threat of assassination, but agreed to the move so he could be closer to Stalin and Churchill. Living in the Russian embassy also allowed Roosevelt to gain more direct access to Stalin and build his trust. Stalin liked having Roosevelt in the embassy because it eliminated the need to travel outside the compound and it allowed him to spy on Roosevelt more easily. The Russian embassy was guarded by thousands of secret police and located adjacent to the British embassy, which allowed the Big Three to meet securely.

After the Tehran Conference ended, Harriman asked Molitov whether there was really ever an assassination threat in Tehran. Molitov said that they knew about German agents in Tehran, but did not know of a specific assassination plot. Molitov's response minimized their assertions of an assassination plot, instead emphasizing that Stalin thought President Roosevelt would be safer at the Russian embassy. American and British intelligence reports generally dismissed the existence of this plot and Otto Skorzeny, the alleged leader of the operation, later claimed that Hitler had dismissed the idea as unworkable before planning had even begun.

The Three Powers Come Together
On December 1, 1943, the three leaders came together and made declarations and negotiated the following military conclusions at the conference.

The Declaration of the Three Powers Regarding Iran:

Iran was going to war with Germany; a common enemy to the three powers. Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt addressed the issue of Iran's special financial needs during the war, and the possibility of needing aid after the war. The three powers declared to continue to render aid to Iran. The Government of Iran and the three powers reach an accord within all the disagreements to maintain the independence, sovereignty and integrity of Iran. The United States, U.S.S.R, and the United Kingdom expect Iran to follow along with the other allied nations to establish peace once the war is over, this is what was agreed upon once the declaration was made.

Conclusions:


 * 1) The Yugoslav Partisans also known as National Liberation Army and Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia should be supported by supplies and equipment to the maximum extent and also by commando operations.
 * 2) The leaders exclaimed that it would be desirable if Turkey should come into war on the side of the Allies before the end of the year. The leaders took note of Stalin's statement that if Turkey found herself at war with Germany, and as a result Bulgaria declared war on Turkey or attacked her, the Soviet Union would immediately be at war with Bulgaria. The Conference further took note that this could be mentioned in the forthcoming negotiations to bring Turkey into the war. #The cross-channel invasion of France (Operation Overlord) would be launched during May 1944, in conjunction with an operation against southern France. The latter operation would be undertaken in as great a strength as availability of landing-craft permitted. The Conference further took note of Joseph Stalin's statement that the Soviet forces would launch an offensive at about the same time with the object of preventing the German forces from transferring from the Eastern to the Western Front.
 * 3) The leaders agreed that the military staffs of the Three Powers should keep in close touch with each other in regard to the impending operations in Europe. In particular it was agreed that a cover plan to mislead the enemy about these operations should be concerted between the staffs concerned.

Political Decisions:

Stalin and Churchill discussed the future borders of Poland and settled on the Curzon line in the east and the Oder-Neisse line in the west. FDR had asked to be excused from any discussion of Poland out of consideration for the effects of any decision on Polish voters in the USA and the upcoming 1944 election. This decision was not ratified until the Potsdam Conference of 1945.

During the negotiations at the Tehran Conference, Roosevelt secured the reincorporation of the Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia into the Soviet Union only after the citizens voted on these actions. Stalin would not consent to any international control over the elections, and that all issues would have to be resolved in accordance with the Soviet Constitution.