At the Tehran conference of the heads of government of the USSR. The last meeting of the "Big Three"

On November 28 - December 1, 1943, a conference of the leaders of the three allied states of the anti-Hitler coalition was held in Tehran (Iran): Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR Joseph Stalin, President of the USA Franklin Roosevelt, and Prime Minister of Great Britain Winston Churchill.

The meeting went down in history as the Tehran Conference. On it for the first time in full strength the "big three" gathered - Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill.

Military decisions indicated that Operation Overlord would be undertaken during May 1944, together with the operation in southern France, while the Soviet troops would launch an offensive at about the same time in order to prevent the transfer of German forces from the eastern to the western front. It was envisaged that the military headquarters of the three powers should henceforth keep in close contact with each other with regard to the forthcoming operations in Europe, and that a plan of mystification and deception of the enemy with respect to these operations should be agreed between these headquarters.

The Western allies, on the basis of their military-strategic plans in Southeastern Europe, offered to extend assistance to the Yugoslav partisans and draw Turkey into the war against Germany.

During the discussion on the opening of the second front, the statement by the head of the Soviet government that the USSR was ready to go to war with Japan after Germany’s capitulation was important, despite the existence of a treaty of neutrality with that country.

In addition to military issues, the conference discussed issues relating to the post-war world. The United States raised the question of the dismemberment of Germany after the war into five autonomous states. Great Britain proposed to separate Prussia from Germany, and to include the southern regions of the country together with Austria and Hungary into the so-called Danube Confederation. The Soviet delegation did not support these plans. Discussion of the German issue was decided to refer to the European Advisory Commission.

At the Tehran Conference, a decision on the transfer of Koenigsberg (now Kaliningrad) to the USSR was generally agreed.

In Tehran, a preliminary agreement was reached on establishing the borders of Poland along the "Curzon Line" of 1920 in the east and along the Oder (Odra) River - in the west. Thus, the territory of Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia was deemed to be ceded to the USSR.

A “Declaration on Iran” was also adopted, in which participants declared “their desire to preserve the full independence, sovereignty and territorial inviolability of Iran”.

The conference between Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin tentatively discussed the creation of an international security organization.

At the end of the conference, the Declaration of the Three Powers was published. According to the document, the leaders of the "Big Three" agreed on plans for the destruction of the German armed forces on the timing and scale of operations undertaken from the east, west and south. The declaration stated the determination of the three states to work together both during the war and in subsequent peacetime.

The material is based on information from open sources.

This was the first meeting of the “Big Three” at which the fate of the course of the war and the future post-war world order were decided.

Preparing for the conference

In addition to Tehran, the options for holding a conference in Cairo (at the suggestion of W. Churchill), Istanbul or Baghdad were considered. As usual, I.V. Stalin refused to fly, anywhere else, by plane.

The place of the conference - Tehran - was determined by I.V. Stalin. For William Churchill, who was accustomed to solving military-political tasks in London, where there were many emigrant governments, or in Cairo, where there was a large group of British troops, the Middle East was preferable. For F. Roosevelt, who was tied to the elections to the US Congress, suited more than North Africa. The last thing they liked was Tehran. But I.V. Stalin already understood that the victories of the Red Army allow him, and only him, to dictate their conditions. For him, Tehran was preferable.

In Europe, there was nowhere to hold a meeting of the "big three". Not suitable for these purposes and the territory of the USSR. Roosevelt and Churchill, on August 19, 1943, were informed by I.V. Stalin, which, in their opinion, for such a meeting "neither Astrakhan nor Arkhangelsk is suitable." They offered to meet in Alaska, in Fairbanks, but I.V. Stalin replied to the American president that he could not “leave the front at such a remote point” at such a tense time and offered to hold a meeting in a country where “there is a representation of all three states, for example Iran”.

The territory of Iran was controlled by Soviet, British and partly American troops.

The units of the Red Army and the British military contingent entered Iran in late August-September. The reasons for the introduction of Soviet troops were set out in a note of the USSR government to the Iranian leadership on August 25, 1941. It stated that “German agents in the most brutal and shameless way ... turned the territory Iran is in the arena of preparing a military attack on the Soviet Union ... This requires the Soviet government to immediately implement those measures that it is not only entitled but obliged to accept in order to defend itself. ”

The note indicated the names of German intelligence officers and agents who were engaged in subversive work against the USSR on the territory of Iran. The introduction of Soviet troops in the northern regions of the country took place in strict accordance with Article 6 of the Soviet-Iranian Treaty of

The southwestern provinces of Iran occupied the British troops. Soviet units connected with them in the area of \u200b\u200bQazvin settlement. American troops entered Iran at the end of the year. This military action was carried out under the pretext of ensuring the security of military supplies for the USSR. Without any contractual clearance, the US military units occupied the ports of Bender-Shahpur and Khorramshahr.

Through Iranian territory, a road was laid along which American military goods under Lend-Lease began to be supplied to the USSR.

In the northern regions of the country, the security of the Soviet borders and the transported military goods was ensured by the strike force, which included the 44th and 47th armies. Intelligence departments of the headquarters of these armies were actively working to neutralize the activities of German intelligence, saboteurs and terrorists. In Tavriz, Ahvaz, Mashhad, Kirmanshah, Isfahan and Rezays residencies of the Soviet military intelligence were created. At the end of 1942, they received information from 28 sources who worked in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of the Interior of Iran, as well as in a number of large military units.

Thanks to the efforts of Soviet intelligence, the activities of German agents, secret fascist organizations and groups that settled in Rasht, Pahlavi, Qazvin and other cities of Northern Iran, was under control and could be blocked at any time.

The situation in the capital of Iran was also difficult, but controlled. In Tehran, the Soviet 182nd Mountain Rifle Regiment was stationed, whose servicemen protected the most important objects. Most Iranians respected the Soviet Union. This facilitated the work of representatives of Soviet intelligence, operating under the cover of various missions and finding volunteers among Iranians.

At the end of November I.V. Stalin left Moscow. The terminal station to which his letter train No. 501 was supposed to arrive was little known. The departure of the Soviet leader from Moscow took place in conditions of deep secrecy - no one knew that the Supreme Commander had left their Soviet capital.

The train went on the route Moscow - Stalingrad - Baku. I.V. Stalin was located in a separate armored car, weighing more than 80 tons. LP also went in a separate carriage. Beria. He was responsible for the security of the delegation, which included V.M. Molotov, K.E. Voroshilov, S.M. Shtemenko, senior officials of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs and the General Staff. On one of the sections of the train, the train was almost hit by German bombers ... From Baku to Tehran I.V. Stalin traveled by plane "Douglas", accompanied by three nines fighters.

W. Churchill went from London to Egypt. He reached Cairo without incident, hoping during the meeting with the American president to try again to reconcile the positions of the USA and Great Britain on the main issues of negotiations with I.V. By Stalin.

F.D. Roosevelt crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the best in those years in the US battleship Iowa.

The presidential ship was accompanied by a reinforced escort of warships, which managed to avoid meeting with German submarines. The Atlantic was mostly supportive of the journey of the American president, although once the Americans were still patted by a strong storm. On one of the escort ships, a spontaneous launch of a torpedo occurred, which nearly landed in Iowa.

After a nine-day sea crossing, "Iowa" arrived at the Algerian port of Oran.

Roosevelt and Churchill met in Cairo with Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek, and on November 28, the delegations of the three powers were already in Tehran. For German saboteurs I.V. Stalin, F.D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill were tempting targets. Any unsuccessful terrorist act could have disrupted the work of the Tehran Conference. The danger was real, its political consequences are unpredictable.

The Soviet and Allied delegation near the Soviet Embassy in Tehran. Tehran Conference.

From left to right: an unknown British officer, General George C. Marshall (US Chief of Staff) shakes hands with Archibald D. Clark Kerry (British Ambassador to the USSR), member of the American delegation Harry L. Hopkins, Soviet translator, future diplomat Valentin Mikhailovich Berezhkov, Chairman of the USSR SNK I.V. Stalin, Minister of Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, Chairman of the Armistice Commission K.E. Voroshilov

An attempt on the leaders of the "Big Three"

For security purposes in the Iranian capital, the US president stopped not at his own embassy, \u200b\u200bbut at the Soviet one, which was opposite the British one (the American embassy was much further away, on the outskirts of the city in a dubious area). Between the embassies they created a canvas corridor so that the movements of the leaders were not visible from the outside. The diplomatic complex thus created was surrounded by three rings of infantry and tanks. For three days of the conference, the city was completely blocked by troops and special services. In Tehran, all media activities were suspended, the telephone, telegraph and radio were disconnected. Even the families of Soviet diplomats were temporarily “evacuated” from the zone of upcoming talks.

  Otto skorzeny

After the Battle of Kursk, the world war took on its internal dynamics. Militarily, there was no need for a second front for the USSR. It became clear to all, including Roosevelt, that the Soviet Union was able to defeat Germany alone. The second front was needed by the United States in order to equip profitable post-war positions on control over Europe, over Germany, and through Europe and Germany over the rest of the world in order to purchase trumps with the Soviet Union, as it was believed.

Secondly, it turned out that the line of Roosevelt took over, who believed that cooperation with the USSR during the war should be continued in cooperation with the Soviet Union after the war. Without this cooperation, Roosevelt believed, the world would be doomed to an arms race. The arms race, according to Roosevelt, was incompatible with a healthy global economy. It was necessary to create, as he put it, the construction of four policemen. These are 4 powers - the United States, the USSR, the United Kingdom and China. They alone should have kept certain armed forces, all the rest should have been disarmed. Both defeated and aggressors. Like the winners, France, Poland, etc. But this had to be done in coordination with the Soviet Union.

The US delegation at the Tehran Conference first took on the issue of creating a second front against Nazi Germany an indefinite, wait-and-see attitude. However, by and large, she was guided by the decisions of the Anglo-American Conference held in August 1943 in Quebec. The decisions of the Quebec Conference were in line with the strategic attitude adopted by the United States government.

Aware of the danger of further delaying the second front, and President Roosevelt himself. On the eve of the Tehran Conference, he told his son that “if things in Russia go on like this, then it is possible that next spring you will not need a second front!”

October 1, 1943 the head of military intelligence, Lieutenant-General I.I. Ilyichev returned from the General Staff to the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU). Chief of the General Staff Marshal of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky set new tasks for military intelligence.

  Alexander Mikhailovich Vasilevsky

One of them was connected with the upcoming meeting in Moscow of the foreign ministers of the USSR, the United States and Great Britain. The arrival of top diplomats from Washington and London was expected on October 18.

Military intelligence had to quickly obtain information about the attitude of the governments of the United States and Great Britain to the problem of opening a second front in Europe. The General Staff was interested not in the declarative promises of the Allies, but in the exact data on where and when they are still planning to open a second front. The same data interested the USSR Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov, head of the Soviet delegation at the Moscow meeting.

Ilyichev immediately sent special assignments to the residents of the Soviet military intelligence in Great Britain and the USA. In London, they were to be decided by Major-General Tank Forces I. Sklyarov, in New York by Colonel P. Melkishev, in Washington by Major L. Sergeev. To the fulfillment of these tasks were connected other scouts. The tasks were complex, and little time was provided for obtaining information that interested the Center.

The information received by the chief of military intelligence from Sklyarov, Melkishev and Sergeev was taken into account when drafting special reports of the GRU for members of the Supreme Command Headquarters on the position of Great Britain and the USA on the opening of the second front.

October 15, 1943. The head of the GRU, Lieutenant-General I.I. Ilyichev sent the Supreme Commander I.V. Stalin reported on the content of the draft of the plan of operation “Overlord” extracted by the intelligence officers.

  the position of the troops before the operation “Overlord“

Copies of this report were sent to the USSR People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov and the Chief of the General Staff A.M. Vasilevsky. The report of Lieutenant-General Ilyichev indicated that the operation to invade the Allies in Normandy and Brittany was developed in mid-June 1943 and was named Overlord. Further in the report it was reported that "in the opinion of the headquarters that developed the plan, this operation can be carried out around May 1, 1944."

In general, information about the draft plan of Operation Overlord, obtained by military intelligence, was interesting for the Soviet leadership. They testified that the Allied forces were ready for an invasion, but would not start it until the situation in the war with Germany was most favorable for them, and would require some additional obligations from the USSR.

When Stalin realized that during the meeting he could get F. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill to make specific commitments on the opening of a second front, he accepted an invitation from Roosevelt to hold a trilateral meeting. He also believed that the time had come to discuss other international problems with the allies. In particular, Stalin was opposed to the idea of \u200b\u200bRoosevelt, who was supported by Churchill, about the dismemberment of Germany into five states; it was necessary to determine the ways of Poland’s revival, decide the future of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, agree on the conditions for ensuring the independence, sovereignty and territorial inviolability of Iran, on whose territory Soviet, British and American troops were stationed, as well as other issues.

An important condition for the adoption of I.V. Stalin's final decision to hold a meeting with F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill was information obtained by the GRU intelligence officers on the position of the United States and Great Britain on almost all issues of the forthcoming conference - including the allies' position on Iran. Military intelligence was able to obtain documentary data on the “general line on the issue of Allied policy in Iran, which the British delegation would roughly occupy at the upcoming conference of the three powers ...”.

The Soviet delegation proposed to take Operation Overlord, that is, a landing in north-west France, as the basis for all operations in 1944, and as support for it to carry out an invasion of South France — either simultaneously with the first operation, either a little earlier or later.

However, the British Prime Minister again tried to convince Stalin and Roosevelt of the preference for military operations in the Balkans, in the eastern part of the Mediterranean, due to the postponement of Operation Overlord. He tried to replace the opening of a second front in France by the development of operations in Italy and the Balkans in order to ensure the occupation of Central and Southeastern Europe by Anglo-American troops.

After a lengthy discussion, the meeting of the joint chiefs of staff committee of the United States and England, which took place on the morning of November 30, 1943, decided that the United States and England would launch Operation Overlord during May 1944 simultaneously with an auxiliary operation in southern France.

  start of operation “Overlord“

The latter operation will be undertaken on a scale to which the amphibious funds allow.

Stalin, in turn, said that Soviet troops would launch an offensive at about the same time in order to prevent the transfer of German forces from the eastern to the western front. This most important decision of the Tehran Conference was recorded in a secret agreement, which also had an equally important point: "The conference ... agreed that the military headquarters of the three powers should now have close contact with each other in relation to forthcoming operations in Europe."

Sword of stalingrad

Sword of Stalingrad - award sword, made by special decree of King George VI of Great Britain in admiration of the courage and resilience of the defenders of Stalingrad.

  George VI

Now it is kept in the historical and memorial museum-reserve "Battle of Stalingrad" ..

During the conference, the Soviet delegation was handed a symbolic battle sword to the defenders of Stalingrad, Stalin's interpreter V.M. Berezhkov: “Before the plenary session of the conference, on November 29, a solemn ceremony took place which turned into a demonstration of the unity of the allies in the struggle against the common enemy. Such a demonstration was just what we needed. there are still very large and complex tasks that can be solved only under the condition of common, coordinated actions.

The presentation of the specially made sword on behalf of King George VI and the English people to the inhabitants of Stalingrad was furnished with underlined pomp. The big brilliant sword with a two-handed hilt and inlaid scabbard, forged by the most experienced hereditary gunsmiths of England, symbolized a tribute to the heroes of Stalingrad - the city where the fascist beast was broken.

The hall was filled long before the ceremony. All members of the delegations, as well as leaders of armies, fleets and aviation of the powers participating in the anti-Hitler coalition, were already there when the “big three” appeared.

Stalin was in a light gray jacket with marshal's epaulets. Churchill this time also appeared in military uniform. From that day on, the English prime minister did not take off his form in Tehran, and everyone believed that this was his peculiar reaction to Stalin’s marshal’s clothing. At first, Churchill wore a blue striped suit, but when he saw Stalin in uniform, he immediately asked for the gray-bluish uniform of a senior officer of the Royal Air Force. This form just arrived in time for the award ceremony. Roosevelt, as usual, was in civilian clothes.

The guard of honor consisted of officers of the Red Army and the British armed forces. The orchestra played the Soviet and English national anthems. All stood at attention. The orchestra was silent, and there was a solemn silence. Churchill slowly approached the large black box on the table and opened it. The sword, hidden in the sheath, rested on a maroon velvet cushion. Churchill took it with both hands and, holding on to the weight, said to Stalin: “His Majesty King George VI ordered me to hand you this honorable sword to the city of Stalingrad, which was made according to a sketch chosen and approved by His Majesty. This honorable sword is made by English masters, whose ancestors for many generations were engaged in the manufacture of swords. On the blade the inscription is engraved: "A gift from King George VI to people with steel hearts - the citizens of Stalingrad as a sign of respect for the English people."

After taking a few steps forward, Churchill handed the sword to Stalin, behind whom stood the Soviet guard of honor with automatic weapons at the ready. Taking the sword, Stalin took the blade out of its sheath. The blade gleamed with cold brilliance. Stalin brought him to his lips and kissed him.

Then, holding the sword in my hands, quietly said: - On behalf of the citizens of Stalingrad, I want to express my deep appreciation for the gift of King George VI. The citizens of Stalingrad will highly appreciate this gift, and I ask you, Mr. Prime Minister, to convey their thanks to His Majesty the King ...

There was a pause. Stalin slowly walked around the table and, going up to Roosevelt, showed him the sword. Churchill supported the scabbard, and Roosevelt carefully examined the huge blade. After reading the inscription made on the blade out loud, the president said: “Indeed, the hearts of the citizens of Stalingrad have steel ...”

And he returned the sword to Stalin, who went to the table where the case lay, carefully laid the sword sheathed in it and closed the lid. Then he handed the case to Voroshilov, who, accompanied by a guard of honor, moved the sword to the next room ... Everyone went to take pictures on the terrace. It was warm and windless. The sun illuminated the foliage gilded in autumn. Stalin and Churchill stopped in the center of the terrace, where Roosevelt was also taken in a carriage. Three chairs for the "Big Three" were brought here. Ministers, marshals, generals, admirals, ambassadors lined up behind the seats. Around the cameramen and cameramen scurried around, trying to find a better position. Then the retinue stepped aside, and the “big three” remained alone against the background of high doors that led from the terrace to the conference room. This shot became historical and went around the whole world. "

  sculptural group in Sochi

The Tehran Conference was an important step in uniting the Allies against the Axis forces. The leaders of the three leading states parties to the conference were able to discuss goals and wars and the further course of action, and also began to act together to bring the day of victory closer and reduce losses.

The Tehran Conference is one of the key political and historical events in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the first conference during the Second World War, which was attended by political leaders of the so-called “Big Three” - the three leading states of the XX century.

In total, during the Second World War and after its completion, the Yalta, Tehran and Potsdam conferences were held, which decided the fate of the postwar world and laid the foundation for an organization that would be responsible for maintaining order in the second half of the twentieth century.

The Teheran Conference of 1943 was attended by Joseph Stalin (USSR), Franklin Delano Roosevelt (USA) and Sir Winston Churchill (United Kingdom).

The meeting of the leaders of the “big three” took place from November 28 to December 1, 1943 and was almost not accompanied by conflicts between the three representatives, although those had quite different visions of the future strategy of hostilities and the structure of the post-war world.

The Tehran Conference got its name from the city of sunny Teheran, which is located in the country of Iran, in which it was held.

I.V. Stalin, W. Churchill and F. Roosevelt at the negotiating table at the Tehran Conference

Relations between the allies during the Second World War before the Tehran Conference were rather tense. That is why the participants of the union could not work together first with maximum efficiency. The assembly in Tehran rectified this situation, and world leaders agreed to act together against the common powerful enemy in the face of the Third Reich regime, as well as the fascist regimes in Europe and Japan.

Like any such important political event, the Tehran Conference, on which the fate of mankind depended, caused a massive resonance in the media and quickly became the main news of authoritative publications.

Training

Initially, it was difficult to decide where the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition would meet - the Tehran Conference could well be called Cairo, Baghdad or Istanbul.

It is worth noting that Roosevelt and Churchill were not too comfortable to hold a conference in Tehran. The first wanted to hold it somewhere in North Africa (at that moment there was a huge American army, which would not give the Germans a chance to disrupt the meeting). And Churchill thought it best to spend it in London or Cairo, which was under the protection of the British army. Roosevelt and Churchill also said that they could not fly to the Soviet Union and were ready, for example, to hold a conference in Alaska. Stalin said that he would not fly so far from the front, because his country is now in a difficult situation, a powerful leader was needed for soldiers and civilians.

And yet it was Stalin who had the right to dictate his own conditions, which he achieved thanks to major victories over Germany during and after Stalingrad. To such an argument, the leaders of the United States and Great Britain could not oppose anything. He told Roosevelt and Churchill that a country with all three embassies — British, American and Soviet — was needed for holding Iran ideally suited for that. At that time, this country was under the control of Soviet, British and partly American military units. Consequently, the leaders of the "big three" could not fear the breakdown of the conference - the danger came only from secret agents.

Nevertheless, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that the conference should be held in Tehran. Although after it there were also small conferences in Cairo, which were held without the participation of the Soviet leader.

Before the Tehran Conference, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Cairo, but then went to Iran. Stalin himself traveled by train from Moscow in November 1943. The leader of the USSR personally selected the Soviet representatives, and his journey was classified as "secret". On the date of departure of the Secretary General and his route knew only a few of the high command, as well as some politicians.

Upon arrival in Tehran, Roosevelt accepted the offer of Stalin to settle in the Soviet embassy, \u200b\u200bguided by security objectives. Churchill refused and settled in the British office. It was decided that the conference should take place in the Soviet-British diplomatic complex.

Conference objectives

The main objective of the Tehran Conference was as follows:   "To develop a final strategy in the struggle against Nazism and fascism, to break Germany, its European allies and Japan."

It is possible to determine the main provisions (questions) of the Tehran Conference, which were raised for discussion by the leaders of the powers of the anti-Hitler coalition.   Key decisions made at the Tehran ConferenceYou can highlight the following:

1. The opening of the "second front" in France. The final date of commencement of a large-scale military operation was adopted, which was named Overlord (later it was moved to June 6, 1944).
2. At the Tehran Conference, the heads of government of the USSR, the USA and the UK discussed whether to grant Iran independence. At that time, the military forces of Great Britain, the USA and the Soviet Union were located in this country.
3. The problem of the so-called “Polish question” began to be discussed, since this state was one of the first to suffer from the oppression of Germany and the USSR.
4. At the Tehran Conference, it was decided to join the USSR in the war against Japan, but only after the threat from Germany in Europe disappears, therefore, the Allies must first help defeat the Third Reich.
5. Among the main issues addressed by the Tehran Conference were the post-war structure of the world, namely the borders of states in Europe. At the conference, approximate first contours of the post-war world were indicated.
6. Participants of the Tehran Conference discussed issues of ensuring peace and international security in the postwar period.

The Tehran Conference also discussed the issue of Turkey entering the war against Germany and its European allies. The main initiator of Turkey’s entry into the war was British Prime Minister Churchill.

Churchill also said that if Turkey entered the fighting, the United Kingdom would provide substantial support - it would give new modern weapons, strengthen the Turkish army with two infantry divisions, and also provide air support. Otherwise, if Turkey refuses to enter the war on the side of the Allies, Churchill will stop military supplies, will not allow the Turkish government to participate in the peace conference and talk about allowing the Soviet Union to pass through the Bosphorus.

At the Tehran Conference, Churchill’s point of view was not supported by either Stalin or Roosevelt. They believed that the opening of a new front in the Balkans would only weaken the position of the Allies before disembarking in Normandy, which was already actively preparing at that time.

Opening the "second front"

The main decision of the Tehran Conference was to approve the start date of Operation Overlord, which would mark the opening of a “second front” in Western Europe, namely in Northern France. Initially it was decided that the troops would launch an offensive around May 1944.

Stalin said that the USSR suffers more than the rest because of the Second World War of 1941-1945, since it was the Soviet people who were holding back the main forces of the Wehrmacht. He insisted on the speedy opening of the “second front”.

It is also impossible to deny the fact that the USSR did not really need another front to open in Western Europe. The fact is that the victory over Stalingrad seriously undermined the military might of Nazi Germany and thereby strengthened the Red Army. Roosevelt and Churchill understood this perfectly well and knew that the military power of the USSR would be quite enough to independently destroy the forces of the Wehrmacht and break the government of the Third Reich.

Most of all, the United States was actually interested in opening the “second front”. The United States, having begun hostilities in Western Europe, would be able to strengthen its position in Europe after the end of the war. So that the Soviet Union did not suspect a similar goal of the United States, the American delegation at the Tehran Conference took a wait-and-see attitude, thereby filling its own worth.

The American delegation led by Roosevelt was unable to convince the Soviet leader about the other dates for the start of the operation and then Churchill took the initiative saying that they will be ready in May.

In fact, the level of training of the allies was not at a sufficient level and it was decided to move the operation.

"Overlord" or as it is called - "Norman operation", is still considered the largest amphibious operation in the history of mankind. According to the plans of command, it was divided into two stages:

• operation "Neptune"  - its essence consisted in the landing of troops on the Norman coast and in the seizure of a bridgehead in northern France for a further offensive on the occupied territories in Western Europe;
• operation "Cobra"–The breakthrough of the Nazi defense and the liberation of France, which followed immediately after the operation “Neptune”.

Operation Overlord was highly classified so that the enemy could not prepare for defense. In the military bases in which the soldiers participating in the operation were located, it was decided not to let out fighters beyond their borders so that there was no information leakage.

In addition to Britain, the United States and its allies in the battle for France also participated soldiers of France under the command of Charles de Gaulle.  At the beginning of the operation, the number of fighters ready for disembarkation was almost 1.5 million. And at the time of its completion, the number of soldiers numbered almost 3 million. The Germans were in the numerical minority more than doubled.

The operation was undertaken on a huge scale - the Allies landed on the coastline 80 kilometers long.

Post-war problems

The heads of government of England (Great Britain), the USA and the USSR at the Teheran Conference expressed their opinion on the solution of post-war problems in Europe.

The most pressing problems were:

• “The German question”;
• "Polish question";
• european economic recovery - primarily France.

Question about germany

The question of Germany or the “German question” is one of the key European geopolitical problems of the twentieth century. The leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition could not agree on a single opinion.

For example, the leader of France, Charles de Gaulle, insisted on permanently dividing Germany into several independent states. Such a decision would completely save France from the further threat of Germany, which in the course of the two world wars caused them great damage.

US President Roosevelt  He said that the country also needs to be divided, because if this is not done, the ground may arise for a new conflict. Germany, in his opinion, should remain united under the control of the Allies, until complete denazification passes.

Soviet Unioninsisted that the country be divided into spheres of influence. This led to conflicts between the allies and eventually the united country was divided into Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) and the GDR (German Democratic Republic). The first was under the control of France, Britain and the United States, and the second - under the control of the USSR. As a result, this separation existed until 1990. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Germany was united into a single state.

The division of land in the course of the "German question"

To fully solve the “German question”, four political principles were issued, which were included in historiography as “four Ds”:

1. Denazification. The key principle that implied the complete elimination of all Nazi organizations.
2. Demilitarization - the disarmament of the German army.
3. Democratization is the return of multiparty elections and all freedoms to the population.
4. Decartelization is the dissolution of all large economic enterprises (cartels) that controlled the country's economy and did not give opportunities for the development of medium and small enterprises.

Polish question

The Polish government, which at that time was in exile and received a political shelter in England, insisted that the lands of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus be returned to them.

The leaders of the Western powers considered the claims to these territories to be insufficient and decided that they would be solved at the expense of Germany.

Roosevelt and Churchill were unanimous in their opinion that Poland should abandon the idea of \u200b\u200ba great Polish empire that existed a few centuries ago. They believed that she should come to terms with the status of a small state.

An attempt on the leaders of the "Big Three"

In 1943, it became clear to Hitler that it would be almost impossible to win a war. The USSR moved into a swift counteroffensive, and the forces of the Allies would soon be replenished with US troops, followed by the opening of the “second front”.

The leadership of the Third Reich was vital to thwart the negotiations in Tehran and destroy the leaders of the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom.

To this end, the Abwehr (the intelligence and counterintelligence agency of Germany) was ordered to organize an attempt on Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill. Responsible for the assignment was appointed the best Nazi spy Otto Skorzeny, who has already completed several difficult tasks, including Mussolini saved from captivity. The operation to eliminate the leaders of the anti-Hitler coalition received the code name "Long Jump".

Hitler's espionage machine - Otto Skorzeny

Counterintelligence of the USSR was able to find out about Operation Long Jump, after which Stalin ordered the mobilization of all Soviet intelligence in Iran to counteract German agents.

Stalin also immediately informed about the upcoming terrorist act Roosevelt and Churchill. Since the US embassy in Tehran was far from the Soviet - on the very edge of the city, Roosevelt decided to settle in the Soviet for greater security. Churchill did not have to do this, since the British and Soviet embassies were opposite each other.

In the summer of Tehran, before the start of the Tehran Conference, the landing of German radio operators began, which established radio contact with Berlin in order to prepare a springboard for the landing of the commando group led by Skorzeny.

Since the Allies knew about the operation, the Americans, along with Soviet intelligence officers, intercepted the German radio communications, which allowed them to find radio operators and capture them.

Berlin learned about the capture of radio operators and stopped the operation of disembarking the second group. At that time, several hundred German agents were already in Tehran, who were safely found and also captured, also forcing them to work for Allied intelligence. Thus, most of the agents were recruited.

  Final arrangements and documents

At the conference, it became obvious that Soviet-American relations during the Second World War were warm — both leaders held a similar vision for the world after the hostilities. Churchill continued to adhere to the policy of isolation of the USSR.

Following the Tehran Conference, the leaders of the “Big Three” decided to open a “second front”. The chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff said that the US Army was fully prepared for the offensive. Based on the plan, at the time of the offensive in France, the USSR was obliged to launch an offensive on the Eastern Front on the same day, so that the German command could not transfer forces from the Eastern Front to the Western.

In the end, the Teheran Conference, Stalin accepted the demands of the Allies for the USSR to enter the war against fascist Japan after the military power of Germany was completely broken.

At the Tehran Conference, the heads of government of the United States, Great Britain, and the USSR adopted the so-called “Declaration of Three on Iran”. According to this declaration, Iran should become a fully independent state after the end of hostilities.

The leaders of the Big Three also tried to persuade the Turkish government to enter the war against Germany. However, this was not achieved at the Tehran Conference.

At the conference between the Soviet and British representatives a conflict arose around the "Polish question".  The Polish government, which at that time was in exile and was based in Britain under the protection of Churchill, filed charges against Stalin. Its essence was that during the joint occupation of Poland, together with units of the Wehrmacht, thousands of Polish officers of the Katyn Forest were shot by Soviet troops. Stalin strongly denied these accusations and said that they simply wanted to blackmail him so that the USSR would make territorial concessions to Poland.

At the Tehran Conference, the leaders of the Western powers made territorial concessions to the USSR. It was also decided that the post-war world would be governed by an international organization, the main participants of which would be the USA, the USSR, the United Kingdom and France.

The link http://www.hist.msu.ru/ER/Etext/War_Conf/tehran.htm allows you to view the materials of the Tehran Conference of 1943. At this address are placed the decisions of the conference, the recording of conversations of heads of government and working papers. Based on these documents, it will not be difficult to determine the main (specific) provisions of the Tehran Conference.

For comparison, you can also compare the decisions of the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam conferences.

Postwar world

As a result of the Tehran Conference, the coalition leaders managed to reach three agreements on the post-war structure of Europe:

1. At the Tehran conference, the participating states decided the fate of some countries of Eastern Europe - the Baltic states were to join the USSR after the vote of citizens of these countries.
2. The Soviet leader managed to convince the United States and Great Britain to transfer part of East Prussia to the USSR, namely the Kaliningrad region.
3. One of the decisions of the Tehran Conference regarding the arrangement of the world in the future was not accepted - Roosevelt proposed to divide Germany into five independent states.

There was much controversy about the first agreement after the war. Historians have argued that they officially allowed the Baltic States to be annexed to the USSR, although Washington then denied this fact. The United States at the conference did not openly support such a move, but did not oppose it, thereby giving Stalin the will.

After the Tehran Conference, the Yalta and Potsdam conferences supplemented the list of these agreements.

  Security issues in the world after the war

President of the United States of America Franklin Roosevelt presented his point of view on the creation of an international organization in the future that would guarantee and maintain security in the world. He had already spoken about this before the beginning of the conference to the Soviet commissar of foreign affairs, Vyacheslav Molotov. He visited the US capital Washington in the summer of 1942. Also Roosevelt again discussed in May 1943 with the British Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden.

Stalin Roosevelt outlined his plans in November 1943. For his security in the world, in his opinion, an organization should be responsible that would work on the basis of the principles of the United Nations. However, this organization should not be similar to the same League of Nations, which failed in its duties and allowed World War II. A new organization for the preservation of peace would not solve military issues.

According to Roosevelt, there would be three bodies within the new organization:

1. General body which consisted of all the countries of the Organization. His powers included only the opportunity to make recommendations. At each organ meeting, all member countries can express their opinion on a particular problem.
2. Executive committee,  which would include: one of the dominions of Great Britain, one country of the Middle East, one Latin American country, two European states, the United States, Great Britain, China and the USSR.
3. Police Committee  which will monitor the preservation of the world, to avoid another aggression by Japan and Germany. It should include four states: the USA, China, Great Britain and the USSR.

Stalin and Churchill liked the idea presented by Roosevelt. However, Stalin also objected that such a scheme was considered wrong on the side that such an organization would be affected by the rights of small European states, which also suffered greatly during the Second World War.

The leader of the USSR, in turn, suggested that the creation of two organizations would be the best way out - one for the Far East, and the second for Europe.

Churchill was generally in agreement with the proposals of Roosevelt and Stalin, but he considered that one or two organizations would not be enough - in his opinion there should be three. Roosevelt was against such an organization of the world after the war.

In December 1943, Roosevelt had a conversation with Stalin, and they came to the conclusion that the creation of one organization would be the most rational one. Despite the fact that at the Potsdam Conference world leaders actively talked about the creation of an organization for the preservation of peace, it never took a formal decision to create it.

F.D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister W. Churchill. At the conference, which was held from November 28 to December 1, 1943, the Big Three — Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill — gathered for the first time in their entirety.

The conference clearly outlined the desire of Roosevelt and Stalin to agree. Churchill initially kept the former strategy of isolating the Russians. Roosevelt proposed that the Soviet representative should attend all Anglo-American meetings before a general conversation. The idea of \u200b\u200bglobal regulation of international relations equally impressed Roosevelt and Stalin. Churchill was conservative in this respect, did not particularly believe in post-war cooperation with the USSR, doubted the effectiveness of the future new international United Nations (UN) and saw behind this idea a plan to push the UK to the periphery of international politics.

The main place in the work of the Tehran Conference was taken by the coordination of plans of military actions of the allies. Despite the decisions of the previous Allied conferences, Churchill again raised the question of postponing the landing of Anglo-American troops in France and instead carrying out a number of operations in the Balkans (hoping to prevent the proliferation of the Soviet sphere of influence). However, Stalin and Roosevelt opposed this, considering the north of France as the only suitable place to open a second front. It was agreed that a second front would be opened in the north of France in May 1944. Stalin promised that the Soviet troops would launch an offensive at about the same time in order to prevent the transfer of German forces from the Eastern to the Western Front.

The Big Three agreed to try to force Turkey to enter the war on the side of the Allies.

The conference discussed the future of Germany. Roosevelt and Stalin spoke in favor of splitting Germany into small states in order to rule out the revival of German expansionism. Roosevelt proposed to dismember Germany into five parts and transfer Kiel, Hamburg, Ruhr and Saar under the control of the United Nations. Stalin emphasized that the unification of Germany must be prevented at all costs. No final decision was made on this issue, however.

The question of Poland was painful at the conference and controversial for Soviet-British relations. By this time, Stalin had broken off relations with the exiled Polish government in London. With the support of the British, the Kremlin put forward the question of the execution of Polish soldiers in the Katyn Forest near Smolensk as blackmail in order to force Moscow to make territorial concessions.

In Tehran, Stalin confirmed that the eastern Soviet-Polish border should run along the line established in September 1939, and proposed to move the western Polish border to the Oder. Understanding that Moscow will stand to the death in this matter, Churchill agreed with this proposal, noting that the lands received by Poland are much better than the lands that she gives. Stalin also said that the USSR hopes to get Konigsberg and move the border with Finland further from Leningrad.

The conference clearly indicated the consent of the Western allies to meet Stalin in the territorial issue. It was also claimed that the post-war world would be ruled by four powers (USSR, USA, England, France), operating under the auspices of a new international organization. For the USSR, it was a colossal breakthrough; The United States also, for the first time, after Wilson, assumed global functions; Great Britain, whose role was relatively diminishing, should have been content with the fact that it did not fall out of the Big Three.

The conference adopted a “Declaration on Iran”, in which the participants declared “their desire to preserve the full independence, sovereignty and territorial inviolability of Iran.”

In conclusion, Stalin made a promise about the USSR joining the war against Japan after the defeat of Germany.

The Tehran Conference strengthened the cooperation of the main powers of the anti-fascist coalition and agreed on plans for military operations against Germany.

ATTACHMENT

Three powers declaration

We, the President of the United States, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and the Prime Minister of the Soviet Union, met during the last four days in the capital of our ally, Iran, and formulated and reaffirmed our common policy.

We express our determination that our countries will work together both during the war and in subsequent peacetime.

Regarding the war, representatives of our military headquarters participated in our round-table talks, and we agreed on our plans to destroy the German armed forces. We have reached a complete agreement on the scale and timing of operations to be undertaken from the east, west and south.

The mutual understanding we have achieved here guarantees us victory.

As for peacetime, we are confident that the agreement between us will ensure lasting peace. We fully recognize the high responsibility that rests on us and on all United Nations nations for the realization of such a world that will be approved by the overwhelming majority of the peoples of the world and which will eliminate the calamities and horrors of war for many generations.

Together with our diplomatic advisors, we considered the problems of the future. We will strive for cooperation and active participation of all countries, large and small, whose peoples, with their hearts and minds, have devoted themselves, like our peoples, to the task of eliminating tyranny, slavery, oppression and intolerance. We will welcome their entry into the global family of democracies when they wish to do so.

No force in the world can prevent us from destroying the German armies on land, their submarines at sea and destroying their military factories from the air.

Our offensive will be merciless and growing.

Having finished our friendly meetings, we confidently await the day when all the peoples of the world will live freely, without being subjected to the act of tyranny, and in accordance with their various aspirations and their conscience.

We arrived here with hope and determination. We leave here real friends in spirit and purpose.

ROOSEVELT
  Stalin
  CHURCHILL

The conference of the leaders of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, held in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943, is one of the major diplomatic events of the Second World War. It became an important stage in the development of international and inter-allied relations of this period.

The Tehran conference, during which a number of major issues of war and peace were examined and resolved, played a significant role in consolidating the anti-Hitler coalition to achieve a final victory in the war and in laying the foundation for the further development and strengthening of Soviet-Anglo-American relations.

The meeting in Tehran convincingly showed that, despite the fundamental differences in the political and social structure of the USSR, on the one hand, and the United States and England, on the other, these countries could successfully cooperate in fighting the common enemy, looking for and finding a mutually acceptable solution between them. controversial issues, although they often approached these issues from completely different positions.

Combat and political cooperation between the Soviet Union, the United States of America and Great Britain during the Second World War is one of the greatest lessons of history that cannot be forgotten.

The purpose of this work is to reflect the contradictions that have arisen at the Tehran Conference between its participants on the key issues of international politics, and to determine the significance of the conference for the further conduct of war and peace.

Tasks - to disclose the positions of each of the parties on major issues and reflect the decisions taken by the conference.

1. The Tehran Conference is the first meeting of the heads of the three governments.

At the suggestion of the Soviet government, the conference was held in Tehran, from November 28 to December 1, 1943. The Tehran Conference is one of the largest diplomatic events of the Second World War. It became an important stage in the development of international and inter-allied relations of this period.

The meeting in Tehran, during which a number of major issues of war and peace were examined and resolved, played a significant role in consolidating the anti-Hitler coalition to achieve a final victory in the war and in laying the foundation for the further development and strengthening of Soviet-Anglo-American relations.

The Tehran conference convincingly showed that, despite the fundamental differences in the political and social structure of the USSR, on the one hand, and the United States and England, on the other, these countries could successfully cooperate in fighting the common enemy, looking for and finding a mutually acceptable solution to the controversial issues that arose between them questions, although they were often approached from a completely different perspective.

It was precisely in Tehran that the exact time for the Allies to open a second front in France was set and the British "Balkan strategy" was rejected, leading to a dragging out of the war and an increase in the number of its victims and disasters. The conference’s decision to deliver a joint and final blow to Hitler’s Germany fully corresponded to the interests of all countries that were part of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The Tehran Conference outlined the contours of the postwar world order, reached a common view on issues of ensuring international security and lasting peace. The meeting in Tehran had a positive effect on inter-union relations, strengthened trust and mutual understanding between the leading powers of the anti-Hitler coalition.

The Tehran Conference of the leaders of the three Allied Powers took place in an atmosphere of outstanding victories of the Soviet armed forces, which led to the completion of a radical change in the course of not only the Great Patriotic War, but also the entire Second World War. The Nazis have already been expelled from the Donbass and left-bank Ukraine. November 6, 1943 Kiev was released. By the end of 1943 more than half of the territory of the USSR captured by the enemy was cleared. However, fascist Germany remained a strong adversary. She still managed the resources of almost all of Europe.

The results and consequences of the victories of the Soviet Army fundamentally changed the military-political situation in the world, as well as the balance of power in the international arena.

The scale of the military operations of the Western allies was, of course, incomparable with the fighting of the Soviet troops. Only 9 to 10 German divisions opposed the Anglo-American troops who landed in Italy after its capitulation in September 1943, while 26 enemy divisions were operating against the Soviet troops on the Soviet-German front, of which 210 were German. And yet by the end of 1943. The victory of the Allied countries over the common enemy has come much closer, and the relations between them have strengthened and strengthened.

This was confirmed by the results of the Moscow Conference of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, the USA and Great Britain, as well as the reaching of an agreement on a meeting of the leaders of the three allied powers in Tehran.