 |
The allies had been planning an invasion from the early stages of the war.
In 1940 Britain had been planning a siege of mainland Europe. Similarly, America had been considering an
assault on France from the moment Germany declared war against it in 1941. Despite this, it was not until Stalin started pressuring
Churchill and Roosevelt to open up a "second front" in the west, to complement the Eastern Front
and squeeze the Nazi forces in the middle, that a final plan was devised.
|
|
Joseph Stalin, Premier of the Soviet Union
Franklin D Roosevelt, President of the USA
Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain |
|
|
Final plans for invasion took some time to establish. Stalin argued strongly for
a new front in the West, wanting to relieve pressure on Russian forces in the east. America also, showed great
eagerness for an invasion of France. Churchill was however more reluctant. Knowing that a failed invasion would
leave the whole of Europe at the mercy of tyranny (Communist or Fascist) and distrusting the Soviets because of their
complicity in the invasion of Poland, the British Prime Minister was able persuade the US to postpone the invasion until 1944.
This was to allow the Americans and British time to establish air superiority and defeat the U-boat fleet in the Atlantic, thereby allowing them
to freely bombard Nazi-occupied Europe and build up troop numbers and supplies to more formidable levels. Eventually, the Russians
were promised an invasion by Summer of 1944.
|
|
|
|
|
After supplies and manpower were at sufficient levels Churchill and Roosevelt were happy to pass most of the
efforts to their Generals. Reponsibilities were passed to General Eisenhower and his deputy, British Air Chief Marshal Arthur W. Tedder,
who had been the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Mediterranean.
|
|
|
