This week in the War, 29 Nov–5 Dec 1943: The Second Cairo Conference

Posted on November 30, 2015 by secondbysecond

Winston Churchill (in the uniform of his old regiment, the 4th Queen's Own Hussars) and his daughter, Sarah, in Egypt for the Second Cairo Conference, 5 December 1943 [Public domain]

Winston Churchill (in the uniform of his old regiment, the 4th Queen’s Own Hussars) and his daughter, Sarah, in Egypt for the Second Cairo Conference, 5 December 1943 [Public domain]

Following closely after the Tehran Conference, Churchill and Roosevelt met once again in Cairo, at what would be the Second Cairo Conference. It started this week in the war, on 4 December 1943.

The Turkish president, Ismet Inönü, was also there and the possibility of Turkey entering the war was the major topic of discussion. Churchill favoured immediate entry. Roosevelt was more cautious and worried that the fighting might go badly for the Turks. The Turks concurred. (They did not enter the Second World War until February 1945.)

Churchill as a subaltern in the Hussars, 1895 [Public domain]

Churchill as a subaltern in the Hussars, 1895 [Public domain]

On the drive from Cairo to the pyramids, Roosevelt told Churchill about the final decision for the choice of Commander-in-Chief for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northern Europe. Roosevelt said that he had decided that General Marshall would remain in the United States and that Eisenhower would command the invasion.

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