Casablanca Conference
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The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco, then a French protectorate, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the European strategy of the Allies during World War II. Present were Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
Soviet leader Joseph Stalin had also been invited but declined to attend. General Charles de Gaulle had initially refused to come but changed his mind when Churchill threatened to recognize Henri Giraud as head of the Free French Forces in his place. Giraud was also present at Casablanca, and there was notable tension between the two men during the talks.
The "Casablanca Declaration" was made at the conference and called for the Allies to seek the unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers. It also called for Allied aid to the Soviet Union in the invasion of Sicily and Italy, and the recognition of joint leadership of the Free French by de Gaulle and Giraud. All the terms were agreed upon. Roosevelt presented the results of the conference to the American people in a radio address on February 12, 1943. The Casablanca Conference was followed by the Cairo Conference, the Tehran Conference, the Yalta Conference and the Potsdam Conference.
Also decided during the Casablanca Conference was that there would be no 'across channel invasion.' Instead of invading Europe across the English Channel, an invasion into Sicily and then Italy would take place.
