Conference of Anfa

The conference of Casablanca (1943) was held with the Anfa hotel with Casablanca with the Morocco of the 14 to the January 24th 1943 in order to prepare the strategy of allied after the war with regard to Europe.

This conference, sometimes called conference of Anfa because of the localization of the hotel where it took place, was decided by the president of the the United States Franklin Roosevelt and British the Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who invited to join them on the one hand Joseph Stalin - which declined the offer -, and on the other hand the French generals Henri Giraud and Charles de Gaulle.

Joseph Stalin, retained by his heavy responsibilities, abstained from taking part in it. As for Giraud, which controlled then, in its capacity as “Commander-in-chief civil and soldier” North Africa and French Western Africa (See Régime of Vichy in released Africa (1942-43)), it ran without hesitation at the request of Roosevelt.

Decisions were made with this conference, as for the invasion of the Sicily, then remainder of the Italy, and as for the assistance to be brought to the the USSR. The goal of this conference was also to reconcile the Général de Gaulle and the Général Giraud.

Reserves of Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle, president of the French National committee of London (see free France) had been the first to propose in Giraud a meeting, after the disappearance of Darlan, without receiving answer besides.
But it started by refusing to go to Casablanca. Churchill, which did not want to oppose Roosevelt to in no case, then threatened de Gaulle to paralyze the free French activities in Great Britain (from where de Gaulle was held in connection with French resistance) , and not to recognize more but the only Henri Giraud as chief of the French to the combat.

The difficult confrontation of Giraud and de Gaulle

De Gaulle thus yielded and came to Casablanca. It met Giraud there, in a particularly tended atmosphere. It was indignant in particular that Giraud accepted that the guard of the conference is entrusted to exclusively American troops, and obtained that a French detachment of the army of Africa their is associated, before beginning any debate.

The two statesmen Anglo-Saxon who supported Giraud openly exhorted the two French generals with the union, which would have to be translated, according to their wishes, by the subordination of the de Gaulle General to Giraud, which ordered much more men.

No agreement could be on the spot found, even if de Gaulle, to give pleasure with Roosevelt, agreed to tighten the hand of Giraud in front of the photographers (the two generals had to repeat several times this gesture, so that the photographers manage to reproduce it, so much their handshakes were short) .

But Roosevelt, which had highly been made criticize by the American opinion and the media of the United States, when it had maintained Darlan with the capacity in North Africa by what it had called of the “military expédients” (" Military expediences"), need for this handshake had to attenuate, in appearances, the ultra-Vichyist character of the mode giraudist of Algiers to which it gave his support.

Agreements concluded by two the “Large ones”

The agreements concluded at the time of this conference were the following:

the Allies decided to require the unconditional surrender of the powers of the Axis.
They are reflected agreement to continue their assistance in the Soviet Union.
They decided to invade Sicily, then Italy, as of the end of the combat of Tunisia.
They decided for a joint direction by Giraud and de Gaulle of the whole of the French forces in war. (It seems that for this purpose were requested from Giraud the release chiefs of resistance, stopped on its order on December 30th, 1942, and a certain liberalization of its mode) .

President Roosevelt had the results of the conference to the American people in a broadcast speech of February 12th, 1943.

The conference of Casablanca-Anfa was followed conferences of Cairo, of Teheran, Yalta and Potsdam.

Sources

External bonds

a quartet of war.
History of Casablanca.

See too

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