The Allied leaders met at conferences during the war to coordinate strategy. (a) What decisions were made at the Tehran Conference in November 1943? [4] (b)...

Part (a) - Decisions made at the Tehran Conference (November 1943) [4 marks]

• Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed on the timing of Operation Overlord, the cross-Channel invasion of France, for May 1944.
• Stalin promised to launch a major Soviet offensive to coincide with the Western invasion, preventing Germany from transferring forces from east to west.
• The leaders discussed the post-war treatment of Germany, including the possibility of dividing it into smaller states to prevent future aggression.
• They agreed on the formation of a post-war international organisation to maintain peace, which would become the United Nations.

Part (b) - Why cooperation between the Allies was sometimes difficult [6 marks]

• Fundamentally different political systems: The Western democracies (Britain and the United States) and the communist Soviet Union had deeply opposed ideologies. Their alliance was one of necessity against a common enemy, not of shared values.
• Mutual distrust over the second front: Stalin deeply suspected the Western Allies were deliberately delaying the cross-Channel invasion to let the Soviet Union bear the heaviest casualties. The delay from 1942 to 1944 fuelled Soviet resentment.
• The Polish question: Poland's post-war borders and government were a constant source of friction. Stalin demanded a pro-Soviet government in Warsaw, while Britain had gone to war in 1939 to defend Polish independence.
• Strategic disagreements: Churchill favoured a Mediterranean strategy (North Africa, Italy), while the Americans pushed for a direct cross-Channel assault. These differences delayed key decisions.
• Post-war ambitions: The Western Allies disagreed with Stalin's insistence on Soviet control over Eastern Europe, though they had limited leverage to prevent it.
• Colonial tensions: Roosevelt opposed European colonialism, creating friction with Churchill, who was determined to preserve the British Empire.

Part (c) - How important was Allied cooperation in achieving victory over the Axis powers? [10 marks]

Importance of cooperation:

• Multi-front pressure: Coordinated operations on multiple fronts - Eastern Front, Western Front, Mediterranean, Pacific - prevented the Axis from concentrating forces against any single opponent.
• Lend-Lease: The programme allowed the United States to supply Britain and the Soviet Union with essential military equipment. The Soviet Union received over 400,000 trucks and jeeps, greatly enhancing its armies' mobility.
• Intelligence sharing: The sharing of intelligence, particularly the Ultra decrypts from Bletchley Park, gave the Allies a crucial advantage in multiple theatres.
• Conference agreements: Agreements at Casablanca (unconditional surrender policy), Tehran and Yalta coordinated the timing of major offensives and established shared war aims.
• Combined resources: No single Allied power could have defeated Germany and Japan alone. Victory required the combined military, industrial and human resources of the entire coalition.

Limitations of cooperation:

• Cooperation was often imperfect and driven by necessity rather than genuine trust or shared goals.
• The Western Allies and the Soviet Union were already suspicious of each other's post-war intentions during the war itself.
• The wartime alliance broke down rapidly after 1945, leading to the Cold War that divided Europe for over four decades.

Despite these tensions, the alliance held together long enough to achieve its primary purpose - the defeat of the Axis powers. The ability to coordinate strategy and share resources across different political systems was essential to victory, even if it was never easy or complete.