Vast Selection of Royalty Free Images and Historical Information

Title: Casablanca Conference, January, 1943

Description: Following a dinner at the villa occupied by President Franklin D. Roosevelt (Franklin Delano Roosevelt; AKA: FDR; 1882-1945) at the Casablanca Conference: Roosevelt, sitting center, next to Mohammed V (Sidi Mohammed ben Yusef; 1909-1961), Sultan of Morocco, sitting left, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill; AKA: Winnie; 1874-1965), sitting right; standing, left to right: U.S. General George Patton (George Smith Patton, Jr., or George Smith Patton III; AKA: Blood and Guts Patton; 1885-1945); Robert Murphy (Robert Daniel Murphy; 1894-1978), U.S. Minister to French North Africa; Harry Hopkins (Harry Lloyd Hopkins, 1890-1946), President Roosevelt's close adviser; the Crown Prince of Morocco (Hassan II; 1929-1999); French General Auguste Paul Nogues, resident general of Morocco; the Grand Vizier of Morocco; the Chief Protocol of Morocco; Lt. Colonel Elliott Roosevelt (1910-1990), the President's son; and U.S. Captain John L. McCrea; much to the displeasure of Churchill, Roosevelt, in deference to Islamic law, ordered no alcohol served at the dinner; he further made Churchill uncomfortable by critically discussing French colonialism with the Sultan (Morocco had been a French protectorate since 1912), Churchill wanting to maintain British colonies following the war; Roosevelt had always been opposed to colonialism and Churchill knew it; following the dinner, the Sultan presented President Roosevelt with a gold sword and gold bracelets for Mrs. Roosevelt, along with a gold tiara, which Hopkins later described as "the kind the girls wear in the circus, riding on white horses" Roosevelt adopted the British plan to strike next at Sicily, but on the promise that Britain, with American aid, would build a powerful force to invade Northern France no later than May 1, 1944; that invasion would occur on June 6, 1944; two days after the dinner, on January 24, 1942, Roosevelt, at a final press conference, announced that only "unconditional surrender" would be offered to the Axis Powers, a statement that surprised Churchill as the two leaders had only briefly discussed that strategy; the idea of "unconditional surrender," Roosevelt later stated, "popped into my mind," while he was thinking about General Ulysses S. Grant's strategy during the American Civil War; advisers;

Date: January 22, 1943

Category: World War II

Keywords: conferences, enclaves, French generals, heads of state, hotels, meetings, military leaders, North African Campaign, June 10, 1940-May 16, 1943, presidents of the U.S., prime ministers of the U.K., U.S. diplomats, U.S. military officers, Second World War, U.S. presidents, world leaders, World War II, WWII