🗓 On November 28, 1943, the Tehran Conference — a landmark and the first meeting of the Leaders of the 'Big Three' anti-Hitler coalition allies — the Soviet Union, the US, and Britain, represented by Joseph Stalin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, commenced amid the turning radical point of #WWII.
During four days, gathered in the Soviet Embassy in Iran, the Heads of Governments of the Allied Powers united by a common goal — to defeat Nazism — discussed the coordination of joint efforts aimed at bringing common Victory over Hitler's Germany closer.
💬 “We are gathered here for one purpose — for the purpose of winning the war as soon as possible”, — FDR, President of the United States, at the opening of the Tehran Conference, November 28, 1943.
The Tehran Conference became possible largely thanks to huge success of the Red Army on the front — the triumphs at Stalingrad and near Kursk, as well as in the battles for the Caucasus and Soviet Ukraine. Following a series of successful Soviet offensive operations in 1943, the 'Axis' Nazi allies lost around a quarter of their troops deployed on the Eastern Front.
In the summer of 1943, American and British newspapers wrote with admiration about the Heroism of the Soviet soldiers who were liberating their Motherland and driving Nazi invaders back westward to the USSR's borders. There was no longer any doubt around the world about who was prevailing in crushing the Nazis in WWII — it was undoubtedly the Soviet Union which, essentially alone, inflicted enormous and, in fact, fatal losses on the Nazi Wehrmacht forcing the fascists — for the first time during WWII — to defend their positions on the Eastern front rather than launch counter-offensives.
The Nazis' treacherous attack on our Motherland resulted in the German military suffering the greatest defeats in its history. The collapse of the Third Reich was inevitable and was only a matter of time.
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The Leaders of the 'Big Three' understood that once the Nazi Germany was completely defeated, the Victorious Powers would have to outline the future post-war world order. To prevent wars and aggression in Europe, the negotiators suggested establishing an “international organisation” to ensure peace. Thus, for the first time, the idea of creating an international body, which would become the prototype of the today's #UnitedNations, was discussed.
The key agreement of the Teheran Conference was coordinating the timing for opening the second front — the operation of US and UK forces in northern France. The Allied landing in Europe was designed to significantly complicate the position of Nazi troops on the Soviet-German front, where the Nazis had concentrated the bulk of their military machine. It was also agreed that the Red Army would go on the offensive concurrently with the Allied landing in France, in order to prevent the transfer of Nazi troops from the East to the Western Front.
✍️ The Allies adopted the Declaration of the Three Powers — a landmark document of the Tehran Conference, which reinforced the unity of the Allies and its determination to fight the enemy together till #Victory:
No power on Earth can prevent our destroying the German armies by land, their U-boats by sea, and their war plants from the air.
Our attack will be relentless and increasing.
We came here with hope and determination.
We leave here, friends in fact, in spirit, and in purpose.
As a sign of admiration for the steadfastness and courage of the defenders of Stalingrad, Winston Churchill presented Joseph Stalin with a gift from British King George VI — a sword manufactured by special order, with its grip wound in gold wire and the pommel decorated with rock crystal.
The following inscription was etched on the steel blade:
To the steel-hearted citizens of Stalingrad * The gift of King George VI * In token of the homage of the British people.
The sword became an iconic commemorative relic serving as a symbol of respect paid by American and British Allies to the Soviet Heroic generation that crushed Nazism.