Washington Conference (1943)

The Third Washington Conference (codenamed Trident) was held in Washington, D.C from May 12 to May 25, 1943. It was a World War II strategic meeting between the heads of government of the United Kingdom and the United States. It was the third conference of the 20th century (1941, 1942, 1943), but the second conference that took place during the US involvement in the Second World War. The delegations were headed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, respectively.

The plans for the Allied invasion of Sicily, extent of military force, the date for invading Normandy, and the progress of The Pacific War were discussed.

Churchill and Roosevelt met every two days in The White House, and the British and American military leaders met almost daily in The Board of Governors Room at the Federal Reserve Building.

Churchill opened the discussion with ideas, which were discussed in an open manner between the two countries. The main topics that were discussed were the Italian Campaign (World War II), the amount of military force that should be used, the Normandy landings, and how to help China in the Pacific War. Churchill felt that the extent of the operations and their priority could be solved by mutual agreement, and consensus was reached on all issues.

The first topic discussed was the war in Italy. Churchill persuaded the American leaders to endorse the Allied invasion of Sicily. The date was confirmed for May 1, 1944. He believed that the fighting in Italy would distract the German troops from the Eastern Front so that Russia would be given breathing room since the Germans would need to send a large number of troops to the Balkans. This would get rid of the Allies' debt to Russia from Russia's previous fighting against the Germans in Africa.

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