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    "label": "Memorandum of Conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Marshal Joseph Stalin",
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    "title": "Memorandum of Conference with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Marshal Joseph Stalin",
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    "productionDates": [
        {
            "day": 28,
            "logicalDate": "1943-11-28",
            "month": 11,
            "year": 1943
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    "seq": 8,
    "pageIndex": 0,
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    "ocrText": "BECLASSIFIED\nE.O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or as\nDept. of State letter, Aug. 10, 1372\nNARS Date 2-12-76\nhad faced 240 Axis Divisions of which 179 were German, whereas this year\nthey faced 260 of which 210 were German with six more on the way. He\nsaid that the Soviet Union had had 330 Divi one at the start of the summer\ncampaign and that it was this numerical superiority over the Germans which\npermitted the offensive operations to develop so successively. He added,\nhowever, that the numerical superiority was gradually being evened up.\nHe said one of the great f ficulties encountered by the Soviet amies in ad-\nvancing was the question of supply since the Germans destroyed literally\neverything in their retreat. He mentioned that although the initiative on\nthe front as a whole remained in Soviet hands, the of fensive because of\nweather conditions had slowed down in these sectors. In fact, in the sector\nsouth and southwest of Kiev the German counter-offensive had recaptured the\ntown of Zhitamir and would probably recapture Korosten in the rear future.\nHe said the Germans were using for this counter-attack three old and five\nnew tank Divisions and twenty to twenty-three motorized infantry Divisions in\nan attempt to retake Kiev.\nMARSHAL STALIN then turned to the allied operations in Italy. He said\nthat from their point of view the great value of the Italian campaign was the\nfreeing of the Mediterranean to allied shipping but that they did not consider\nthat Italy was a suitable place from which to attempt to attack Germany proper;\nthat the Alps constituted an almost insuperable barrier as the famous Russian\nGeneral Suvorov had discovered in his time. He added that in the opinion of\nthe Soviet military leaders, Hitler was endeavoring to retain as many allied\nDivisions as possible in Italy where no decision could be reached, and that\nthe best method in the Soviet opinion was getting at the heart of Germany with\nan attack-through northern or northwestern France and even through southern\nFrance. He admitted that this would be a very difficult operation since the\nGermans would fight like devils to prevent it. Marshal Stalin went on to say\nthat it would be helpful if Turkey would enter the war and open the way to the\nBalkans, but even so the Balkans were far from the heart of Germany, and while\nwith Turkish participation operations there would be useful, northern France\nwas still the best.\nTHE PRIME MINISTER stated that the United States and Great Britian had\nlong agreed as to the necessity of the cross-channel operation and that at\nthe present time this operation, which is known as OVERLORD, was absorbing\nmost of our combined resources and efforts. He added that it would take a\nlong statement of facts and figures to explain why, to our disappointment,\nit would be impossible to undertake this operation in 1943 but that we were\ndetermined to carry it out in the late spring or early summer of 1944. He\nwent on to say that the operations in North Africa and Italy had been clearly\nrecognised by both The President and himself as secondary in character but\nthat it was the best that could be done in 1943. He said. that the forces\nwhich were now in process of execution for the OVERLORD operation involved\nan initial assault of 16 British and 19 U.S. Divisions, a total of 35.\nHe pointed out that the strength of the individual British and American\nDivi sions was considerably stronger than a German Division. He said it was\ncontemplated to put one million men on the continent of Europe in May, June\nand July.\nMARSHAL STALIN remarked at this point that he had not meant to convey\nthe impression that he considered the North Africa or Italian operations as\nsecondary or belittle their significance since they were of very real value.\n-3-"
}