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The Development Of The Allied Military Strategy During World War II

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The development of the allied military strategy in World War II (WWII) presented challenges for the U.S. and Great Britain as they worked together to defeat the Axis powers. First, this paper will review the environment at the time of WWII when Admiral Stark penned the “Plan Dog” memorandum and MAJ Wedemeyer’s War Defense Team put together the “Victory Plan”. Next, it will look at the advantages and disadvantages of coalition operations with supporting examples. Then, a review of two major meetings between U.S. and Great Britain will identify what strategic decisions were made and the effects they have on the war. Finally, this paper will explore the foundations of strategy (Clausewitz and Sun Tzu) by which the allied forces used and …show more content…

An example of this advantage is the U.S. supporting Great Britain with the development of Lend-Lease contracts whereby the U.S. sold Great Britain military equipment to allow them to keep up with their own production needs in 1941. There are disadvantages, however, to coalition operations. It’s clear that even though the allies in coalition operations may agree on the desired outcome, they may not always see eye to eye on how to get there. U.S. and Great Britain had four “titans” in Roosevelt, Marshall, Churchill and Brooke, who were the major players in the Allied military strategy process. The diversity of the varying views, beliefs and experiences was instrumental in shaping their attitudes, actions and overall strategy which caused tension at times. The Prime Minister had a way about rubbing people the wrong way with his personality and “overwhelming self-centeredness.” During WWII, there were numerous meetings between U.S. and British strategists. Of these meetings, two held significant importance: Quebec Conference and the Tehran Conference. These two meetings contained major military strategic decisions and they made significant impacts on the conduct of the war. It is important to note that throughout all meetings conducted in preparation for and during WWII, military strategy differences existed between the Allied

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