As the Allied armies closed in on the heart of Germany, the ‘Big Three’, Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Josef Stalin, decided to meet at Yalta, Crimea, in February 1945. This was preceded by a series of meetings of the British and American chiefs of staff at Montgomery House (now Middle Sea House) in Floriana from January 30 to February 1, 1945.
Montgomery House, formerly used as administrative offices for the control of grain by Civil Commissioner Alexander Ball, was converted to barracks for army officers in 1826. British General Bernard Montgomery used it in summer 1943 during preparations for Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, which was launched on July 10, 1943. Montgomery House was thereafter named after the general.
In his book Malta: Blitzed but not Beaten, Philip Vella says many Allied commanders arrived on the island for this pre-Yalta conference in Malta. The British delegation consisted of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Admiral Sir James Somerville, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, Field Marshal Sir Henry Maitland Wilson, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander, General Sir Hastings Ismay, Major-General Robert Laycock, Lord Leathers and Sir Ralph Metclafe.
The US delegation included George Marshall, Fleet Admiral Joseph King, Major-General Lawrence Kuter, Brigadier-General A.G. McFarland, Lieutenant-General Breban Somerwell, Major General Bedell Smith, Rear-Admiral Lynde Daniel McCormick and Vice-Admiral Charles ‘Savvy’ Cooke.
Churchill (right) with Captain James Parrington Gornall of HMS Orion in Grand Harbour.The delegations were engaged in the most turbulent disputes during the entire war. Vella says that the discussion centred on the selection of a strategic plan for the final assault against Germany. The British plan differed from that proposed by General Eisenhower, who was represented during the meetings by Bedell Smith.
The heated arguments reached a point when General Marshall was reported to have said that were the British plan to be chosen, he would advise Eisenhower to relinquish command. Eventually, the Combined Chiefs of Staff opted for Eisenhower’s plan.
Also in command to discuss major political issues were British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Anthony Eden and American Secretary of State Edward Stettinius.
Churchill and the rest of his staff travelled from Northolt, England, in three aircraft. Two planes, including Churchill’s, landed at Luqa airfield on January 30, 1945. The third aircraft failed to reach Malta because it crashed near Pantelleria with the loss of 12 people.
On learning that Roosevelt would be joining him in Malta, Churchill cabled the US President: “We shall be delighted if you will come to Malta. I shall be waiting on the quay. You will also see the inscription of your noble message to Malta of a year ago. Everything can be arranged to your convenience. No more let us falter! From Malta to Yalta! Let nobody alter!”
Churchill watched from the deck of HMS Orion berthed in the Grand Harbour while Roosevelt and his staff, including Harry Hopkins, sailed into harbour on the USS Quincy in the morning of February 2, 1945. The two leaders conferred on the American cruiser, after which Roosevelt visited Mdina, Għajn Tuffieħa and Valletta.
His car stopped at the Palace Square to allow the President to read his citation on the marble tablet on the Governor’s Palace façade.
Late in the afternoon, Churchill received a delegation from the Chamber of Commerce that presented him with a silver replica of an old Maltese cannon.
During the night of February 2, 1945, transport aircraft took off from Luqa airfield carrying about 700 people, including Churchill and Roosevelt, to Saki airfield in Crimea.
From February 4 to 11, 1945, the Big Three, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at Yalta in Crimea. Each leader had an agenda for this conference: Roosevelt asked for Soviet support in the US Pacific War against Japan, specifically invading Japan, Churchill pressed for free elections and democratic governments in eastern Europe, while Stalin demanded a Soviet sphere of political influence in eastern Europe.
The Big Three ratified previous agreements about the post-war occupation zones for Germany, which consisted of three zones, one for each of the three principal Allies. Berlin itself, although in the Russian zone, would also be divided into three sectors.
In addition, the Big Three agreed that all original governments would be restored to the invaded countries and that all civilians would be repatriated. Democracies would be established in all countries. Citizens of the Soviet Union and of Yugoslavia were to be handed over to their respective countries.
Roosevelt obtained a commitment by Stalin to participate in the United Nations. Stalin agreed to enter the fight against the Empire of Japan within 90 days after the defeat of Germany. As a reward, the Soviet Union was allowed to seize the southern part of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands.
By this time, the Soviet army had already removed Nazi forces from most of Eastern Europe, enabling Stalin to obtain his goals... a significant sphere of influence as a buffer zone.
In this process, the freedom of small nations was sacrificed for the sake of stability, which meant that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia would be incorporated into the USSR.
Charles Debono is curator, National War Museum.