her side by side in majesty, in justice, and in peace." Relations between Churchill and Roosevelt always remained friendly even though differences arose between them. Churchill gloried in the British Empire, but Roosevelt was suspicious of British colonial policies. Churchill distrusted the Soviet Union, but Roosevelt did not. In August 1942, Churchill journeyed to Moscow to meet with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union had entered the war in June 1941, after being invaded by Germany. Almost immediately, Stalin had demanded that the British open a second fighting front in western Europe to relieve the strain on the Soviet Union. Churchill explained to Stalin that it would be disastrous to open a second front in 1942 because the Allies were unprepared. In January 1943, Churchill and Roosevelt met in Casablanca, Morocco. They announced that the Allies would accept only unconditional (complete) surrender from Germany, Italy, and Japan. After returning to England, Churchill fell ill with pneumonia. But he recovered with incredible vigor. The Big Three. The first meeting of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt took place in Teheran, Iran, in November 1943. The Big Three, as they were called, set the British-American invasion of France for the following spring. On his way home from Teheran, the 69-year-old Churchill was again struck down by pneumonia. Again he recovered rapidly. In February 1945, the Big Three met in Yalta in the Soviet Union. The end of the war in Europe was in sight. The three leaders agreed on plans to occupy defeated Germany. Churchill distrusted Stalin. He feared the Soviet Union might keep the territories in eastern Europe that its troops occupied. Roosevelt, a close friend of Churchill's as well as an ally, died two months after the conference, and Harry S. Truman became President. Winston Churchill and King George VI Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, almost five years to the day after Churchill became prime ...
