For this matter, both Eisenhower and Zhang Chi thought things simple. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

First of all, Alexander and Montgomery still have their own little ninety-nine in their hearts...... Zhang Chi proposed this

There was a loophole in the "best of both worlds" plan, that is, according to this plan, both the British and American armies had to invest more troops in Italy to attract the German army in order to achieve the goal of dispersing the main German army.

And this step was exactly what the British wanted, and as for what to do after attracting the German forces, that is, to land from the north of France, then take one step at a time, and even Alexander and Montgomery only had to find another excuse that the time was not ripe to delay the war again.

So, in fact, there is not much difference between Alexander and Montgomery saying yes and not agreeing.

Secondly, there are battles like this, especially one in which the US troops are to be transported to Britain first and then launch a landing battle...... That's not something that people of Alexander's or Eisenhower's caliber can decide. Otherwise, the American GIs would not have been able to occupy the whole of Britain at any time.

So even if Alexander and Montgomery promised nothing, it didn't count.

However, the conference in Sicily was not entirely meaningless, because Alexander reported the proceedings and results to Churchill, and Eisenhower reported to Roosevelt, which forced Churchill and Roosevelt to hold a meeting to discuss the matter, because the battle was also related to the Soviet Union, so they also brought in Stalin.

Before the meeting, Roosevelt asked Eisenhower about the attitude of the British.

Eisenhower replied: "After several conversations, I do not think it is possible for us to expect to fight the Germans across the Channel under the command of the British, many believe that the British were frightened by the Germans because of the experience of the Dardanelles and Dunkirk, and that the British would not dare to carry out landing operations on the European continent...... This is certainly one of the reasons, but it is only superficial, and its essence is that the British want to take advantage of the fisherman and adopt delaying tactics to preserve their strength. ”

"So!" Finally, Eisenhower concluded: "Mr. President, I think it is time for you to make up your mind, and in the final phase of the war in Europe that we are facing, I think the United States should be brave enough to assume the leadership responsibility, and we cannot start this combat operation without certainty, which will put our troops in danger!" Who knows what the British will do when we fight the Germans? ”

Although Eisenhower was a little vague when he said these words, Roosevelt understood what he meant, which was actually saying that the US military must take the lead and command of this battle, and it must be absolutely commanded.

Roosevelt thought about it and thought that the time was almost up, so he called back: "I have come to the same conclusion!" ”

So the Big Three met in Cairo.

The meeting did not go well, because Churchill continued to cling to Italy with all his rhetoric, and even used his eloquence to paint a great picture of the attack on Italy......

But in fact, Churchill did this very unwisely, he did not understand the current situation: the world's three giants are not called in vain, at this time the world only looks at the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union, and this triangular relationship is very taboo to be isolated by the other two countries.

The Soviets, in order to relieve the pressure on the Western Front (for the USSR it was the Western Front, for Germany it was the Eastern Front), of course, wanted a large-scale landing of Allied forces in northern France.

To this Stalin even said: "It is obvious that the best way is to strike the heart of Germany from the north or northwest of France, and any other means will only delay the victory, and I will only doubt the motive of this plan!" ”

Stalin's words, though concise and appalling, were to the point.

Because the United States needs a stage to show its strength and become the world's leader, it also needs to fight a war, and win it...... So it was also called for a landing from northern France.

Churchill, on the other hand, did not use rhetoric to emphasize the importance of Italy and the Mediterranean over and over again...... This, while in the interests of Britain, isolates itself.

As a result, the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union had a very pleasant conversation at this meeting, and they even set Churchill aside to discuss the plan to attack northern France on their own.

This caused Churchill to feel some kind of invisible pressure.

You must know that this plan is to be implemented on the territory of the British, and Churchill can't think of how the United States and the Soviet Union can bypass Britain and hang him, the British prime minister, to talk about the plan...... Unless, the United States and the Soviet Union want to exclude Britain.

This made Churchill break out in a cold sweat, if this was the case, then Britain would be dealt a heavy blow...... Because the strength of the United States and the Soviet Union could completely defeat Germany, Roosevelt even hinted in his words that if it was really not possible, landing from the south of France was also a feasible option, and all the Allies had to do was to go a little further.

If it had landed from the south of France, then Britain would have really been abandoned.

So Churchill reluctantly agreed to the landing plan.

But Roosevelt and Stalin were not willing to stop there......

"I wonder, who will command this campaign?" Stalin asked.

"This issue has not been finalized yet!" Roosevelt replied.

"We should decide!" Stalin said: "Because this is a great battle, we need a unified command, and if it were not for one person who was responsible for both the preparation and execution of the campaign, the campaign would only drag on indefinitely or lead to failure!" ”

"I agree!" Roosevelt nodded.

Churchill listened stunned as Stalin and Roosevelt were clearly singing and forcing him to hand over command.

"What do you say? Prime Minister Churchill? Stalin asked.

Seeing that Churchill did not answer, Stalin continued: "I do not want to have a say in the question of who is in command, I only want you to tell me who will be in command, so that I can be reassured!" Otherwise, our meeting is pointless, isn't it? ”

"I think ......" Churchill replied: "It is not appropriate to rush a decision here......"

"I don't think there's anything out of place!" Roosevelt said, "Because that's the only way to get the plan out as quickly as possible!" ”

Churchill's head was already sweating.

Can he not agree?

Especially at such times, when not long ago he was vehemently opposed to the landing from northern France, and he was embarrassed to say that the battle was still under British command. Even if they were cheeky enough to say so, wouldn't Stalin and Roosevelt question it? They're just afraid they're ready to attack.

So, Churchill had only one choice: "Of course, I think this battle should be commanded by the United States!" ”