National Museum of the U.S. Navy

The Casablanca Conference:  January 14-24, 1943

Following Operation Torch in November 1942, Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, transported onboard USS Iowa (BB-61), met at Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14-24, 1943 to discuss strategic plans against the Axis powers and the policy of "unconditional surrender".   Due to the war front in the Soviet Union, Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin did not attend.   The participants decided to invade Sicily, to begin joint U.S.-British bombing from bases in the United Kingdom against the European continent, to have U.S. forces advance toward the Philippines through central and southwest Pacific, and to build-up forces in the China-Burma-India theater.  Note, the codename for conference was "Symbol". 

Image:  USA-C-4619:   Casablanca Conference, French Morocco, January 14-24, 1943.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill on the lawn of the President Roosevelt's villa used during the conference.   Official U.S. Army Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.