14 Jan 1943

On This Day in History /
Casablanca Conference, January 14-24, 1943. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and their combined Chiefs of Staff at the Casablanca Conference. Standing, (left to right): General Brehon B. Somervell; General H.H. Arnold; Admiral Ernest J. King; Major General Sir Hastings Ismay; General George C. Marshall, Admiral Sir Dudley Pound; General Sir Alan Brooke; Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal; and Vice Admiral Louis Mountbatten. (U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.)

1943: During the Casablanca Conference, plans for a combined bomber offensive (CBO) against Germany were established. Lt Gen Ira C. Eaker promoted a daylight-bombing offensive for U.S. forces. Key decisions included a commitment to demand Axis powers’ unconditional surrender; plans for an invasion of Sicily and Italy before the main invasion of France; an intensified strategic bombing campaign against Germany; and approval of a US Navy plan to advance on Japan through the central Pacific and the Philippines. The last item authorized the island-hopping campaign in the Pacific.