Allied Conference Meeting “Trident” (1943)

Date: May, 1943

Created By: Edited and Published by the Office , U.S. Secretary, Office of the Combined Chiefs of Staff

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The General, Victory in Europe

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Combined Chiefs of Staff: Conference Proceedings, Box 2, Trident Conference May 1943 Papers and Minutes of Meetings; NAID #12005142

The Trident Conference, also known as the Third Washington Conference, brought together American and British political and military leaders in Washington, D.C., from May 12–25, 1943. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill met with their senior military advisers to coordinate Allied strategy for the next stages of World War II.

Much of the conference focused on balancing operations in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Pacific. The Allies reaffirmed their goal of achieving the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers and agreed to continue preparations for the invasion of Sicily. They also established May 1, 1944, as the target date for a major cross-Channel invasion of German-occupied France, helping lay the groundwork for what eventually became Operation Overlord and the Normandy landings.

The conference also addressed the war against Japan. Although defeating Germany remained the Allies’ first strategic priority, American and British leaders agreed to maintain pressure against Japan while continuing to support China. Once Germany was defeated, they planned to concentrate their combined resources against Japan and hoped that the Soviet Union would eventually participate in the war against Japan.

Trident was an important step in developing the Allied strategy that ultimately shaped the remainder of the war. It demonstrated the growing influence of the United States within the Anglo-American alliance while establishing clearer priorities for the campaigns that would lead toward the defeat of Germany and Japan.