FDR, War Leader - Zoom
F 2021

Description

The world has lacked an authoritative history about the role of Franklin Delano Roosevelt the war leader in World War II. He died before beginning an autobiography, although he had accumulated many notes and files. Winston Churchill of course wrote the supposed definitive work on the subject, but, as it develops, did some serious violence to veracity, particularly as to the many areas where he unsuccessfully disagreed with FDR. The British military historian Nigel Hamilton has accessed these and other materials and published a trilogy constituting the definitive history that FDR did not live to write: the story of World War II from FDR’s perspective.  

The trilogy illustrates the personalities of the leaders and their advisors and differs from Churchill’s description of their relationship, especially concerning Winston’s assertion that he was the strategic leader of the war. With due regard to Winston’s amazing feats during 1940, and his admitted gifts, far from being FDR’s “loyal lieutenant,” he was an unruly junior partner and very amateur military strategist at best. A unique perspective on the situation is given by inclusion of notes made by Josef Goebbels about his and Hitler’s contemporaneous views of the events discussed.

PLATO had a successful SD/G in 2018 dealing with the first two books of the trilogy, the first book, entitled “The Mantle of Command" goes from 1941 to the beginning of 1943. (It is not part of this SD/G, though we will discuss key points raised by it.)

We start with the second volume of the trilogy, “Commander in Chief, FDR’s Battle with Churchill, 1943),” which takes us through the Quebec Conference in September of late 1943. The third volume, our second book, called “War and Peace, FDR’s Final Odyssey, D-Day to Yalta, 1943-1945”, begins with the Tehran conference and ends following the Yalta Conference in 1945. It sensitively describes FDR’s decline and death at 63- and the medical malpractice involved- and includes a frank description of FDR’s relationships with Eleanor and with the love of his life, Lucy Rutherfurd.

The two core books, in paperback, are easy to read, and comprise 895 pages, an average of 64 pages per session.


Weekly Topics

Background of relations between FDR and Churchill, and war status as of January 1943. Issues leading up to the January Casablanca conference,

Casablanca; Unconditional surrender policy. Military and political personalities

Kasserine defeat. Military leadership and issues re Eastern Europe. Moves toward a united nation. FDR health issues. Yamamoto

Status of Germans. Contention with Brits and Stalin over strategy and over military leadership. FDR loses patience with Winston.

FDR forced to agree to disastrous Italy campaign. Churchill seeks more alternative campaigns. Crisis among Allies. Germans takeover defense in Italy.

Quebec conference. Stalin tests Allies. Churchill's Italy plan almost fatal. Stalin agrees to come to the table. Allies are on the same page. Maybe.

Preparation for first Cairo conference in November 1943, crucial issues.

First Cairo Conference, Great Debate.

End of Churchill' attempt to delay Overlord; who will command it? A bone to Churchill at China's expense.

Churchill's resurrection. FDR health issues, Churchill’s Anzio project; Eve of D-Day.

D-Day. FDR's health; the Normandy invasion. Efforts to preserve imperialism?

Quebec, a Stab in the Armpit. The Morgenthau plans. Lucy. Yalta.

More Yalta- re Russia, World Security Organization, Poland, Churchill's pressures, Hitler

Domestic politics, Dealing with Russian intentions to take over Germany. Peace overtures, the End.

Bibliography

Commander In Chief, FDR's Battle With Churchill, 1943,  Nigel Hamilton, Houghton Mifflin, 2016

War And Peace,  FDR's Final Odyssey, D-Day to Yalta, 1943-1945, Nigel Hamilton, Houghton Mifflin, 2019,