History Today: When the Tehran Conference unfolded with the meeting of the 'Big Three'

Eighty-two years ago, on November 28, 1943, the Tehran Conference began, marking the first meeting between US President Franklin D Roosevelt, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Prior to this, the World War II’s ‘Big Three’ had communicated via telegrams and emissaries. The meeting was codenamed Eureka.

In this edition of Firstpost’s ongoing series of History Today, we recall the big Tehran Conference and more.

The Tehran Conference 

The ‘Big Three’ had good reasons to be optimistic in a way that the war was progressing against the Axis powers led by Germany, Italy and Japan. And direct negotiations were necessary to coordinate the Allies’ military strategy.

A secret conference was therefore arranged to take place in Tehran, Iran, with the key objectives to discuss the opening of a second front in Western Europe.

Stalin was urging for this as the Soviet Union had been bearing the brunt of the land war against Germany on the Eastern Front. He consequently sought an invasion of Western Europe by the British and American forces to divert German troops away from the USSR.

President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill confirmed their commitment to launch ‘Operation Overlord,’ after discussions, which was the invasion of Nazi-occupied France through Normandy. It was scheduled for May 1944.  

The Tehran Conference also addressed the military plans and post-war world order. Ultimately, Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed possible scenarios to thwart the recurrence of German aggression in Europe as well as the future boundaries of Poland.

The conference also confirmed the Soviet Union’s commitment to join the Allied fight against Japan, once Germany was defeated.

Additionally, Roosevelt and Churchill agreed to grant some territory in return as well as influence in Eastern Europe.    

Nancy Astor: First woman to sit in the House of Commons

On this day, Nancy Astor became the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons as an MP.

American by birth, Astor’s entry into politics also came largely by chance. Her husband, Waldorf Astor, had been the MP for Plymouth Sutton; however, he had moved to the House of Lords after inheriting a peerage following the death of his father.

It was then that Astor took his seat as she stood to replace him in the constituency of Plymouth in the 1919 by-election.

Astor made an effort to ally with other female MPs, especially in the 1920s, and to champion what she considered key women’s issues, focusing on poverty and the provision of nurseries.

She also campaigned against the sale of Alcohol, playing a leading role in raising the drinking age from 14 to 18.

She was known for taking an individual approach to politics, stating, “If you want a party hack, don’t elect me.”

As a pioneering figure in the history of women’s representation, Astor was certainly a trailblazing figure for women’s participation at the highest level of British politics.

She sat in the House of Commons until her retirement in 1945.

With inputs from agencies