4. Serious discussions between the British and Americans began on December 23
On December 23, 1941, the last of the US Marine garrison on Wake Island, far away from a White House festooned with Christmas decorations, surrendered to the Japanese. A contingent of civilian construction workers surrendered as well. Eventually, the Japanese murdered almost 100 of them. That same day, Churchill, Roosevelt, and their respective senior military aides and commanders met to discuss the conduct of the war. Despite the continuing bad news from the Pacific, Germany first was quickly agreed to by all concerned. The question was how to strike at Germany. FDR wanted an invasion across the channel, supported by land-based air and the British fleet. The British favored attacking the German forces in North Africa, creating a link to the Soviet Union through Iran, and keeping the vital Suez Canal out of German hands.
Eventually, the British point of view won out, and FDR reluctantly agreed to commit to an invasion of North Africa in 1942. From North Africa, Churchill favored attacks through the Caucasus, an option he also favored in the First World War. The Americans supported the idea of attacks on Sicily and Italy, knocking the Italians out of the war. North Africa also offered a staging area for attacks in Southern France. Roosevelt’s reluctance was, in part, based on his knowledge of Joseph Stalin demanding a second front against the Germans in Europe at the earliest possible date. Churchill argued that killing Germans was killing Germans, whether it happened in North Africa or on French soil. The conference also agreed the British would provide bases in Britain for American heavy bombers, and fighters, for a strategic bombing campaign against Germany in 1942.