Quebec Conference, 1943 - Definition and Overview

The Quebec Conference was a high level military conference held during World War II between the British and United States governments. The conference was held in Quebec City, August 17, 1943 - August 24, 1943. It took place at the Citadelle and at the Château Frontenac. The chief representatives were Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and William Lyon Mackenzie King of Canada.

The allies agreed to increase the bombing offensive against Germany and continue the buildup of American forces in Britain prior to an invasion of France. In the Mediterranean (a theatre on which Churchill was inordinately keen) they resolved to concentrate more force to remove Italy from the alliance of Axis Powers and to occupy it along with Corsica.

It was decided that operations in the Balkans should be limited to supplying guerillas whereas operations against Japan would be intensified in order to exhaust Japanese resources, cut their communications lines and secure forward bases from which the Japanese mainland could be attacked.

In addition to the strategic discussions, which were communicated to the Russians and to Chiang Kai-Shek in China, the conference also issued a joint statement on Palestine intended to calm tensions as the British occupation was becoming increasingly untenable. The conference also condemned German atrocities in Poland.

Secretly Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt also signed the Quebec Agreement to share nuclear technology in order to build nuclear weapons.