Today in History – 7 December

İnönü meets with Roosevelt and Churchill in Cairo

President İsmet İnönü met with U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Churchill in Cairo on December 4-7, 1943.

Roosevelt and Churchill were adamant about Turkey’s participation in the war against Germany and demanded the Allied air forces to be stationed in Turkey. However, it was evident that Turkey could not be defended with a few aircrafts when Germany was already at the Bulgarian border. Therefore, İnönü insisted that he had no intentions to risk Turkey to resolve the secondary problems of the Allies, emphasizing that he would not repeat the same mistake the Ottomans made in the previous war. If the Turkish army were to be sufficiently armed, Turkey could participate in the war to play a significant role. In order to earn time, İnönü was constantly setting forth the extremely high demands of Chief of Staff Fevzi Çakmak.

İnönü’s military past allowed him to resist, particularly to Roosevelt, with a strong rationale. The British Chief of Staff had recognized earlier that the primitive web of transportation in Turkey could only be readied for war in three years. Citing this as an excuse, İnönü also resisted the Allies’ demand to ask for time until February 15, 1944. As a final resort, İnönü claimed that he had to consult with the Grand National Assembly.

Despite increasing pressure from the Allies, these delaying tactics were able to keep Turkey out of World War II.