ORIGINAL 1944 WARTIME EDITION — NOT A MODERN REPRINT
Offered here is an original 1944 TOP SECRET World War II volume containing the papers and minutes of meetings of the OCTAGON Conference, together with the minutes of Combined Chiefs of Staff meetings held in London in June 1944, immediately following the D-Day landings in Normandy.
The title page reads:
OCTAGON CONFERENCE — SEPTEMBER 1944
Papers and Minutes of Meetings — Octagon Conference and Minutes of Combined Chiefs of Staff Meetings in London, June 1944
Edited and published by the Office of the U.S. Secretary, Office of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, 1944.
This is Copy No. 26 and was originally classified:
TOP SECRET
It is accompanied by JCS Regrading Memo 52-73, dated October 3, 1973, documenting the later downgrading of the material to UNCLASSIFIED, nearly three decades after its wartime publication.
This is an original 1944 government-produced classified wartime volume—not a facsimile, reproduction, print-on-demand edition, or later commercial reprint of the conference papers.
The OCTAGON Conference
OCTAGON, also known as the Second Quebec Conference, was held in Quebec City from September 12–16, 1944. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, together with their senior military leadership, met at a pivotal moment in World War II.
By September 1944, Allied forces had broken out of Normandy and were advancing across Western Europe. The Combined Chiefs of Staff therefore faced both the immediate problem of defeating Nazi Germany and the increasingly important question of how Allied resources would be redirected toward the war against Japan.
Among the subjects considered at OCTAGON were General Eisenhower's campaign in Europe; strategic bombing; occupation zones in Germany; redeployment of forces from Europe to the Pacific; strategy for the defeat of Japan; British participation in the Pacific war; operations in Southeast Asia; and possible Soviet participation in the war against Japan.
The Combined Chiefs' final conclusions reaffirmed the objective of obtaining the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan, while maintaining and expanding pressure against Japan as the European war moved toward its conclusion.
Includes the June 1944 London Combined Chiefs Meetings
Of particular historical interest, this volume also contains the minutes of Combined Chiefs of Staff meetings held in London from June 10–15, 1944—beginning just four days after the D-Day landings of June 6.
These meetings document Allied military leadership discussing the war while Operation OVERLORD was actively unfolding in Normandy.
Subjects recorded in the London meetings include:
• Progress of Operation NEPTUNE
• Progress of Operation OVERLORD
• Operations to assist OVERLORD
• The fighting at Carentan
• French Resistance groups
• The campaign in Italy
• Operations in Europe
• The war in the Pacific and Far East
• Operations in Southeast Asia
• Control of the U.S. Twentieth Air Force
The June 10 meeting included senior American and British military leaders such as General George C. Marshall, Admiral Ernest J. King, General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Portal, and Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham.
These are not retrospective histories of D-Day. They are the contemporary minutes of the Combined Chiefs of Staff discussing Allied operations within days of the Normandy invasion.
About This Volume
This volume contains the papers and minutes prepared and compiled for the Combined Chiefs of Staff in 1944, while World War II was still being fought.
It is Copy No. 26 and retains its original TOP SECRET designation.
The contents include wartime material concerning OVERLORD, NEPTUNE, the campaign in Europe, occupation planning for Germany, strategic bombing, the defeat of Japan, British participation in the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and the redeployment of Allied forces following the anticipated defeat of Germany.
Bound in dark red library cloth, it was part of a series of official Combined Chiefs of Staff conference volumes documenting the major Allied wartime conferences. Related volumes covered Casablanca, TRIDENT, QUADRANT, SEXTANT/EUREKA, ARGONAUT and TERMINAL, with original classifications ranging from U.S. SECRET / BRITISH MOST SECRET to TOP SECRET.
The accompanying 1973 JCS regrading memorandum forms an especially interesting part of the volume's history, documenting its transition from a TOP SECRET wartime record to an unclassified historical document.
Again, this is an ORIGINAL 1944 classified wartime publication. It should not be confused with later published editions, reproductions, facsimiles, digital editions or reprints containing the same historical documents.
Condition
Original WWII-era volume with age and storage wear consistent with its age and institutional use. Light foxing and shelf wear may be present, and the binding/spine may exhibit age-related fading or wear.
Copy No. 26. Originally classified TOP SECRET. JCS Regrading Memo 52-73, dated October 3, 1973, is included.
Please examine all photographs carefully for exact condition, contents, markings and binding. Photographs form an important part of the description.
An exceptional original documentary record of Allied military strategy during World War II, combining the TOP SECRET records of the Second Quebec Conference with contemporary Combined Chiefs of Staff minutes from the opening days of the Normandy campaign and Operation OVERLORD.
Ships via USPS Ground Advantage with additional insurance.
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