ORIGINAL 1945 WARTIME EDITION — NOT A MODERN REPRINT
Offered here is an original 1945 TOP SECRET World War II volume containing the papers and minutes of meetings of the ARGONAUT Conference, held at Malta and Yalta in January–February 1945.
Titled “Papers and Minutes of Meetings — Argonaut Conference, January-February 1945,” this volume was edited and published by the Office of the U.S. Secretary, Office of the Combined Chiefs of Staff.
This is Copy No. 22and 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 1945 government-produced classified wartime volume—not a facsimile, reproduction, print-on-demand edition, or later commercial reprint of the conference papers.
The ARGONAUT Conference
ARGONAUT was the Allied conference held from January 30 through February 11, 1945, first on the island of Malta and then at Yalta in the Soviet Union.
The Malta meetings allowed the American and British military leadership to coordinate strategy and prepare for the discussions at Yalta. The conference then moved to Yalta, where President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin met in one of the most consequential Allied conferences of World War II.
The meetings took place as Nazi Germany approached defeat but while enormous questions remained concerning the final prosecution of the war and the shape of the postwar world.
The American and British Combined Chiefs of Staff considered strategy in Northwest Europe, coordination of military operations with the Soviet Union, the continuing bombing campaign against Germany, the U-boat threat, operations in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia, and planning for the eventual defeat of Japan.
At Yalta, military discussions also included Soviet participation in the war against Japan and coordination between the Western Allies and Soviet forces. Other major issues surrounding the conference included the occupation of defeated Germany, including the creation of a French occupation zone, and the political future of liberated Europe.
The official Combined Chiefs records reveal just how uncertain the end of the war still appeared. On February 6, 1945, the chiefs adopted planning assumptions placing the earliest possible end of the war against Germany at July 1, 1945, while allowing that it might continue through the end of the year.
ARGONAUT ultimately produced an agreed strategic objective of obtaining the unconditional surrender of both Germany and Japan, while maintaining and expanding military pressure against Japan as the European war approached its conclusion.
The conference was also historically significant as Roosevelt's final wartime conference. He died on April 12, 1945, approximately two months after returning from Yalta.
About This Volume
This volume contains the papers and minutes prepared and compiled for the Combined Chiefs of Staff in 1945, while both Germany and Japan remained at war with the Allies.
It is Copy No. 22and retains its original TOP SECRET designation.
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, TERMINAL and OCTAGON, with original classifications ranging from U.S. SECRET / BRITISH MOST SECRET to TOP SECRET.
The accompanying 1973 JCS regrading memorandum is 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 1945 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. 22. 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 from the closing months of World War II, directly associated with the Combined Chiefs of Staff, Yalta Conference, Malta Conference, Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, the defeat and occupation of Germany, Soviet participation in the war against Japan, and Allied planning for the postwar world.
Ships via USPS Ground Advantage with additional insurance.
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