Restoring the World, 1945: Security and Empire at Yalta

By Nicolas W. Proctor and John E. Moser

The devastation of the Second World War is coming to an end. As victory for the Grand Alliance draws close, the leaders of Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States gather at Yalta, a resort town on the Black Sea, for the most important summit meeting of the war. Can the great powers finalize their plans for a new world order, or will their often antagonistic ideologies prevent them from forging a lasting peace? Restoring the World immerses students in the Yalta Conference as they take on the roles of Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin, as well as the members of their military and diplomatic delegations. They all want peace, but what kind of peace will they create?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Release date: May 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9781469659855

Nicolas W. Proctor

Nicolas W. Proctor is professor of history at Simpson College.

Book preview

1

Introduction

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE GAME

This game explores the diplomacy between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union during the final months of the Second World War. For the past three years, these nations have been joined together into a Grand Coalition against Nazi Germany, but with victory in Europe close at hand, cracks have started to appear.

The Yalta Conference is focused on compromise. It culminates in the drafting of a shared written document: the Final Protocol, which may be augmented by secret agreements. Achieving consensus can be a challenge, especially given the complexity of the issues and the desire of each of the Big Three to be first among equals. If too many issues are left undecided, the conference will collapse, Germany and Japan will take heart, the war will continue, hundreds of thousands more will die, and everyone will lose the game.

Each attendee is determined to shape the postwar world. Together, the players must decide the fate of millions of inhabitants of Eastern Europe, Germany, and East Asia. At the same time, they must work to ensure that the proposed United Nations organization will function after the war ends.

When it comes time to compromise, they must make sure that their nation is not making too many concessions, especially on the issues about which they care the most, but they must also recognize that if they do not give way on some issues, the conference will collapse.

Through this exploration of the multipolar grand strategy, players should develop a deeper understanding of the ideologies of the main Allied Powers during the Second World War, the key decisions that were made at the end of the war, and the origins of the Cold War.

This map of Eastern and Central Europe shows pre-1938 political borders. German forces remain in control of most of Germany, Austria, Denmark, western Czechoslovakia, and northern Italy. The map also shows the Curzon Line, the projected boundaries of the different occupation zones for Germany, and the provinces of Prussia and Silesia.

PROLOGUE: THE NEW WORLD ORDER

Across the Atlantic

Your journey to Yalta began with a secretive, predawn departure from the naval base at Newport News, Virginia, on the morning of January 23, 1945. Aboard the heavy cruiser USS Quincy, you and other members of the U.S. delegation slipped away from the east coast of North America under cover of darkness.

It took over a week for the Quincy and its accompanying flotilla of destroyers and cruisers to cross the Atlantic Ocean and sail through the western Mediterranean Sea to the British fortress-island of Malta. Throughout the passage, friendly aircraft hung in the sky. The main danger supposedly came from German submarines, but few people seemed particularly concerned. At this point in the war, the Kriegsmarine is beaten. Even if the Germans could position a wolf pack of submarines in your path, they would be foolish to attack such a large and well-organized force. Still, every precaution was taken to avoid detection. At night, the ships ran without lights. If a message needed to be sent, a destroyer would leave the group, transmit, and then continue on another course.

This map of East Asia shows most of the theater of operations. Japanese forces remain in control of all the islands that appear on the map, but U.S. forces have liberated the southern portion of the Philippines. The Japanese also control Indochina, Korea, eastern China, and Manchuria.

President Roosevelt celebrated his sixty-third birthday while you were at sea. His health seems to have declined; you hope that he will rebound by the time you arrive at the conference. Without his charm and skill, it will be difficult to settle any of the many territorial issues that he has postponed deciding. These issues—particularly in relation to Poland—have become more immediate due to military necessity. As the Soviet, British, and American armies crush the German Reich between them, determining the shape of postwar Europe becomes an increasingly pressing matter.

As the war in Europe grinds to a bloody conclusion, the conflict in the Pacific rages on. Consequently, many of the military leaders accompanying the delegation agitate for greater effort against Japan. Most hope to persuade the Soviet Union to abrogate its neutrality treaty so that it can bring pressure on Japan’s large and undefeated Kwangtung Army in China.

Complicating all this is the president’s determination to breathe life into the new United Nations organization. The Soviets committed to joining the organization in the fall of 1944, but important details remain to be worked out. You know that Roosevelt has great hopes for the organization, but he otherwise plays his cards notoriously close to his chest. His negotiating style often features abrupt changes of direction, which occasionally lead him into contradictory positions. Indeed, he once remarked, I never let my right hand know what my left hand does … I may have one policy for Europe and one diametrically opposite for North and South America. I may be entirely inconsistent, and furthermore I am perfectly willing to mislead and tell untruths.¹

You are concerned that this approach, combined with the lack of seasoned diplomats (Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. is in his second month in office), could prove disastrous. Still, when the Quincy arrived in Valetta harbor on February 2 and was met by a British band playing The Star-Spangled Banner, you felt the stirring of pride and confidence. Together, the members of the Grand Coalition have fought and won the bloodiest and most destructive war in human history. Surely it is a time of comity and celebration rather than conflict.

By Air from Britain

On the evening of January 29, you boarded one of three aircraft along with Prime Minister Churchill and his entourage. After a long flight across the channel, France, and the Mediterranean, you approached Malta through a thick mist. One of the planes overshot the runway and crashed in the sea. Most of the passengers did not survive. After over five years of war, you feel newly lucky to be alive. It was a grim beginning.

As is usually the case, this setback failed to dampen Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s determination. Concerned about the rapid Soviet advance into the Balkans and Central Europe, the P.M. remains the strongest force in pushing the conference forward. In the lead-up for the conference, he had high hopes that meeting Roosevelt in Malta would allow him to form common cause with the American president before the conference started. He even cabled him, "No more let us falter! From Malta to Yalta. Let nobody alter!"

To his dismay, Roosevelt brushed him off and went sightseeing instead of discussing strategy. Even though the green American Secretary of State Stettinius sat down with seasoned Foreign Secretary Antony Eden, no substantive talks occurred before the night of February 2, when American C-54 transports carrying both delegations loaded up and departed for the long flight to the Soviet Union.

The seven-hour flight was not an easy journey. There was concern about German anti-aircraft batteries on Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, but you could not fly at extreme altitude because of the American president’s blood pressure. Worse than these isolated garrisons was the threat of trigger-happy Russians. Ever wary of German trickery, they insisted that the planes follow a convoluted flight plan as they approached Soviet territory.

As you crossed over the Black Sea and approached the Crimean peninsula, your aircraft had to execute an identification maneuver. You are not certain of what, exactly, this consisted. Perhaps the pilot flew in a pretzel shape. Whatever it was, your stomach lurched into your throat. All this certainly soured the mood of the P.M., who grumpily announced, If we had spent ten years in our research we could not have found a worse place than Yalta.²

When you finally disembarked at Saki air base, you were met by the cold and enigmatic Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov. Most members of the Foreign Office have worked with him in the past. Few have much good to say. Alexander Cadogan’s description is your favorite. He observed that Molotov has the grace and conciliation of a totem pole.³

The Soviets certainly tried to make merry by laying out a sumptuous spread of champagne, vodka, caviar, and other Russian delicacies. They even had a Lend-Lease jeep on hand so that the American president could inspect the Soviet guard of honor without assistance. The P.M., ever determined to prove his rude health, waved off the jeep and strolled alongside, which led Churchill’s doctor to piquantly observe, The P.M. walked by the side of the President, as in her old age an Indian attendant accompanied Queen Victoria’s phaeton.⁴ Ouch.

After the review, everyone boarded a fleet of Lend-Lease Packards and armored ZiS sedans. The journey continued by road, which had, on the orders of Lavrenty Beria’s secret police, the NKVD, been cleared of both snow and traffic. The entire route was guarded by Soviet troops, with soldiers spaced about fifty feet apart. Many were women.

The Crimea was heavily contested ground. Parts of it changed hands several times. The Soviets fought hard to defend it when the German blitzkrieg struck in 1941. The main city, Sevastopol, was besieged for 250 days, which won it the title Hero City before it finally fell to German and Romanian troops. When it was recaptured by Soviet troops a little over half a year ago, there was not much left of it. Signs of heavy fighting and long years of occupation are clear to all. Burned-out vehicles and gutted buildings line the roadside. A few peasants, all women and old men in drab, utilitarian clothing, work in the distance. The guards keep them away from the road itself.

The monotony of the landscape and the six-hour drive bored the P.M., but he seemed delighted once you arrived at your temporary home: Vorontsov villa. He thought it had been designed by an English architect, and was pleased to find portraits of British aristocrats hanging by the fireplaces. You were less impressed and generally agreed with the P.M.’s daughter, who tartly remarked that it seemed a bit like a Scottish baronial hall inside and a Swiss Chalet plus Mosque outside. Cadogan was less reserved. He thought it was a big house of indiscernible ugliness.⁵

You hope the P.M.’s delight allows him to rest well; the coming challenges will be profound. Despite the fact that the British delegation is composed of well-educated and experienced professionals who have been working together for years, Britain is, to some extent, overmatched on the world stage. The U.S.A. and the Soviet Union are emerging from the war with enormous economic and military power. The British Empire is vast, but it is exhausted by long years of war. You must outmaneuver your allies if it is to survive and prosper.

Defending the Motherland

Perhaps it served the people best when it was still a tuberculosis sanatorium. This was the thought that flitted through your head when you first beheld the old imperial palace of Livadia, which will house you and the rest of the Soviet delegation for the duration of the conference. Compared to the opulent and parasitical corruption of the tsars, this was a noble purpose. You are glad that the Bolsheviks put it to good use after they won the civil war. It is a good reminder of why fighting that war was just and necessary.

As you prepare to host representatives of Britain and the United States, you remind yourself that these are the people who armed and supported the counterrevolutionary forces that sought to overthrow the revolution. These imperialists attempted to strangle the revolution in its crib. They may be fighting the fascists now, but there is no doubt in your mind that if they are given the chance, the capitalist powers of the West will once again try to undermine and destroy the workers’ state.

A few months ago, the victorious Red Army once again expelled counterrevolutionary forces from the Crimea. Most of the fascist Hitlerites who occupied and exploited the land and people are dead. Others, taken prisoner, now labor for the reconstruction of the Motherland. Soon, those who continue to resist will be defeated by the irresistible might of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Repugnantly, after the Germans seized the area, Adolf Hitler presented the Livadia to one of his field marshals, Gerd von Rundstedt, as a reward for conducting operations that resulted in the deaths of thousands. Fortunately, he never had the chance to enjoy it. In their haste to flee, the retreating Germans did not destroy it, but they did strip the palace of its contents, smash the furniture, and chop down the fruit and ornamental trees.

Reconstruction, managed by People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs Lavrenty Beria, has been swift. In an intense three weeks of work, thousands of civilian workers, assisted by engineering units from the Red Army and hundreds of Romanian prisoners of war, restored electricity and heat; they constructed kitchens, communications facilities, and quarters for service personnel and the large staff contingent that accompanied the American and British leaders. In preparation for the conference, NKVD units also constructed bomb shelters, checked the identity of 74,000 civilians, and arrested 835 suspicious individuals.

By the time the Allied contingents arrived, the kitchen staff, which included chefs brought in from Moscow, proudly produced a dinner of caviar, fish, shaslik, and potatoes, accompanied by two kinds of dessert, coffee, champagne, other fine wines, and liquor. The exigencies of war limited all members of the staff to two meals a day, but they recognized that it was necessary to show the capitalists Soviet strength and abundance. All are eager to sacrifice for the Motherland and the defense of the workers’ state!

Having accompanied the Soviet delegation on its journey from Moscow, you arrived soon thereafter. The armored train, which included several carriages that belonged to the last tsar, took three days and nights to make the passage. Out the window, you gazed at a seemingly endless succession of burned-out towns and villages. Even the forests were splintered by shellfire. The larger cities—Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Simferopol—had all been devastated. Most railway stations were nothing more than temporary log cabins. Meager as they were, these sights made you proud; all this territory was recently liberated from the fascist invaders. Now, once again, it is under your control!

On the long journey, electricity often failed, so you read by candlelight, and you had plenty to read. For the past year, the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs has been developing plans for the postwar world. The report of the Commission on Compensation for the Losses Inflicted on the Soviet Union by Hitlerite Germany and Its Allies was organized by Ivan Maisky, one of the members of the delegation. Although he occasionally disagrees about details with other members of the Commissariat, they agree on the overall strategic objective: the defense of the Motherland.

You are determined to achieve this end, and you are confident that you will do so, because the Soviet delegation is filled with competent and experienced men. All of the generals have been honed to a sharp edge by the demands of the Great Patriotic War. The diplomats, who have served all over the world, are dedicated to the defense of the Motherland and the ideals of international socialism. Together, they will advise the great hero of the Revolution, Joseph Stalin, the Man of Steel. Doubtless, he will speak with customary authority and decisiveness. Victory to the proletariat!

HOW TO PLAY THIS GAME

This is a reacting game. Reacting games are interactive historical role-playing games. After a few preparatory lectures, the game begins and the students are in charge. Set in moments of heightened historical tension, the games place students in the roles of historical figures. By reading the game book and their individual role sheets, students discover their objectives, potential allies, and the forces that stand between them and victory. They must then attempt to achieve victory through formal speeches, informal debate, negotiations, and (sometimes) conspiracy. Outcomes sometimes part from actual history; a postmortem session sets the record straight.

The following is an outline of what you will encounter in reacting games and what you will be expected to do.

Game Setup

Your instructor will spend some time before the beginning of the game helping you to understand the historical context for the game. During the setup period, you will use several different kinds of material, including the following:

The game book (from which you are reading now), which includes historical information, rules and elements of the game, and essential documents.

A role sheet provided by your instructor, which includes a short biography of the historical figure you will model in the game as well as that person’s ideology, objectives, responsibilities, and resources.

In addition to the game book, you may also be required to read historical documents or books written by historians. These provide additional information and arguments for use during the game. Your instructor will inform you if you need any supplemental materials.

Read all of this contextual material and the documents listed on your role sheet before the game begins. And just as important, go back and reread these materials throughout the game. A second and third reading while in role will deepen your understanding and alter your perspective, for ideas take on a different aspect when seen through the eyes of a partisan actor.

Students who have carefully read the materials and who know the rules of the game will invariably do better than those who rely on general impressions and uncertain memories.

Game Play

Once the game begins, class sessions are presided over by students. In most cases, a single student serves as a kind of presiding officer. The instructor then becomes the Gamemaster (GM) and takes a seat in the back of the room. Though they do not lead the class sessions, GMs may do any of the following:

Pass notes.

Announce important events (e.g., Sparta is invading!). Some of these events are the result of student actions; others are instigated by the GM.

Redirect proceedings that have gone off track.

The presiding officer is expected to observe basic standards of fairness, but as a fail-safe device, most reacting games employ the Podium Rule, which allows a student who has not been recognized to approach the podium and wait for a chance to speak. Once at the podium, the student has the floor and must be heard.

Role sheets contain private, secret information that students are expected to guard. You are advised, therefore, to exercise caution when discussing your role with others. Your role sheet probably identifies likely allies, but even they may not always be trustworthy. However, keeping your own counsel, or saying nothing to anyone, is not an option. In order to