ABSTRACT
The history of the preparation and approval of this communique, and especially the exact meaning of the decision made on the second front — ("full understanding was reached with regard to the urgent task of creating a second front in Europe in 1942" — provoked noisy and contradictory reactions in the post-war literature. The chief proposition of Western historiography was that Roosevelt's commitment was sincere, but could not be carried out because of Churchill's opposition, and because of the lack of the material resources in Britain needed to launch an offensive across the Channel in 1942. Another view was that Roosevelt, despite Marshall's objections, agreed to include the reference to 1942 in the communique because "encouragement, even when based on false premises, would stiffen the Soviet will".55
