A hallmark of history surrounding Winston Churchill and World War II is that the British-American alliance comprised a “special relationship” of military, political, social, and cultural connections between the British Empire and the United States. Stressing the intimate collaboration between the American and British military advisors on the Combined Chiefs of Staff, Churchill emphasized policy consensus and downplayed any dissension or disagreements in allied war councils. In A Search for Strategy: British-American Military Collaboration in 1942, John F. Shortal argues that this special relationship did not exist in 1942. At the Arcadia Conference, from December 1941 to January 1942, Prime Minister Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt developed a strong personal relationship, having more in common with one another than with their own military advisors. The American and British chiefs likewise seemed to agree with each other more than they did with their respective civilian
