It was for this reason that Churchill was relieved when Roosevelt was re-elected in 1940 . Upon re-election , Roosevelt immediately set about implementing a new method of providing military hardware and shipping to Britain without the need for monetary payment . Roosevelt persuaded Congress that repayment for this immensely costly service would take the form of defending the US ; and so Lend-Lease was born . Churchill had 12 strategic conferences with Roosevelt which covered the Atlantic Charter , Europe first strategy , the Declaration by United Nations and other war policies . After Pearl Harbor was attacked , Churchill 's first thought in anticipation of US help was , " We have won the war ! " On 26 December 1941 , Churchill addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress , asking of Germany and Japan , " What kind of people do they think we are ? " Churchill initiated the Special Operations Executive ( SOE ) under Hugh Dalton 's Ministry of Economic Warfare , which established , conducted and fostered covert , subversive and partisan operations in occupied territories with notable success ; and also the Commandos which established the pattern for most of the world 's current Special Forces . The Russians referred to him as the " British Bulldog . " Churchill was party to treaties that would redraw post-Second World War European and Asian boundaries . These were discussed as early as 1943 . At the Second Quebec Conference in 1944 he drafted and , together with Roosevelt , signed a less-harsh version of the original Morgenthau Plan , in which they pledged to convert Germany after its unconditional surrender " into a country primarily agricultural and pastoral in its character . " Proposals for European boundaries and settlements were officially agreed to by President Harry S. Truman , Churchill , and Joseph Stalin at Potsdam . Churchill 's strong relationship with Harry Truman was of great significance to both countries . While he clearly regretted the loss of his close friend and counterpart Roosevelt , Churchill was enormously supportive of Truman in his first days in office , calling him , " the type of leader the world needs when it needs him most . " When Hitler invaded the Soviet Union , Churchill , a vehement anti-communist , famously stated " If Hitler invaded Hell , I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons " , regarding his policy towards Stalin . Soon , British supplies and tanks were being sent to help the Soviet Union
Potsdam
Potsdam Conference
Winston Churchill