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Roosevelt and Churchill flew to Teheran (the Chiangs had left Cairo for China). Big missions were with the President and Prime Minister. Only Foreign Minister Viacheslav M. Molotov and Marshal Klimenti Voroshilov accompanied Stalin on his first trip outside Russia since the Revolution.
The President arrived late Saturday afternoon, Nov. 27, and went straight to the handsome American legation. That night the President was invited to move into the main building of the Russian Embassy, where the meetings were to be held.
The Neighbors. Next day, after lunch, Roosevelt moved over and took up quarters at the Embassy, receiving a smart salute from tall Soviet tommy-gunner guards as he entered. There, in his sunny private sitting room, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin met face to face and spent their first hour together. Stalin had simply walked over on the gravel path from another of the Embassy houses, his living quarters for the meeting. An hour later Churchill and Eden walked in from the British Embassy, directly across the street, and joined the group with Molotov.
By blocking off all entrances, hanging up big cloth screens at the end of the street and opening the wide iron gates, guards converted the two embassies and their grounds into one big compound. For the four days of the conference the Big Three lived and worked there, dining together each night, never more than 200 yd. away from each other.
Roosevelt wore a business suit by day, dinner clothes at night. Churchill, who apparently realized how thoroughly the Russians were not amused by his "siren suit" at Moscow, wore the uniform of an R.A.F. air commodore, usually changed to dinner jacket at night. One evening he appeared as an honorary colonel of the Fourth Hussars, his old regiment. Stalin alternately wore two types of Marshal's uniforms, one in beige khaki, the other in slate-blue with white trouser-stripes.
The Friends. Molotov started the social ball rolling with a tea on Sunday, at which the delegates showed some awe of one another, and Stalin took it on himself to move around and get everyone talking. But the ice was broken with a vengeance at dinner, and stayed broken. Stalin enthusiastically sipped Roosevelt's special Martinis (the President decided against trying out old-fashioneds). Toasts were mostly in champagne, but Churchill stuck to his favorite still wines.
Kingpin social event of all turned out to be Churchill's birthday dinner (he was 69) at the British Embassy on Tuesday. Winnie had been planning it all day. He insisted on checking his party's place cards before dressing, then by 8:15 was back, impeccable, in jacket and black tie, nervously puffing a cigar and peering at his watch.
Roosevelt and his party arrived first, and in a few moments the reception room was jingling with the clink of glasses and gold braid. Stalin and party arrived five minutes early—precisely enough time for one drink.
At dinner Churchill announced that toasting would follow the Russian style —everyone toasting everyone else. Later estimates of the toast total ranged from 35 to 50, but all accounts agreed that Stalin joined in all, amiably ambling around the table to clink glasses with the person being toasted.