Editing Europe first (section)

{{Short description|Allied grand strategy policy in World War II}}
'''Europe first''', also known as '''Germany first''', was the key element of the [[grand strategy]] agreed upon by the [[United States]] and the [[United Kingdom]] during [[World War II]] after the United States joined the war in December 1941. According to this policy, the United States and the United Kingdom would use the preponderance of their resources to subdue [[Nazi Germany]] in [[Europe]] first. Simultaneously, they would fight a holding action against [[Empire of Japan|Japan]] in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], using fewer resources. After the defeat of Germany—considered the greatest threat to the UK and the Soviet Union<ref>Hornfischer p. 151-153, 383</ref>—all [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] forces could be concentrated against Japan.

At the December 1941 [[Arcadia Conference]] between President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] and Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] in Washington, shortly after the United States entered the War, the decision for the "Europe First" strategy was affirmed. However, U.S. statistics show that the United States devoted more resources in the early part of the war to stopping the advance of Japan, and not until 1944 was a clear preponderance of U.S. resources allocated toward the defeat of Germany.