during world war 2 why did the US first focus on europe and not asia?

Answer 1

1/ It is WW II or World War II.
2/ The US agreed that with their immense resources the could wage was on both fronts but that the European front was more important than the Pacific, but did send troops to Australia and New Zealand for training.
3/ That fact is gratefully remembered here in New Zealand and Australia, as most of our troops were in the Middle East.

Answer 2

Germany was a far more dangerous enemy, intent on world conquest. Had the Nazis defeated the USSR and Britain, they would had the capacity to build up their forces to the extent they could have isolated the Americas or even invaded the US. Even if they had not done so, many more US troops would have been needed to defeat Germany. Thus the US committed 90% of its war effort against Hitler.

Japan, which had 1/10 or America's industrial capacity, wanted access to oil and other resources in the far east. They took a chance in trying to cripple the US fleet and in gaining as much territory as possible in the next few months...hoping that Hitler would keep the US occupied and that they would be fed up with war if they beat Germany. That, of course, is not what happened - Japan did not get the US carriers at Pearl Harbor, and the US was soon able to make better ships and planes than the Japanese, and eventually defeat them.

Answer 3

Most Americans (particularly those in power) at the time were recent descendants of Europeans, so there was a closer connection to them. Also, with the alliance of the 'big 3' (the US, UK and USSR) Germany was actively at war with the UK and USSR but Japan had no interest in fighting the Russians so there was pressure from these allies to help with the war in Europe (particularly the UK which was very close to bankruptcy from fighting Germany) while most of Asia was only colonial possessions of the Europeans or the US and therefore a less pressing concern.

Answer 4

Several reasons. First, our two biggest allies, Britain and the Soviet Union, were hanging on by threads when we entered the war. Second, the U.S. Pacific Fleet would take time to rebuild and expand. Third, the US could afford to lose most of the Pacific without much detrimental effect; only Australia could not be lost. Without Australia, Britain would have a hard time in the Mediterranean (many Australians were fighting in North Africa).

Finally, China was important only because it tied up the bulk of the Japanese army, and Japan, while advancing in China, was having a real problem controlling the several hundred million Chinese citizens in the area it occupied. There was never any real threat of a Japanese invasion of the U.S. mainland.

Answer 5

You should go back to your history sources and ask new questions. Asia was every bit as important to America during World War II as was Europe.

Thousands of Americans died in the Pacific and Asia (remember the Burma Road) during that war.

Answer 6

US policy had decided on a "Europe first" strategy, as the greater threat, before official entry into the war. After Pearl Harbor, it became also a matter of expediency, since there was too little Pacific Fleet to do otherwise. But it wasn't a blind following of doctrine. One of the three aircraft carriers that made history at Coral Sea and Midway was shifted from Atlantic duty, and the Marines did as well as they could, considering the restrictions such a huge ocean posed on logistics, compared to the limited shipping available. Keep in mind that tactics are nice, strategy is important, but logistics win wars.

Answer 7

The Allies went with the idea of "Europe First" after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Our naval capabilities were downed; however, the main reason was because they felt like Hitler and Mussolini posed a greater threat than Japan and should be addressed first. They chose to fight in North Africa and upon securing it, used it as a launching pad to attack the "soft underbelly" of Europe.

Answer 8

It had been agreed upon by the Allies that the ETO would be the primary focus, then the PTO. The US also was heavily involved in the Battle of the Atlantic, one of the most important battles of the war, Africa, the Invasion of Italy, and then D-Day.
To say the US didn't do anything before D-Day just means you don't know your history.

Answer 9

I'm thinking it was really the other way around. Did we do much in Europe prior to D-Day in June 1944? I don't think so. Obviously there was a lot of preparation for D-Day if you define that as "doing something". I think we had signficant battles in the Pacific prior to June 1944. Just some of my rambling thoughts.

Answer 10

It was Europe first due to our relationship with Great Britian. We did fight on both fronts at the same time, but the bulk of our resources went to Europe.