Europe First - British/Commonwealth Involvement in The Pacific

British/Commonwealth Involvement in The Pacific

The "Europe First" policy had political implications, as it limited the employment of British and Empire forces in the Pacific. The Australian Government had sought U.S. military assistance in 1942, when it was faced with the possibility of Japanese invasion, and while Australia had made a significant contribution to the Pacific War, it had never been an equal partner with its U.S. counterparts in strategic decision-making. While General MacArthur had more Australian than US forces under his command in 1942, it has been claimed that he nonetheless decreed that all Australian victories would be reported as "Allied victories", while American victories would be reported as American. It is also a widely-held view that, from mid-1943 onwards, MacArthur confined the Australian Army divisions under his command to tough and largely irrelevant actions, while reserving the more prestigious actions for US troops, resulting in enduring antipathy towards MacArthur in Australia.

It was argued that a British presence would act as a counterbalance to the powerful and increasing U.S. presence in the Pacific, and the Australians would warmly welcome the British Pacific Fleet when they established their main base in Sydney. The measure was forced on Churchill by the British Chiefs of Staff, not only to re-establish British presence in the region, but to mitigate any perception in the U.S. that the British were doing nothing to help defeat Japan. However, Admiral Ernest King and General George C. Marshall had continually resisted operations that would assist the British agenda in reclaiming or maintaining any part of its pre-war colonial holdings in the Pacific or the eastern Mediterranean. King was adamant that naval operations against Japan remain 100% American, and angrily resisted the idea of a British naval presence in the Pacific at the Quadrant Conference in late 1944, citing (among other things) the difficulty of supplying additional naval forces in the theater. For much the same reason, General Henry Arnold resisted the offer of RAF units in the Pacific. Roosevelt, however, overruled King and allowed British Empire forces to deploy in the Pacific.

Despite King's reservations, the British Pacific Fleet did acquit itself sufficiently in the Pacific, as the armoured flight decks of their aircraft carriers appeared to hold up well against Kamikaze attacks. The British had a limited presence against Japan up until the last months of the war.