The Rainbow 5 plan was part of which overall Allied approach to the war?

• A. European First plan
• B. Rainbow 5 plan
• C. Island-Hopping plan
• D. Pacific First plan

Answer: (B)

The question tests understanding of how Allied strategy was organized in WWII: the Allies prioritized defeating Germany first, while still contesting Japan. The Rainbow Plans were a family of Allied options for how to wage the European war under that overarching approach. The Rainbow 5 plan is one of those European-focused planning variants, outlining a course of action for launching major operations in Western Europe as part of the effort to win in Europe first. It sits within the Europe-first framework, not as a Pacific-first strategy or as the Pacific campaign itself. The other options describe the Pacific-focused approaches, which do not capture the overall Allied directive to defeat Germany first.