The British Empire and the Second World WarIn 1939 Hitler went to war not just with Great Britain; he also went to war with the whole of the British Empire, the greatest empire that there had ever been. In the years since 1945 that empire has disappeared, and the crucial fact that the British Empire fought together as a whole during the war has been forgotten. All the parts of the empire joined the struggle and were involved in it from the beginning, undergoing huge changes and sometimes suffering great losses as a result. The war in the desert, the defence of Malta and the Malayan campaign, and the contribution of the empire as a whole in terms of supplies, communications and troops, all reflect the strategic importance of Britain's imperial status. Men and women not only from Australia, New Zealand and India but from many parts of Africa and the Middle East all played their part. Winston Churchill saw the war throughout in imperial terms. The British Empire and the Second World War emphasises a central fact about the Second World War that is often forgotten. |
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... Ceylon Garrison Artillery Chief of the Imperial General Staff CLT Colonial and Locally Raised Troops CMF Citizens Military Force CNVF Ceylon Naval Volunteer Force CSF DEMS EAC EAC EAMLS EGSC FAA Caribbean Sea Frontier Defensively ...
... ( Ceylon ) Malayan Communist Party Middle East Command MESC Middle East Supply Centre MNBDO Mobile Naval Base Defence Organization Malayan Communist Party Northern Combat Area Command ( Burma - China ) Newfoundland Escort Force Northern ...
... Ceylon , Egypt , Fiji , India , Kenya and Mauritius became springboards for offensive Allied operations in neighbouring regions and bases for special forces engaged in espionage , sabo- tage and operations behind enemy lines . Familiar ...
... forces fought with the Eighth Army in the Middle East and the French battleship Richelieu reinforced Britain's Eastern Fleet in Ceylon . Empire escaped enemy attention , whether in the form of 6 THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
... Ceylon and engulfed Malaya and the great ' fortress ' of Singapore , in which so many hollow inter - war security hopes had reposed . Losses to Japan also escalated the demand for production in places such as West Africa , necessitating ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
21 | |
41 | |
5 The Atlantic | 53 |
6 The Caribbean | 77 |
7 The Mediterranean | 97 |
8 Iraq Iran and Syria | 145 |
11 The Islands of the Indian Ocean | 307 |
12 India and Burma | 351 |
13 SouthEast Asia and the Far East | 405 |
14 Australia and New Zealand | 463 |
15 The Pacific | 513 |
16 Epilogue | 525 |
Notes | 535 |
Bibliography | 561 |