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. |
From inside the book
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... Empire , in war as in peace . In war , the sea lanes of the world were also vital for the movement of martial resources to and from Britain , North America and the Empire's many overseas battle fronts . The Empire defined Britain's ...
... Empire would have changed hands and fallen under the sway of new imperial masters , as the largest imperial estate ... Empire's overwhelming inter - war focus on peace , disarmament and the global status quo , were dispersed throughout ...
... Empire's greatest producer of that precious commodity . ? In mobilizing the Empire for this extraordinary global war effort , a massive strain was placed on the imperial system and upon the fundamental bulwark of local political ...
... Empire fundamentally weakened and at least partially disman- tled . Germany would then emerge as an overwhelmingly ... Empire's survival chances - even without a war against Germany – Hitler was more than once to pledge to uphold the ...
... Empire's carriers , fighter aircraft , battleships and tactics were not commonly known about , and reports of them were discounted , or kept secret , because there was nothing that could be done about them as the clock counted down to ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
21 | |
4 The Home Front | 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 |