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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... Chiefs of Staff , for example , had exten- sive imperial experience , as did the majority of Britain's senior theatre ... Chief Middle East in August 1940 ) , and the New Zealand air marshals Arthur Coningham and Keith Park . The Empire ...
... Chief of the Imperial General Staff confided to his diary how annoyed he was that the First Lord of the Admiralty , Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound , kept nodding off during Chiefs of Staff meeting when major deci- sions were ...
... Chief Middle East and then Commander - in - Chief India from mid - 1941 , briefly also taking on responsibility for South - East Asia and the East Indies as Commander - in - Chief American - British - Dutch - Australian Command ( ABDA ) ...
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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 |