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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... Force RCN Royal Canadian Navy RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary RIAF Royal Indian Air Force RIN Royal Indian Navy RNVR Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force RNZN Royal New Zealand Navy RNVR RWAFF SAAF SANF Royal Naval ...
... forces , and plans were made to base British soldiers in Australia and RAF bombers on Okinawa so that Britain could contribute to the invasion of the Japanese home islands . As it happened , the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and ...
... forces engaged in espionage , sabo- tage and operations behind enemy lines . Familiar features of the British war effort , such as the intelligence - gathering operations centred on Bletchley and the activities of the Special Operations ...
... forces were ubiquitous . In policing the Atlantic against U - boats and delivering supplies to Russia via Iran , as well as to the imperial forces in the Middle East via the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea ports , Americans were involved ...
... Force . Elsewhere , American forces and merchant vessels worked alongside British forces before December 1941 , for example in patrolling the Atlantic and in shipping supplies around the Cape to the ports of the Sudan and Egypt . American ...
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 |