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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... role of imperial forces such as the Canadians at Dieppe and the pan - Commonwealth Eighth Army are well remembered . The role of Malta , a tiny but priceless launch - pad for operations against Axis forces and convoys in the ...
... role in the war against the Japanese in New Guinea , particularly in the early stages before American power and ... role played by Scotsmen . For over two centuries Scottish scientists , missionaries , politicians , explorers and ...
... role in the Battle of the Atlantic , and by the end of the war the Indian - officered Royal Indian Air Force had 30,000 personnel and nine squadrons of fighter aircraft engaged in the war against Japan . The British Empire Air Training ...
... role as an imperial garrison and police force numbering less than 200,000 , with a third of its strength permanently based in India . Reflecting Britain's strategic heritage and the role allotted to its army in times of war , its ...
... Russia , did not pretend to be interested in taking on the role of world policeman , and the only meaningful international body that existed , the League of Nations , could only act successfully if its THE APPROACH OF WAR 15.
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 |