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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... 22 ( East Africa ) Infantry Brigade . Formed on 19 September 1939 as the 2nd ( East Africa ) Infantry Brigade ( redesignated 22nd on 18 October 1940 ) , it contained infantry battalions from the King's African Rifles formations in Kenya ...
... Brigade joined 21st ( East African ) Brigade to form the 11th ( African ) Division , and the 24th ( Gold Coast ) Brigade joined the 22nd ( East African ) Brigade to form the 12th ( African ) Division . Like other imperial units drawn to ...
... Brigade for the forthcoming offensives against Italian Somaliland and Abyssinia . The brigade was deployed in the area of ... 22nd ( East African ) Brigade , alongside the 1st Battalion KAR and the 1st Rhodesia African Rifles . The 2nd ...