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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... Air 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 Royal Naval ...
... Air Force squadrons , twenty - three Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) squadrons and twenty - eight South African Air Force squadrons served with the RAF . In Britain imperial pilots learned their trade at the Empire Central Flying ...
... air power in the Middle East and Mediterranean had been reorganized . Known as Mediterranean Allied Air Forces , it comprised the Mediterranean Allied Strategic Air Force and the Mediterranean Allied Tactical Air Force . This latter force ...