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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... America and Russia was pivotal , in the case of America both before and after it became embroiled in hostilities with Germany and Japan . In almost every theatre , and in Britain itself , American supplies and American forces were ...
... America that was a natural result of Britain's inability to deal with every single enemy in every single region at once . American defence guarantees were important when it looked as if Britain might succumb to Germany in 1940-41 . The ...
... American involvement and cooperation in Caribbean affairs led to friction . The construction of American bases in so many Caribbean colonies was closely monitored in Whitehall , anxious to ensure that disagreements at the local level ...