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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... battle that was to come . The second battle of Alamein was to go down in history as a major triumph of impe- rial arms , Britain's first ' big win ' of the war , the cause for all the bells of all the churches in Britain to be rung in ...
... Battle of Britain , Malta's battle was a war of survival against apparently overwhelming odds , and against an official German invasion plan ( Operation Hercules ) . The price of failure was enemy occupation . Despite the fact that ...
... Battle of Britain 9 , 38 , 122 Battle of the Atlantic 3 , 5 , 53 , 68 , 72 , 81 , 228 Battle of the Coral Sea 469 Battle of Midway 271 Battle of the River Plate 94 Beauchamp , W. G. 318 Beaverbrook , William 8 , 66 Bechuanaland xi , 32 ...