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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... Britain had been vital to Canada ( favoured particularly by the Ottawa agreements in 1932 that had seen the historic ... Britain's need for Canadian production , saved the country's economy and the government of Mackenzie King . In 1939 ...
... ( Britain's links with Argentina were so strong that historians have termed it the ' sixth Dominion ' ) . Though Britain's position in South America had been eroded by the natural rise to prominence of America , and the trade competition ...
... Britain owed India £ 1.3 billion . In 1939 Britain had agreed to pay for the Indian armed forces if they were not engaged in operations related specifically to India's own defence , so Britain lost the free use of its eastern military ...