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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... Egypt , sailing for England to join the Royal Flying Corps upon being invalided out of the army . In the inter - war air force Coningham distinguished himself as a pilot in Britain , Egypt , Iraq and the Sudan , making the first east ...
... Egyptian ' Sudan . Britain's use of Egypt as the major base of its Middle Eastern war effort was legally founded upon an article in the 1936 treaty that committed the King to give all facility and assistance to Britain in the event of ...
... Egypt for active operations in the desert , planning to take the offensive at the earliest opportunity . For example , he insisted on inten- sive all - arms training for the 7th Armoured Brigade and the 4th Indian Division then in Egypt ...