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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... French and French colonial troops . This Armée d'Afrique provided a counterweight to the Italian army in Libya . Here , as in Europe and South - East Asia , the implications of French capitulation were not considered as a possibility ...
... French units . General ' Jumbo ' Wilson , Officer Commanding Troops in Palestine and Trans- Jordan , was told to capture the airfield at Damascus , Beirut ( the civil and military capital ) and Rayak , before advancing to Palmyra , Homs ...
... French condominium governing the New Hebrides was difficult to operate during the war given the status of France and French overseas territory following the establishment of the Vichy regime . The French resident eventually opted to ...