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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... Germans through the backdoor in the Balkans . As well as keeping the Germans out of the Middle East , what has been termed the British ' Mediterranean strategy ' aimed at drawing German troops from the Western Front , knocking Italy out ...
... German commercial , political and ideological penetration before the war . The German Directorate of Propaganda espoused pan - Arabism , and German diplomats and military officials courted the Iraqi army . Germany promised military aid ...
... German coup in the region . As in Iraq , a German presence in Iran predated the war , and in mid - 1941 the British estimated that there were between two and three thousand German nationals in residence , many occupying important ...