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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... June 1942 , the British ended up as resounding victors in the Mediter- ranean and Middle East , and its bases became the jump - off points for the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy . Britain experienced a significant victory at the ...
... June 1940 the RAF in the Middle East and Mediterranean region consisted of thirteen and a third squadrons in Egypt ... June to October four Egyptian - based squadrons attacked Beng- hazi over one hundred times . In Iraq in April and May ...
... June 1941 a small combined operation had eliminated the Italian garrison at Assab , and , together with victory over Italian forces inland , the Italian threat to the Red Sea was removed . Therefore Middle East Command , which had never ...