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. |
From inside the book
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... Lieutenant - General Sir Alan Cunningham , recently mastermind of the victorious thrust against the Italians from Kenya in the East Africa campaign . ( His brother was Commander - in - Chief Mediterranean Fleet . ) He commanded 118,000 ...
... general support for some sort of action against Iran when the two met off the Newfoundland coastline in August 1941 ... Lieutenant - General Quinan , received orders to be ready to occupy the oilfields at Abadan and Naft - Shah , and the ...
... Lieutenant - General Kawabe Masakuza , to strike into India in the hope of precipitating a civilian revolt against British rule , whilst also capturing the major British supply dumps around Dimapur . Thus began the decisive phase of the ...