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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... Pacific felt the full and horrifying impact of world war . Guadalcanal was part of the British Solomons Island Protectorate , Papua and New Guinea were Australian territories , and Tarawa , where a thousand Americans and 5000 Japanese ...
... Pacific islands from its commencement in September 1939 , though its significance and proximity loomed much larger from December 1941 when Japan attacked American , Australian , British and ... Pacific region , the islands of The Pacific.
... Pacific Islanders ( Cambridge , 1997 ) , p . 296. The book provides the best non - military overview of the Pacific islands ' region during the war . See also Among Those Present : The Official History of the Pacific Islands at War ...