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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... Percival , left carrying the can , but stretched to the apex of British government . When he arrived to take up his command in May 1941 , Percival's freedom to influence strategy or the deployment of his troops was already limited . The ...
... Percival was loath to send the 8th Australian Division north , as he feared a Japanese landing in the south . In the eastern half of the narrow peninsula the 9th Indian Division fought a separate campaign . On 5 January 1942 it was ...
... Percival's appraisal and subsequent orders . Sarawak had been ruled for a century by the descendants of James Brooke , the first Rajah . An employee of the East India Company , he had quelled a rebellion in the region , and the Sultan ...