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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... September , only the SDF , the Sudan Police and local irregulars stood between the massive Italian forces in the region and the Sudanese capital of Khartoum . Meanwhile , the SDF , like other imperial units , underwent rapid expansion ...
... September 1941 SAAF Junker 86s were sent to join the blockading forces . On the ground , the KAR proved too heavily equipped and therefore too static to effectively prevent Somali tribesmen running the blockade . So it was decided to ...
... September 1939 Queen Salote Tupou III declared that ' all of Tonga's resources are at Britain's disposal ' , and changed again when Japan entered the war two years later . From 18 September 1939 Tonga's privy council ordered the ...