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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... East and South - East Asia . This was because , in war as in peace , it was the Indian Ocean that contained the sea routes that kept the trading and security interests of the Empire connected . It was an imperial Clapham Junction , and ...
... South - East Asia , see John Gwynne - Timothy , Burma Liberators : The Royal Canadian Air Force in South - East Asia Command , 2 volumes ( Toronto , 1991 ) . 22. See Donovan Webster , The Burma Road : The Epic Story of One of World War ...
... East ( Oxford , 1986 ) . Terence O'Brien , The Moonlight War : The Story of Clandestine Operations in South - East Asia , 1944-45 ( London , 1987 ) . O'Brien flew Special Duties missions all over South - East Asia in support of SOE ...