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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... Wavell , in Egypt and Palestine by nearly four to one , and in East Africa another , even larger Italian army was gathered under the Duke of Aosta . In the whole of Wavell's vast command , the number of troops fell short of 90,000 ...
... Wavell to protest at the small number of casualties and to request a court of inquiry . Wavell's response ended with the statement that ' a big butcher's bill was not necessarily evidence of good tactics ' , and this sent Churchill into ...
... Wavell , to blow things up ' in Greece . Wavell was soon thereafter transferred to India as Commander - in - Chief , and in early 1942 was also given the dubious honour of commanding ABDA Command , the Allied rump based in Java . From ...