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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... western target – could be glimpsed . This key region had to be mobilized to support a vast military and logistics establishment central to Britain's global war effort , without alienating public opinion in the Arab world . The stakes ...
... ( Western Desert ) and the Ninth Army ( Palestine and Syria ) and the Western Desert Air Force . The burden brought by a massive geographical spread was eased somewhat when a separate East Africa Command and a separate Persia and Iraq ...
... Western commercial and diplomatic heart of Shanghai – as it was recognized that the city was not defensible with the resources available . Upon first entering the city Japanese troops confined themselves to the Chinese quarter , though ...