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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... armed forces in the Middle East , and in the later years of the war Palestine was able to export to Egypt and Lebanon . Inflation and supply problems were augmented by the demands of the armed forces in Palestine for local produce . As ...
... armed patriotism ' that informed South Africa's frontiersman identity , in order to call people to defend a threatened imperial as well as national citizenship.48 Propaganda was sophisticated , employing print , posters and the South ...
... armed forces . The Tasmanian division of the Australian Comfort Fund provided amenities for service personnel encamped in Tasmania , knitted comforts , provided an advice service for members of the armed forces , sent 11,000 hampers for ...