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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... arrived for service in Iraq . On 19 April , for example , six Gladiators arrived from Egypt ; on 27 April No. 84 Squadron's Blenheims were moved to Aqir in Palestine ; later , eight Wellingtons from No. 37 Squadron also arrived at Aqir ...
... arrived from the Mediterranean , and two days previously two long - range Hurricanes had arrived . One was lost on 17 May when British aircraft attacked the German base , destroying a Heinkel and a Messerschmitt . Two Gladiators were ...
... arrive , and in April 1944 the aircraft transports HMS Athene and Engadine and the escort carriers HMS Begum and Atheling arrived with four squadrons of bombers and four squadrons of fighters . By early 1945 air control of the Bay of ...