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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... front . This might take the form of a civil labour corps to assist in defensive preparations , such as the construction of airfields or improvement of port facilities , or to act as a rapid response unit in sectors of the economy ...
... front fully mobilized for war and committed to the cause of victory , and the sound of those knitting needles clicking around the world - on Tasmanian farms , in Kalahari villages and in Canadian cities - should have caused Germans and ...
... front . What this book has suggested is that many aspects of the home front in Britain can be extended to the home fronts of Empire . 3. Ronald Lewin , The Chief : Field Marshal Lord Wavell , Commander - in - Chief and Viceroy , 1919 ...