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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... hand , Britain no longer had capital to invest ; quite the reverse , it was selling overseas assets very rapidly . On the other hand , Britain was not able to supply its overseas markets to the same level as in peacetime because of ...
... hand , having pre - existing imperial bases ready for expansion and development in wartime was a boon . On the other hand , trying to cater for the defence of such bases against enemies determined to negate their strategic value was a ...
... hand , undervalued Britain's contribution against the Japanese in Burma and was determined to resist the reimposition of Britain's former imperial role . Britain , on the other hand , was unable to view China as an equal after a century ...