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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... particularly in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean . In October 1940 , even as it was planning the anni- hilation of Russia , the German government was discussing the delimitation of spheres of influence across the world with Russian ...
... Particularly to the fore at sea were men recruited in eastern India and China , with West Africa also being strongly repre- sented . Five hundred woodmen from British Honduras were recruited to work in the Scottish Highlands , one of ...
... particularly hard to cover through normal intercept arrangements . Germany and Japan failed to wrest control of the Indian Ocean from the imperial power that had for a century and a half policed , controlled and supervised this most ...