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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... remained in the minds of people in Britain and throughout the world . Britain was the inter - war superpower on which the world , not just the Empire , depended for its general security . France helped in this undertaking , as the two ...
... remained streets ahead in terms of investment . Even during the inter - war years . links remained strong and British financial power considerable . During the war Britain imposed controls on trade with South America , given its ...
... remained the main arbiter of the country's external and military affairs . Though British troops had left the country by 1937 , the right remained to transit troops through Iraq should the British consider it necessary to do so , as ...