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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 87
... role as an imperial garrison and police force numbering less than 200,000 , with a third of its strength permanently based in India . Reflecting Britain's strategic heritage and the role allotted to its army in times of war , its ...
... role , to protect convoy routes and to demonstrate to the Americans that there was blood , metal and bone behind the alliance in the East . At the Defence Committee's second October meeting , Churchill said that the Cabinet was willing ...
... role justified by the results of the Second World War - British imperial defence policy remained the same as in 1900. New factors - including the rise of the Soviet Union , the loss of the Indian heartland of Empire and the advent of ...