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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... things and as often as not the result was imperial expansion . * A striking feature of the Second World War was that this rag - tag British Empire , this conglomeration born of disparate motives sprawled pink across the maps of the ...
... things together by pledging not to introduce conscription for overseas service , and to prosecute a war of limited liability . " The fall of France , however , changed things considerably , as the struggle was brought closer to home for ...
... things it needed , even railway locomotives sorely needed elsewhere . This the UKCC managed to achieve , and it was a key factor in stimulating local production to meet local needs throughout the Middle East . Thus , for example ...