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 1-5 of 69
... Canadian soldiers training on Hong Kong Island , December 1941 3 HMCS Uganda , 1944 4 Flight Sergeant James Hyde , from Trinidad , with ' Dingo ' , December 1943 5 West Indian volunteers give a PT display in England , July 1944 6 ...
... Canadian Air Force RCN Royal Canadian Navy RFA Royal Fleet Auxiliary RIAF Royal Indian Air Force RIN Royal Indian Navy RNVR Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve RNZAF Royal New Zealand Air Force RNZN Royal New Zealand Navy RNVR RWAFF SAAF SANF ...
... Canadians at Dieppe and the pan - Commonwealth Eighth Army are well remembered . The role of Malta , a tiny but priceless launch - pad for operations against Axis forces and convoys in the Mediterranean , is also well known . The fall ...
... Canadian Navy expanded to become the third largest navy in the world and played a key role in the Battle of the Atlantic , and by the end of the war the Indian - officered Royal Indian Air Force had 30,000 personnel and nine squadrons ...
... Canadian seamen hunted U - boats off Iceland , and Basotho muleteers brought wounded Australians down from inaccessible mountain ranges in Italy . They were all imperial soldiers , summoned to arms by the needs of a far - flung Empire ...
Contents
1 | |
11 | |
21 | |
41 | |
5 The Atlantic | 53 |
6 The Caribbean | 77 |
7 The Mediterranean | 97 |
8 Iraq Iran and Syria | 145 |
11 The Islands of the Indian Ocean | 307 |
12 India and Burma | 351 |
13 SouthEast Asia and the Far East | 405 |
14 Australia and New Zealand | 463 |
15 The Pacific | 513 |
16 Epilogue | 525 |
Notes | 535 |
Bibliography | 561 |