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
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... Command African Line of Communication AIF Australian Imperial Force AL Arab Legion AMC Armed Merchant Cruiser ANZAC ... Command Eastern Air Command ( India ) East African Military Labour Service Eastern Group Supply Council Fleet Air Arm ...
... Command MESC Middle East Supply Centre MNBDO Mobile Naval Base Defence Organization Malayan Communist Party Northern Combat Area Command ( Burma - China ) Newfoundland Escort Force Northern Rhodesia Regiment MCP MPAJA Malayan People's ...
... Command SIS Secret Intelligence Service ( MI6 ) SOE SPA Special Operations Executive South Pacific Area SPS Sudan Political Service STS SWPA TJFF UDF ULTRA UKCC USAAF Special Training School ( SOE ) South West Pacific Area Trans ...
... Command . By 1945 RAF Coastal Command had 784 aircraft , 511 dedicated to anti- submarine warfare , the remainder to the campaign against German shipping.18 In war as in peace , Britain's global marine had to be plotted , scheduled and ...
... command , from emirs , princes and chiefs to sub - chiefs , native tribunal clerks and village headmen . Officially at least , the Empire went to war because it was called to do so by an imperial cause in the name of good against evil ...
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 |