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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... Middle East and South Asia . The air and naval forces of the Dominions , India and the Colonial Empire , in supplementing British and American forces , also deserve greater attention . Commonwealth airmen formed nearly one half of ...
... East Indies , the Philippines and Malaya , and Italy cast covetous eyes on Britain's prime position in the Mediterranean and Middle East . To Germany's ambitions in eastern and western Europe must be added plans for a return to the ...
... Middle East via the Cape ) , whilst Mediterranean operations like ' Pedestal ' and its many predecessors were ... East Indies Station , along with millions of tons of supplies , as the Middle East , the Persian Gulf , India , Singapore ...
... Middle East , and in 1940 about a third of Britain's aviation spirit imports were being shipping from Caribbean refineries . Supply and logistics were key aspects of the imperial war effort , spreadeagled as its territories and its ...
... East and West , and facilities were developed in the region , particularly at Freetown , for convoy assembly and ... Middle East and South - East Asia in the event of war . During the war the Indian Army grew to over two and a half ...
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 |