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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... Burma 351 13 South - East Asia and the Far East 405 14 Australia and New Zealand 463 15 The Pacific 513 16 Epilogue 525 Notes 535 Bibliography 561 Index 593 This page intentionally left blank Illustrations Between Pages 174 and Contents.
... Pacific Fleet BR Burma Rifles BIA Burma Independence Army CAM Catapult Armed Merchant Ship CBME Combined Bureau Middle East CGA CIGS Ceylon Garrison Artillery Chief of the Imperial General Staff CLT Colonial and Locally Raised Troops ...
... Pacific Area SPS Sudan Political Service STS SWPA TJFF UDF ULTRA UKCC USAAF Special Training School ( SOE ) South West Pacific Area Trans - Jordan Frontier Force Union Defence Force Intelligence material derived from Enigma decrypts ...
... Pacific . Many British territories in the Pacific as well as in South - East Asia fell to the Japanese , and , though tied down in other theatres , the British had every intention of returning to * When considering the ethnic ...
... Pacific power responsible for the safety of millions , looked to by both Chiang Kai- shek and the Governor - General of the Dutch East Indies for succour in the face of Japanese hostility . Unlike its enemies , Britain was obliged to ...
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 |