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 90
... campaigns in the Mediterranean and in Malaya were fought because of Britain's imperial heritage in these regions ... campaign history , though it places the major and minor campaigns of the Second World War within an imperial context ...
... campaign against German shipping.18 In war as in peace , Britain's global marine had to be plotted , scheduled and marshalled . Operational control of all merchant shipping was handed directly to the Admiralty , and responsibility for ...
... campaign , against the Iraqi air force and against Vichy forces in Madagascar - but in others they were entirely inadequate , and the lack of preparation and of sufficient numbers of modern fighters and bombers was to cost dear in South ...
... campaign to woo American opinion to a more favourable view of the British Empire.3 In order to do this , it had to overcome the general ignorance of Americans on the subject and attempt to wean them from the idea that the colonial ...
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
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 |