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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... global Empire , had to coordinate the war effort of over sixty countries . It did so in a stunningly successful example of what today would be called coalition warfare . Bringing shared experiences to people across the world by virtue ...
... global struggle , and particularly as an imperial one , in which apparently disparate British battles and strategic concerns formed part of one interconnected whole , and in which every campaign that the British fought was fought ...
... global network for the warships of the fleets and squadrons that had historically policed the world , from the South Atlantic Station to the Mediterranean Fleet and from the China Station to the Eastern Fleet . All over the world ...
... global struggle to the defeat of Germany , Italy , Japan and their allies . * The war dramatically affected home fronts throughout the Empire because of its demands , as the need for labour remained constant at a time of global food and ...
... global economy in war as in peace . The physical impact of the war also varied from one territory to another . Some islands in the Solomon and the Gilbert and Ellice Groups saw fierce fighting and some territo- ries in the Far East ...
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 |