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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... invasion of Madagascar . As a global economic community , the transfer of resources by sea was the lifeblood of the British Empire , in war as in peace . In war , the sea lanes of the world were also vital for the movement of martial ...
... invaded and taken over in order to prevent a German invasion from the north , to guard Britain's precious oil reserves and to maintain an Anglo- American supply link with Russia . British power was also extended into entirely new ...
... invasion of Poland the following year they had concluded that Hitler was not to be appeased , and that he posed a threat to an imperial world in which the Dominions had found security and prosperity . For the rest of the Empire ...
... invasion . The men who directed the British war effort from London were alive to the opportunities and risks that Britain's imperial status presented as they sought to defeat its enemies . The Chief of the Imperial General Staff ...
... invasion : Had she done so , we should have stopped her ships going through the Canal , and the Barham was there , like a traffic policeman , to stop them if necessary . Also the Mediterranean Fleet was close by , in Alexandria , like a ...
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 |