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 73
... warships made an important contri- bution , as did South African minesweepers , bombers and fighter aircraft . The Royal Canadian Navy expanded to become the third largest navy in the world and played a key role in the Battle of 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 imperial ports were used to ...
... warships limited and their numbers cut , the RAF was by the 1930s being prioritized by politicians increasingly concerned about the potential of enemy bombers to wreak havoc on Britain's major ports and cities , though it had of course ...
... warships to protect its claims in Antarctica and obliterate sovereignty markers left by Nazi ships . Though they were nowhere near as powerful as America or Russia , the Empire and Commonwealth's contribution to the British war effort ...
... warships became more readily available for the build up of naval forces for the war against Japan . The Empire was often the very reason for British military and naval campaigns . Even in the Pacific - where British power was crippled ...
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 |