The British Empire and the Second World War

Front Cover
A&C Black, Mar 9, 2006 - History - 624 pages

In 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.

 

Contents

1 Prologue
1
2 The Approach of War
11
3 Imperial War
21
4 The Home Front
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

9 SubSaharan Africa
171
10 The Indian Ocean
269

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About the author (2006)

Ashley Jackson is Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies, King's College London, at the Joint Services Command and Staff College. He was a fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford. His books include the acclaimed The British Empire and the Second World War.

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