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. |
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... Egyptian governments . In practice , it was a British colony , but not one ruled by the Colonial Office . It was ... Egypt , an unofficial British territory since 1882 , was made a British Protectorate in 1914 , though in 1922 it ...
... Egypt to Hong Kong , as well as imperial units with distinctly Scottish lineage such as South Africa's Transvaal Scottish Regiment . Scottish ports and naval bases , like Glasgow and Scapa Flow , were integral to the functioning of ...
... Egypt , Fiji , India , Kenya and Mauritius became springboards for offensive Allied operations in neighbouring regions and bases for special forces engaged in espionage , sabo- tage and operations behind enemy lines . Familiar features ...
... Egypt , India and Ireland . Internal disintegration would be compounded by the external threats of Japan in the Far East and Italy in the Mediterranean , which together would doom the Empire . Despite this pessimistic assessment of the ...
... Egypt , not Europe . The Indian Army , about the same size as the British Army , returned to its pre - war role as guardian of the North - West Frontier and as an imperial rapid response force for military undertakings from Asia to the ...
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 |