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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... civilian working vessels , which protected the mighty convoys upon which the survival of the Empire depended . 17 Beyond corvettes and destroyers , the Admiralty procured warships of all descriptions in its desperate attempt to defend ...
... civilians had been killed . The effects of the Second World War on the home front are well known . War brought a ... civilian population , as did construction of military facilities as enlarged garrisons and naval and air forces ...
... civilian war work and the presence of the regular armed forces were the secret organizations born of the war , such as SOE and the intelligence - gathering installations associated with Bletchley Park . Fund - raising activities were ...
... civilian and military war work , colonial governments had to take measures for passive air defence and general civil defence ; for the control of the procurement , distribution and rationing of food and other essential commodities ; for ...
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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 |