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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... submarine warfare capabilities . Ancient destroyers , such as the fifty given by America to Britain in exchange for base rights in the Caribbean , and new corvettes were the guardian angels of British convoys all over the world.1 ...
... submarines and torpedoes . In winning the war against the submarine , air power was crucial . This was provided both by carrier - borne aircraft and particularly by long - range ones such as the Shorts Sunderland and the American ...
... submarine depot ships to boom - laying vessels and survey ships . The ships of the Royal Navy - river gunboats chugging up the inland waterways of China , vintage cruisers in the Indian Ocean , battleships repairing at Alexandria , ...
... submarines and surface raiders . Thus bulk purchasing was embarked upon by the British government , at first to save industries that were faced with ruin by the dislocation of peace - time trade relations . This was , for example , the ...
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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 |