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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Ashley Jackson. apparently limitless resources , and able to deploy large - scale fighting forces simultaneously throughout the world . ' After victory had been won in 1945 , Churchill told a London audience that ' the British ...
... fighting in Libya , Italy or Burma , rode into battle not just in British tanks but in American Honeys , Grants ... fighting fronts , a large supply organization - ' an overseas Whitehall ' - was established in Washington , alongside one ...
... fighting fronts were . By September 1943 Ferry Command had brought 2241 aircraft from North America to Britain via Gander airport in the colony of Newfoundland . With the virtual closure of the Mediterranean to merchant shipping , the ...
... fighting at all'.23 - In mobilizing colonial populations for war , British officials worked closely , with the indigenous political elites and their chains of command , from emirs , princes and chiefs to sub - chiefs , native tribunal ...
... fighting and the logistics needed to sustain it on land . This required labour and supplies from the surrounding areas , as well as from Britain , America and elsewhere in the Empire , and the cooperation of civil authorities in 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 |