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. |
From inside the book
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... Malaya fell to the Japanese there was panic buying of hot - water bottles . As one housewife in Birmingham put it in her diary , ' you won't be able to buy one until we get our rubber back ' , referring to the well - known fact that Malaya ...
... Malaya , even as the Japanese transports made for the peninsula's eastern coast , reflected the sheer ignorance in the colonial world concerning the actual state of affairs . Churchill was completely wrong to believe that the sight of ...
... Malaya the Chinese community had good reason to side with the British against the Japanese ; educated West Africans hoped that loyalty during the war would lead to political advances from which they would profit ; and the kings of ...
... Malaya , in the Dutch East Indies , in Burma [ and ] in Arakan.33 The most visible contribution of the Empire to the air war was the participa- tion of imperial pilots , particularly in the Battle of Britain . Many of ' the few ' who ...
... Malaya following its conquest by the Japanese . Cypriot silk was needed for parachutes . Many parts of the British Empire endured enemy bombing , and numerous territories were lost to enemy invasion and occupation . This represented a ...
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 |