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
Results 6-10 of 90
... bomber's fatal power over land targets was widespread by 1939 ( ' the bomber will always get through ' , as Stanley Baldwin phrased it in 1932 ) , at sea the spell of the battleship remained unbroken and British carrier aircraft were ...
... bombers dropped one - eighth of Bomber Command's payload , and Canadian fighter pilots served in units such as No. 406 ( Canadian ) Night Fighter Squadron . Overall , Canada provided one quarter 38 THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE SECOND ...
... Bomber Command pilots were from the Commonwealth , including an entire Canadian Air Group . By 1945 this figure had ... bombers was to cost dear in South - East Asia and the Dutch East Indies . Britain's air forces were organized for ...
... bombing in the first place , the results of enemy action could be devas- tating . Burma's second city , Mandalay , was similarly attacked by Japanese bombers as the colony was about to fall to the enemy . An air assault on 3 April 1942 ...
... bombing , civilians were evacuated from threatened areas . In terms of the general political mood , people knuckled down to the tasks of war and were resolved to endure its hardships , but many expected political change once it was over ...
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 |