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 87
... naval and air power and by victories in the North Africa desert warships became more readily available for the build up of naval forces for the war against Japan . The Empire was often the very reason for British military and naval ...
... Naval bases such as Aden , Alexandria , Bermuda , Cape Town , Colombo , Gibraltar , Halifax , Hong Kong and Singapore were part of the British world . Britain's enemies were well aware of how important this global network was , hence ...
... naval power in the western Mediterranean ; the establishment of U - boat bases on the Atlantic coast that greatly enhanced Germany's ability to make war on the Atlantic convoys ; the surrounding of poorly defended British West African ...
... naval power and had done little to develop the use of aircraft carriers and the skills of naval aviation . Though awareness of the bomber's fatal power over land targets was widespread by 1939 ( ' the bomber will always get through ...
... naval squadron , Force H , sent to the Mediterranean as a result of the fall of France and the loss of the French squadron's support , was based on Gibraltar . The African coast from West Africa to the Cape was important for shipping ...
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 |