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
... Churchill told a London audience that ' the British Commonwealth and Empire stands more united and more effectively powerful than at any time in its long romantic history ' . This was indeed true , though the effort to reach that pitch ...
... Churchill . ' The longer the war lasted , the more Britain found itself leaning on American aid , and between 1942 and 1945 American economic aid represented about 9 per cent of Britain's total war expenditure . By 1945 Britain had ...
... Churchill's experience over five decades as a parliamentarian , soldier , jour- nalist , historian and Cabinet ... Churchill to be more inclusive when it came to the overseas branches of the British world . If talking about a chip shop ...
... Churchill revealed that , since the start of hostilities with Japan , over 300,000 men had been moved from Britain and the Middle East to South - East Asia and South Asia , and we have over 100,000 on salt water at the present time ...
... Churchill's rhetoric positioned the Empire unequivocally behind the cause of democracy and freedom , and there was an extraordinary general acceptance and even enthusiasm for the war effort across the Empire . " The nature of British ...
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 |