The British Empire and the Second World War by Ashley Jackson

ISBN: 9781852854171

Bloomsbury Academic (Hambledon Continuum) | 09 March 2006

Hardcover | 624 pages

In 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. Because in the years since 1945 that empire has disappeared, the crucial fact that the British Empire fought together as a whole during the war has often been forgotten. All parts of the empire joined the struggle 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 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 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 overlooked.