The British Empire and the Second World War

"In 1939 Hitler went to war not just with Great Britain; he also went to war with the 500 million people of the British Empire scattered across every continent and ocean of the world. Because in the years since 1945 that Empire has disappeared, the crucial fact that the British Empire fought as a whole during the war has been forgotten. All the parts of the Empire joined in the struggle from the beginning, undergoing huge changes and sometimes suffering greatly as a result. The war in the desert, the battle of the Atlantic and the Malaya 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, Canada, New Zealand and India but also from Africa, Burma, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Polynesia all played their part. The British Empire and the Second World War seeks to place the British Empire at the centre of our understanding of the Second World War."--Jacket.