British Empire in World war II - wikipedia British Empire in World war II This article is incomplete. This is because numerous grammatical errors, incomplete information, lack of citations. Please help to improve it, or discuss the issue on the talk page. ( April 2018 ) Propaganda poster promoting the joint war effort of the British Empire and Commonwealth, 1939. British Empire Campaigns of World War II Campaigns fought exclusively or largely by British Empire forces Europe Arctic Battle of the Barents Sea Evacuation of Norway Occupation of Iceland Evacuation of Spitsbergen Occupation of Faroe Islands Balkan Campaign Reinforcement of Greece Battle of Crete Battle of the Mediterranean Siege of Malta Malta Convoys Western Europe British Expeditionary Force Dunkirk evacuation Battle of Britain The Blitz Evacuation of Gibraltar Invasion of Normandy Clearing the Channel Coast Liberation of Belgium Liberation of Netherlands Africa East Africa Campaign Conquest of British Somaliland Capture of Italian Somaliland Recapture of British Somaliland North African Campaign Italian invasion of Egypt Occupation of Libya Southern Africa Occupation of Madagascar West Africa Battle of Dakar Far East Defence of Hong Kong Malayan Campaign Fall of Singapore India Japanese conquest of Burma Invasion of India Recapture of Burma Indian Ocean Indian Ocean disaster Indian Ocean retreat Evacuation of British Somaliland Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands Indian Ocean strike Middle East Invasion of Iraq Invasion of Southern Iran Invasion of Lebanon Invasion of Syria Americas Battle of the Atlantic Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Newfoundland Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force Western Local Escort Force Western Approaches Escort Force When the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany at the outset of World War II it controlled to varying degrees numerous crown colonies, protectorates and the Indian Empire. It also maintained unique political ties to four semi-independent Dominions -- Australia, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand -- as part of the Commonwealth. In 1939 the British Commonwealth was a global superpower, with direct or de facto political and economic control of 25 % of the world 's population, and 30 % of its land mass. The contribution of the British Empire and Commonwealth in terms of manpower and materiel was critical to the Allied war effort. From September 1939 to mid-1942 Britain led Allied efforts in almost every global military theatre. Commonwealth forces ( United Kingdom, Colonial, Imperial and Dominion ), totalling close to 15 million serving men and women, fought the German, Italian, Japanese and other Axis armies, air forces and navies across Europe, Africa, Asia, and in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Commonwealth forces fought in Britain, and across Northwestern Europe in the effort to slow or stop the Axis advance. Commonwealth airforces fought the Luftwaffe to a standstill over Britain, and its armies fought and destroyed Italian forces in North and East Africa and occupied several overseas colonies of German - occupied European nations. Following successful engagements against Axis forces, Commonwealth troops invaded and occupied Libya, Italian Somaliland, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Madagascar. The Commonwealth defeated, held back or slowed the Axis powers for three years while mobilizing their globally integrated economy, military, and industrial infrastructure to build what became, by 1942, the most extensive military apparatus of the war. These efforts came at the cost of 150,000 military deaths, 400,000 wounded, 100,000 prisoners, over 300,000 civilian deaths, and the loss of 70 major warships, 39 submarines, 3,500 aircraft, 1,100 tanks and 65,000 vehicles. During this period the Commonwealth built an enormous military and industrial capacity. Britain became the nucleus of the Allied war effort in Europe, and hosted governments in exile in London to rally support in occupied Europe for the Allied effort. Canada delivered almost $4 billion in direct financial aid to the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand began shifting to domestic production to provide material aid to US forces in the Pacific. Following the US entry into the war in December 1941, the Commonwealth and United States coordinated their military efforts and resources globally. As the scale of the US military involvement and industrial production increased, the US undertook command of many theatres, relieving Commonwealth forces for duty elsewhere, and expanding the scope and intensity of Allied military efforts. However, it also proved difficult to co-ordinate the defence of far - flung colonies and Commonwealth countries from simultaneous attacks by the Axis Powers. In part this was exacerbated by disagreements over priorities and objectives, as well as the deployment and control of joint forces. The governments of Britain and Australia, in particular, turned to the United States for support. Although the British Empire and the Commonwealth countries all emerged from the war as victors, and the conquered territories were returned to British rule, the costs of the war and the nationalist fervour that it had stoked became a catalyst for the decolonisation which took place in the following decades. Contents 1 Pre-war plans for defence 2 Declaration of war against Germany 3 Empire and Commonwealth contribution 3.1 Finances 4 Crisis in the Mediterranean 5 Fall of Singapore 6 India 7 Victory 8 Aftermath 9 Military histories of the British Empire, Colonies and Dominions 10 See also 10.1 Homefront 10.2 Major military formations and units 11 References 12 Bibliography 13 Further reading 13.1 Army 13.2 Royal Navy 13.3 Air war 14 External links Prewar plans for defence From 1923, defence of British colonies and protectorates in East Asia was centred on the `` Singapore strategy ''. This made the assumption that Britain could send a fleet to its naval base in Singapore within two or three days of a Japanese attack, while relying on France to provide assistance in Asia via its colony in Indochina and, in the event of war with Italy, to help defend British territories in the Mediterranean. Pre-war planners did not anticipate the fall of France : Nazi occupation, the loss of control over the Channel, and the employment of French Atlantic ports as forward bases for U-boats directly threatened Britain itself, forcing a significant reassessment of naval defence priorities. During the 1930s, a triple threat emerged for the British Commonwealth in the form of right - wing, militaristic governments in Germany, Italy and Japan. Germany threatened Britain itself, while Italy and Japan 's imperial ambitions looked set to clash with the British imperial presence in the Mediterranean and East Asia respectively. However, there were differences of opinion within the UK and the Dominions as to which posed the most serious threat, and whether any attack would come from more than one power at the same time. Declaration of war against Germany Sir Robert Menzies broadcasting to Australia the news of the outbreak of war, 1939 On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, on 3 September, after a British ultimatum to Germany to cease military operations was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Britain 's declaration of war automatically committed India, the Crown colonies, and the protectorates, but the 1931 Statute of Westminster had granted autonomy to the Dominions so each decided their course separately. Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies immediately joined the British declaration on 3 September, believing that it applied to all subjects of the Empire and Commonwealth. New Zealand followed suit simultaneously, at 9.30 pm on 3 September ( local time ), after Peter Fraser consulted the Cabinet ; although as Chamberlain 's broadcast was drowned by static, the Cabinet ( led by Fraser as Prime Minister Mickey Savage was terminally ill ) delayed until the Admiralty announced to the fleet a state of war, then backdated the declaration to 9.30 pm. South Africa took three days to make its decision ( on 6 September ), as the Prime Minister General J.B.M. Hertzog favoured neutrality but was defeated by the pro-war vote in the Union Parliament, led by General Jan Smuts, who then replaced Hertzog. Canadian Prime Minister Mackenzie King declared support for Britain on the day of the British declaration, but also stated that it was for Parliament to make the formal declaration, which it did so one week later on 10 September. The Irish Free State, which had been a dominion until 1937, remained neutral Empire and Commonwealth contribution British Empire and Commonwealth forms of government and production c 1940 Kenya Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 1945 While the war was initially intended to be limited, resources were mobilized quickly, and the first shots were fired almost immediately. Just hours after the Australian declaration of war, a gun at Fort Queenscliff fired across the bows of a ship as it attempted to leave Melbourne without required clearances. On 10 October 1939, an aircraft of No. 10 Squadron RAAF based in England became the first Commonwealth air force unit to go into action when it undertook a mission to Tunisia. The first Canadian convoy of 15 ships bearing war goods departed Halifax just six days after the nation declared war, with two destroyers HMCS St. Laurent and HMCS Saguenay. A further 26 convoys of 527 ships sailed from Canada in the first four months of the war, and by 1 January 1940 Canada had landed an entire division in Britain. On 13 June 1940 Canadian troops deployed to France in an attempt to secure the southern flank of the British Expeditionary Force in Belgium. As the fall of France grew imminent, Britain looked to Canada to rapidly provide additional troops to strategic locations in North America, the Atlantic and Caribbean. Following the Canadian destroyer already on station from 1939, Canada provided troops from May 1940 to assist in the defence of the British Caribbean colonies, with several companies serving throughout the war in Bermuda, Jamaica, the Bahamas and British Guiana. Canadian troops were also sent to the defence of the colony of Newfoundland, on Canada 's east coast, the closest point in North America to Germany. Fearing the loss of a land link to the British Isles, Canada was also requested to also occupy Iceland, which it did from June 1940 to the spring of 1941, following the initial British invasion. From mid-June 1940, following the rapid German invasions and occupations of Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, the British Commonwealth was the main opponent of Germany and the Axis, until the entry into the war of the Soviet Union in June 1941. During this period Australia, India, New Zealand and South Africa provided dozens of ships and several divisions for the defence of the Mediterranean, Greece, Crete, Lebanon and Egypt, where British troops were outnumbered four to one by the Italian armies in Libya and Ethiopia. Canada delivered a further 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, pilots for two air squadrons, and several warships to Britain to face a possible invasion from the continent. In December 1941, Japan launched, in quick succession, attacks on British Malaya, the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, and Hong Kong. Substantial financial support was provided by Canada to the UK and Commonwealth dominions, in the form of over $4 billion in aid through the Billion Dollar Gift and Mutual Aid and the War Appropriation Act. Over the course of the war over 1.6 million Canadians served in uniform ( out of a prewar population of 11 million ), in almost every theatre of the war, and by war 's end the country had the third - largest navy and fourth - largest air force in the world. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces ( out of a population of under 7 million ), whose military units fought primarily in Europe, North Africa, and the South West Pacific. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan ( also known as the `` Empire Air Training Scheme '' ) was established by the governments of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK resulting in : joint training at flight schools in Canada, Southern Rhodesia, Australia and New Zealand ; formation of new squadrons of the Dominion air forces, known as `` Article XV squadrons '' for service as part of Royal Air Force operational commands, and ; in practice, the pooling of RAF and Dominion air force personnel, for posting to both RAF and Article XV squadrons. Finances Britain borrowed everywhere it could and made heavy purchases of munitions and supplies in India and Canada during the war, as well as other parts of the Empire and neutral countries. Canada also made gifts. Britain 's sterling balances around the world amounted to ₤ 3.4 billion in 1945 or the equivalent of about $ US 200 billion in 2016 dollars. However, Britain treated this as a long - term loan with no interest and no specified repayment date. Just when the money would be made available by London was an issue, for the British treasury was nearly empty by 1945. Crisis in the Mediterranean Second Officer Kalyan Sen and Chief Officer Margaret L Cooper, Women 's Royal Indian Naval Service, 1945 In June 1940, France surrendered to invading German forces, and Italy joined the war on the Axis side, causing a reversal of the Singapore strategy. Winston Churchill, who had replaced Neville Chamberlain as British Prime Minister the previous month ( see Norway debate ), ordered that the Middle East and the Mediterranean were of a higher priority than the Far East to defend. Australia and New Zealand were told by telegram that they should turn to the United States for help in defending their homeland should Japan attack : Without the assistance of France we should not have sufficient forces to meet the combined German and Italian navies in European waters and the Japanese fleet in the Far East. In the circumstances envisaged, it is most improbable that we could send adequate reinforcements to the Far East. We should therefore have to rely on the United States of America to safeguard our interests there. Commonwealth forces played a major role in North and East Africa following Italy 's entry to the war, participating in the invasion of Italian Libya and Somaliland, but were forced to retreat after Churchill diverted resources to Greece and Crete. Fall of Singapore Main article : Fall of Singapore The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South - East Asian theatre of World War II when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in South East Asia and nicknamed the `` Gibraltar of the East ''. The fighting in Singapore lasted from 31 January 1942 to 15 February 1942. It resulted in the fall of Singapore to the Japanese, and the largest surrender of British - led military personnel in history. About 80,000 British, Australian and Indian troops became prisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in the Malayan campaign. Britain 's Prime Minister Winston Churchill called the ignominious fall of Singapore to the Japanese the `` worst disaster '' and `` largest capitulation '' in British history. India Further information : British Raj Serious tension erupted over American support for independence for India, a proposition Churchill vehemently rejected. For years Roosevelt had encouraged Britain 's disengagement from India. The American position was based on principled opposition to colonialism. The politically active Indian population was deeply divided. One element was so insistent on the explosion of the British, that it sided with Germany and Japan, and formed the Indian National Army ( INA ) from Indian prisoners of war. It fought as part of the Japanese invasion of Burma and eastern India. There was a large pacifist element, which rallied to Gandhi 's call for abstention from the war ; he said that violence in every form was evil. There was a high level of religious tension between the Hindu majority and the Muslims minority. For the first time the Muslim community became politically active, giving strong support for the British war effort. Over 2 million Indians volunteered for military service, including a large Muslim contingent. The British were sensitive to demands of the Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, since it needed Muslim soldiers in India and Muslim support all across the Middle East. London used the religious tensions in India as a justification to continue its rule, saying it was needed to prevent religious massacres of the sort that did happen in 1947. The imperialist element in Britain was strongly represented in the Conservative party ; Churchill himself had long been its leading spokesman. On the other hand, Attlee and the Labour Party favoured independence and had close ties to the Congress Party. The British cabinet sent Sir Stafford Cripps to India with a specific peace plan offering India the promise of dominion status after the war. Congress demanded independence immediately and the Cripps mission failed. Roosevelt gave support to Congress, sending his representative Louis Johnson to help negotiate some sort of independence. Churchill was outraged, refused to cooperate with Roosevelt on the issue, and threatened to resign as prime minister of Roosevelt pushed too hard. Roosevelt pulled back. In 1942 when the Congress Party launched a Quit India Movement of non-violent civil disobedience, the Raj police immediately arrested tens of thousands of activists ( including Gandhi, holding them for the duration. Meanwhile, wartime disruptions caused severe food shortages in eastern India ; hundreds of thousands died of starvation. To this day a large Indian element blames Churchill for the Bengal famine of 1943. In terms of the war effort, India became a major base for American supplies sent to India, and Lend Lease operations boosted the local economy. The 2 million Indian soldiers were a major factor in British success in the Middle East. Muslim support for the British war effort proved decisive in the British decision to partition the Raj, forming of the new state of Pakistan. Victory Main articles : Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day The front page of The Montreal Daily Star announcing the German surrender. May 7, 1945 On 8 May 1945, the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler 's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not until 9 May 1945. On 30 April Hitler committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement, President of Germany Karl Dönitz. The act of military surrender was signed on 7 May in Reims, France, and ratified on 8 May in Berlin, Germany. In the afternoon of 15 August 1945, the Surrender of Japan occurred, effectively ending World War II. On this day the initial announcement of Japan 's surrender was made in Japan, and because of time zone differences it was announced in the United States, Western Europe, the Americas, the Pacific Islands, and Australia / New Zealand on 14 August 1945. The signing of the surrender document occurred on 2 September 1945. Aftermath By the end of the war in August 1945, British Commonwealth forces were responsible for the civil and / or military administration of a number of non-Commonwealth territories, occupied during the war, including Eritrea, Libya, Madagascar, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Italian Somaliland, Syria, Thailand and portions of Germany, Austria and Japan. Most of these military administrations were handed over to old European colonial authorities or to new local authorities soon after the end of the hostilities. Commonwealth forces administered occupation zones in Japan, Germany and Austria until 1955. World War II confirmed that Britain was no longer the great power it had once been, and that it had been surpassed by the United States on the world stage. Canada, Australia and New Zealand moved within the orbit of the United States. The image of imperial strength in Asia had been shattered by the Japanese attacks, and British prestige there was irreversibly damaged. The price for India 's entry to the war had been effectively a guarantee for independence, which came within two years of the end of the war, relieving Britain of its most populous and valuable colony. The deployment of 150,000 Africans overseas from British colonies, and the stationing of white troops in Africa itself led to revised perceptions of the Empire in Africa. Military histories of the British Empire, colonies and Dominions The contributions from individual colonies, protectorates and dominions to the war effort were extensive and global. Further information about their involvement can be found in the military histories of the individual colonies and dominions listed below. United Kingdom Aden Ascension Australia Barbados Basutoland Bechuanaland Bermuda British Cameroons British Guiana British Honduras British Leeward Islands British Malaya British Solomon Islands British Somaliland British Windward Islands Protectorate of Brunei Burma Canada Cayman Islands Ceylon Cyprus Dominica Egypt Falkland Islands Fiji Gambia Gibraltar Gilbert and Ellice Islands Gold Coast Grenada Guernsey Hong Kong India Jamaica Jersey Kenya Malta Mandatory Palestine Mauritius Nauru Nepal Newfoundland New Guinea New Hebrides New Zealand Nigeria Norfolk Island North Borneo Northern Rhodesia Nyasaland Papua St Helena Saint Lucia Saint Vincent Sarawak Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore South Africa South West Africa Southern Rhodesia Straits Settlements Sudan Tanganyika Tonga Protectorate Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Uganda Protectorate Western Samoa Zanzibar British Military Administration ( Borneo ) British Military Administration ( Eritrea ) British Military Administration of Italian Somaliland British Military Administration ( Libya ) British Military Administration ( Malaya ) British Military Administration ( Somalia ) See also British Empire portal World War II portal Homefront Australian home front during the Second World War Christmas Island Mutiny and Battle Gibraltar evacuation in the Second World War British home front during the Second World War Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands Japanese occupation of British Borneo Japanese occupation of Burma Japanese occupation of Hong Kong Japanese occupation of Malaya Japanese occupation of Nauru Japanese occupation of Singapore German occupation of the Channel Islands Major military formations and units List of British Empire corps of the Second World War List of British Empire divisions in the Second World War List of British Empire brigades of the Second World War East Africa Command Far East Command India Command Malaya Command Middle East Command Persia and Iraq Command West Africa Command Pacific Fleet Eastern Fleet Home Fleet Mediterranean Fleet Reserve Fleet Bomber Command Ferry Command Fighter Command RAF Squadrons British Commonwealth Air Training Plan British Commonwealth Occupation Force References Jump up ^ Ireland was also technically a dominion but operated largely as a republic and remained neutral during the war ) Jump up ^ The term was popularised during World War I and became official after the Balfour Declaration in 1926. W. David McIntyre, 1999, `` The Commonwealth '' ; in Robin Winks ( ed. ), The Oxford History of the British Empire : Volume V : Historiography, Oxford University Press, p. 558. Jump up ^ History of the Second World War ( 104 volumes ), Her Majesty 's Stationery Office, London 1949 to 1993 Jump up ^ Stacey, C P. ( 1970 ) Jump up ^ Edgerton, David ( 2011 ) Jump up ^ Louis, p. 315 Jump up ^ Brown, p. 284 Jump up ^ Brown, pp. 307 -- 9 Jump up ^ McKernan ( 1983 ). p. 4. Jump up ^ Stephens ( 2006 ). pp. 76 -- 79. Jump up ^ Byers, A.R., ed. ( 1986 ). The Canadians at War 1939 -- 45. Westmount, QC : The Readers ' Digest Association. p. 22. ISBN 978 - 0 - 88850 - 145 - 5. Jump up ^ Hague, 2000 Jump up ^ Byers, p. 26 Jump up ^ Stacey 1970 Jump up ^ McIntyre pp. 336 -- 7 Jump up ^ Grey ( 2008 ). pp. 156 -- 164. Jump up ^ Brown, p. 310 Jump up ^ See `` Pounds Sterling to Dollars : Historical Conversion of Currency '' Jump up ^ Marcelo de Paiva Abreu, `` India as a creditor : sterling balances, 1940 - 1953. '' ( Department of Economics, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, 2015 ) online Jump up ^ Louis, p. 335 Jump up ^ McIntyre p. 339 Jump up ^ Brown, p. 317 Jump up ^ McIntyre p. 337 Jump up ^ Smith, Colin ( 2006 ). Singapore Burning : Heroism and Surrender in World War II. Penguin Group. ISBN 0 - 14 - 101036 - 3. Jump up ^ Churchill, Winston ( 1986 ). The Hinge of Fate, Volume 4. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 81. ISBN 0395410584 Jump up ^ William Roger Louis, Imperialism at Bay : The United States and the Decolonization of the British Empire, 1941 - 1945 ( 1978 ). Jump up ^ Andrew N. Buchanan, `` The War Crisis and the Decolonization of India, December 1941 -- September 1942 : A Political and Military Dilemma. '' Global War Studies 8 # 2 ( 2011 ) : 5 - 31. Jump up ^ Kenton J. Clymer, `` Franklin D. Roosevelt, Louis Johnson, India, and Anticolonialism : Another Look. '' Pacific Historical Review 57 # 3 ( 1988 ) : 261 - 284. online Jump up ^ Yasmin Khan, The Raj at War : A People 's History of India 's Second World War ( 2016 ) Jump up ^ Arthur Herman ( 2008 ). Gandhi & Churchill : The Epic Rivalry That Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age. pp. 472 -- 539. Jump up ^ John Hickman, `` Orwellian Rectification : Popular Churchill Biographies and the 1943 Bengal Famine. '' Studies in History 24 # 2 ( 2008 ) : 235 - 243. Jump up ^ Eric S. Rubin, `` America, Britain, and Swaraj : Anglo - American Relations and Indian Independence, 1939 -- 1945, '' India Review '' ( Jan -- March 2011 ) 10 # 1 pp 40 -- 80 Jump up ^ McIntyre, p. 341 Jump up ^ McIntyre, p. 342 Bibliography Brown, Judith ( 1998 ). The Twentieth Century, The Oxford History of the British Empire Volume IV. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0 - 19 - 924679 - 3. Bryce, Robert Broughton ( 2005 ). Canada and the cost of World War II. McGill - Queen 's University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 7735 - 2938 - 0. Butler, J.R.M. et al. Grand Strategy ( 6 vol 1956 -- 60 ), official overview of the British war effort ; Volume 1 : Rearmament Policy ; Volume 2 : September 1939 -- June 1941 ; Volume 3, Part 1 : June 1941 -- August 1942 ; Volume 3, Part 2 : June 1941 -- August 1942 ; Volume 4 : September 1942 -- August 1943 ; Volume 5 : August 1943 -- September 1944 ; Volume 6 : October 1944 -- August 1945 Chartrand, René ; Ronald Volstad ( 2001 ). Canadian Forces in World War II. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1 - 84176 - 302 - 0 Copp, J. T ; Richard Nielsen ( 1995 ). No price too high : Canadians and the Second World War. McGraw - Hill Ryerson. ISBN 0 - 07 - 552713 - 8. Edgerton, David. Britain 's War Machine : Weapons, Resources, and Experts in the Second World War ( Oxford University Press ; 2011 ) 445 pages Hague, Arnold : The allied convoy system 1939 -- 1945 : its organization, defence and operation. St. Catharines, Ontario : Vanwell, 2000. Jackson, Ashley ( 2006 ). The British Empire and the Second World War. London : Hambledon Continuum. ISBN 978 - 1852854171. Louis, Wm. Roger ( 2006 ). Ends of British Imperialism : The Scramble for Empire, Suez and Decolonization. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1 - 84511 - 347 - 0. McIntyre, W. Donald ( 1977 ). The Commonwealth of Nations. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0 - 8166 - 0792 - 3. Morton, Desmond ( 1999 ). A military history of Canada ( 4th ed. ). Toronto : McClelland and Stewart. ISBN 0 - 7710 - 6514 - 0. Mulvey, Paul. The British Empire in World War II. Academic.edu. Roberts, Andrew. Masters and Commanders -- How Roosevelt, Churchill, Marshall and Alanbrooke Won the War in the West ( 2008 ) Stacey, C P. ( 1970 ) Arms, Men and Governments : The War Policies of Canada, 1939 -- 1945 Queen 's Printer, Ottawa ( Downloadable PDF ) ISBN D2 - 5569 Stewart, Andrew ( 2008 ). Empire Lost : Britain, the Dominions and the Second World War. London : Continuum. ISBN 978 - 1847252449. Further reading Butler, J.R.M. et al. Grand Strategy ( 6 vol 1956 -- 60 ), official overview of the British war effort ; Volume 1 : Rearmament Policy ; Volume 2 : September 1939 -- June 1941 ; Volume 3, Part 1 : June 1941 -- August 1942 ; Volume 3, Part 2 : June 1941 -- August 1942 ; Volume 4 : September 1942 -- August 1943 ; Volume 5 : August 1943 -- September 1944 ; Volume 6 : October 1944 -- August 1945 Churchill, Winston. The Second World War ( 6 vol 1947 -- 51 ), classic personal history with many documents Edgerton, David. Britain 's War Machine : Weapons, Resources, and Experts in the Second World War ( Oxford University Press ; 2011 ) 445 pages Harrison, Mark Medicine and Victory : British Military Medicine in the Second World War ( 2004 ). ISBN 0 - 19 - 926859 - 2 Hastings, Max. Winston 's War : Churchill, 1940 -- 1945 ( 2010 ) Khan, Yasmin. The Raj at War : A People 's History of India 's Second World War ( 2015 ) Raghavan, Srinath. India 's War : World War II and the Making of Modern South Asia ( 2016 ) Roberts, Andrew. Masters and Commanders -- How Roosevelt, Churchill, Marshall and Alanbrooke Won the War in the West ( 2008 ) Army Allport, Alan. Browned Off and Bloody - Minded : The British Soldier Goes to War, 1939 -- 1945 ( Yale UP, 2015 ) Atkinson, Rick. The Day of Battle : The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943 -- 1944 ( 2008 ) excerpt and text search Buckley, John. British Armour in the Normandy Campaign 1944 ( 2004 ) D'Este, Carlo. Decision in Normandy : The Unwritten Story of Montgomery and the Allied Campaign ( 1983 ). ISBN 0 - 00 - 217056 - 6. Ellis, L.F. The War in France and Flanders, 1939 -- 1940 ( HMSO, 1953 ) online Ellis, L.F. Victory in the West, Volume 1 : Battle of Normandy ( HMSO, 1962 ) Ellis, L.F. Victory in the West, Volume 2 : Defeat of Germany ( HMSO, 1968 ) Fraser, David. And We Shall Shock Them : The British Army in World War II ( 1988 ). ISBN 978 - 0 - 340 - 42637 - 1 Graham, Dominick. Tug of War : The Battle for Italy 1943 -- 1945 ( 2004 ) Hamilton, Nigel. Monty : The Making of a General : 1887 -- 1942 ( 1981 ) ; Master of the Battlefield : Monty 's War Years 1942 -- 1944 ( 1984 ) ; Monty : The Field - Marshal 1944 -- 1976 ( 1986 ). Lamb, Richard. War In Italy, 1943 -- 1945 : A Brutal Story ( 1996 ) Thompson, Julian. The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Burma 1942 -- 1945 ( 2004 ) Sebag - Montefiore, Hugh. Dunkirk : Fight to the Last Man ( 2008 ) Royal Navy Barnett, Corelli. Engage the Enemy More Closely : The Royal Navy in the Second World War ( 1991 ) Marder, Arthur. Old Friends, New Enemies : The Royal Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy, vol. 2 : The Pacific War, 1942 -- 1945 with Mark Jacobsen and John Horsfield ( 1990 ) Roskill, S.W. The White Ensign : British Navy at War, 1939 -- 1945 ( 1960 ). summary Roskill, S.W. War at Sea 1939 -- 1945, Volume 1 : The Defensive London : HMSO, 1954 ; War at Sea 1939 -- 1945, Volume 2 : The Period of Balance, 1956 ; War at Sea 1939 -- 1945, Volume 3 : The Offensive, Part 1, 1960 ; War at Sea 1939 -- 1945, Volume 3 : The Offensive, Part 2, 1961. online vol 1 ; online vol 2 Air war Bungay, Stephen. The Most Dangerous Enemy : The Definitive History of the Battle of Britain ( 2nd ed. 2010 ) Collier, Basil. Defence of the United Kingdom ( HMSO, 1957 ) online Fisher, David E, A Summer Bright and Terrible : Winston Churchill, Lord Dowding, Radar, and the Impossible Triumph of the Battle of Britain ( 2005 ) excerpt online Hastings, Max. Bomber Command ( 1979 ) Hansen, Randall. Fire and Fury : The Allied Bombing of Germany, 1942 -- 1945 ( 2009 ) Hough, Richard and Denis Richards. The Battle of Britain ( 1989 ) 480 pp Messenger, Charles, `` Bomber '' Harris and the Strategic Bombing Offensive, 1939 -- 1945 ( 1984 ), defends Harris Overy, Richard. The Battle of Britain : The Myth and the Reality ( 2001 ) 192 pages excerpt and text search Richards, Dennis, et al. Royal Air Force, 1939 -- 1945 : The Fight at Odds -- Vol. 1 ( HMSO 1953 ), official history vol 1 online edition vol 2 online edition ; vol 3 online edition Shores, Christopher F. Air War for Burma : The Allied Air Forces Fight Back in South - East Asia 1942 -- 1945 ( 2005 ) Terraine, John. A Time for Courage : The Royal Air Force in the European War, 1939 -- 1945 ( 1985 ) Verrier, Anthony. The Bomber Offensive ( 1969 ), British Webster, Charles and Noble Frankland, The Strategic Air Offensive Against Germany, 1939 -- 1945 ( HMSO, 1961 ), 4 vol. Important official British history Wood, Derek, and Derek D. Dempster. The Narrow Margin : The Battle of Britain and the Rise of Air Power 1930 -- 40 ( 1975 ) online edition External links Checklist of official histories Britain in World War II British Empire battles of the Second World War Africa East Africa Conquest of British Somaliland Capture of Italian Somaliland Recapture of British Somaliland Italian guerrilla war in Ethiopia North Africa First Battle of El Alamein Second Battle of El Alamein Italian invasion of Egypt Operation Compass Run for Tunis Siege of Giarabub Siege of Tobruk Capture of Tobruk Operation Brevity Operation Skorpion Operation Sonnenblume Occupation of Libya Southern Africa Battle of Madagascar West Africa Battle of Dakar Operation Postmaster Europe Arctic Battle of the Barents Sea Evacuation of Norway Occupation of Iceland Evacuation of Spitsbergen Faroe Islands Occupation Balkans Reinforcement of Greece Battle of Crete ( Rethymno Thermopylae Vevi ) Mediterranean Convoy AN 14 Attack on Mers - el - Kébir Battle of Calabria Campobasso Convoy Battle of Cape Bon Battle of Cape Matapan Battle of Cape Passero Battle of Cape Spada Battle of Cape Spartivento Cigno Convoy Duisburg Convoy Espero Convoy Battle of the Ligurian Sea Battle of Skerki Bank Battle of the Strait of Otranto ( 1940 ) Battle of Taranto Tarigo Convoy Battle off Zuwarah Operation Abstention Operation Agreement Operation Albumen Operation Excess Operation Grog Raid on Alexandria Raid on Souda Bay Siege of Malta Malta Convoys Western Europe Battle of the Heligoland Bight BEF Dunkirk evacuation Battle of Britain The Blitz Dieppe Raid Channel Dash Operation Gisela Operation Steinbock Operation Diver Evacuation of Gibraltar Juno Beach Gold Beach Sword Beach Clearing the Channel Coast Battle of the Scheldt Operation Blackcock Battle of the Reichswald St Nazaire Raid Liberation of Belgium Liberation of the Netherlands Far East Hong Kong Battle of Kowloon and New Territories Battle of Hong Kong Island Malay Japanese invasion of Malaya Battle of Jitra Defence of Johore Singapore Fall of Singapore Burma Japanese conquest of Burma Arakan Campaign 1942 -- 43 Recapture of Burma India Invasion of India Operation U-Go Battle of Imphal Battle of Kohima Indian Ocean Indian Ocean disaster Indian Ocean retreat Cocos Islands mutiny Indian Ocean raid Battle of Ceylon Evacuation of British Somaliland Japanese occupation of the Andaman Islands Indian Ocean raid ( 1944 ) Indian Ocean strike Battle of the Malacca Strait Bombing of Sumatra Bombardment of Andaman Islands Bombardment of Northern Malay Middle East Iraq Invasion of Iraq Battle of Fallujah Siege of Habbaniya Battle of Basra Capture of Baghdad Iran Invasion of Khuzestan Invasion of Central Iran Syria -- Lebanon Invasion of Lebanon Capture of Beirut Invasion of Syria Capture of Damascus Americas Atlantic Battle of the River Plate Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence Battle of the Denmark Strait Newfoundland Escort Force Mid-Ocean Escort Force Western Local Escort Force Western Approaches Escort Force History of World War II by region and country Africa Belgian Congo British Somaliland Egypt French West Africa French Somaliland Gold Coast Kenya Liberia Nyasaland Madagascar South Africa Southern Rhodesia Tunisia North America Canada Cuba El Salvador Greenland Mexico Newfoundland Panama United States Arizona Nevada New Mexico Puerto Rico South America Argentina Brazil British Guiana Colombia Latin America Uruguay Venezuela Asia Burma Ceylon China Manchuria Dutch East Indies Hong Kong India Indochina Iran Iraq Japan Malaya Mongolia Nepal Philippines Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, and British North Borneo Singapore Thailand Turkey Europe Albania Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czechoslovakia Denmark Estonia Finland France Basque Country Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Soviet Union Azerbaijan Belarus Ukraine Spain Galicia Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom British Empire Channel Islands Gibraltar Vatican City Yugoslavia Oceania Australia Nauru New Zealand Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Empire_in_World_War_II&oldid=836947070 '' Categories : British Empire in World War II History of the Commonwealth of Nations Military of the Commonwealth of Nations History of the British Empire World War II national military histories 1939 in the British Empire 1940s in the British Empire World War II by country Imperialism Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2013 Articles to be expanded from April 2018 Use dmy dates from August 2011 Use British English from August 2011 Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2017 Articles with inconsistent citation formats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Edit links This page was last edited on 17 April 2018, at 20 : 14. 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Question: when did the united kingdom entered world war 2
Answer: 1939