When theUnited Kingdom declared war onNazi Germany in September 1939 at the start ofWorld War II, it controlled to varying degrees numerouscrown colonies,protectorates, andIndia. It also maintained strong political ties to four of the five independentDominions—Australia,Canada,South Africa, andNew Zealand[a]—as co-members (with the UK) of theBritish Commonwealth.[b] In 1939 theBritish Empire and the Commonwealth together comprised a global power, with direct orde facto political and economic control of 25% of the world's population, and of 30% of its land mass.[3]
The contribution of the British Empire and Commonwealth in terms of manpower andmateriel was critical to theAllied war-effort. From September 1939 to mid-1942, the UK led Allied efforts in multiple global military theatres. Commonwealth,Colonial andImperial Indian forces, totalling close to15 million serving men and women, fought theGerman,Italian,Japanese and otherAxis armies, air-forces and navies across Europe, Africa, Asia, and in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Arctic Oceans. Commonwealth forces based in Britain operated acrossNorthwestern Europe in the effort to slow or stop Axis advances. Commonwealth airforces fought theLuftwaffe toa standstill over Britain, and Commonwealth armiesdefeated Italian forces in East Africa andNorth 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, andMadagascar.[4]
The Commonwealth defeated, held back or slowed the Axis powers for three years while mobilizing itsglobally-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 Western Europe, and hostedgovernments-in-exile in London to rally support inoccupied Europe for the Allied cause. Canada delivered almost $4 billion indirect financial aid to the United Kingdom, and Australia and New Zealand began[when?] shifting to domestic production[clarification needed] to provide material aid to US forces in the Pacific.[citation needed] Following the US entry into the war in December 1941, the Commonwealth and the 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 in many theatres, relieving Commonwealth forces for duty elsewhere, and expanding the scope and intensity of Allied military efforts.[5] Co-operation with theSoviet Union also developed. However, it proved difficult to co-ordinate the defence of far-flung colonies and Commonwealth countries from simultaneous attacks by the Axis powers. In part this difficulty was exacerbated by disagreements over priorities and objectives, as well as over the deployment and control of joint forces.
Although the British Empire emerged from the war as one of the primary victors, regaining all colonial territories that had been lost during the conflict, it had become financially, militarily and logistically exhausted. The British Empire's position as a global superpower was supplanted by the United States, and Britain hitherto no longer played as great of a role ininternational politics as it had previously done so. Stoked by the war, rising nationalist sentiments in British colonies, in particular those in Africa and Asia, led to the gradual dissolution of the British Empire during the second half of the 20th century throughdecolonisation.[6][7]
From 1923, defence of British colonies and protectorates inEast Asia andSoutheast Asia was centred on the "Singapore strategy". This made the assumption that Britain could send a fleet to its naval base inSingapore within two or three days of a Japanese attack, while relying onFrance to provide assistance in Asia via its colony inIndochina and, in the event of war withItaly, to help defend British territories in the Mediterranean.[8] Pre-war planners did not anticipate the fall of France: Nazi occupation, the loss of control over theChannel, 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 militaristic governments in Germany, Italy, and Japan.[9] 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.
On 1 September 1939, Germanyinvaded 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 committedIndia, theCrown colonies, and theprotectorates, but the 1931Statute of Westminster had granted autonomy to theDominions so each decided their course separately.
Australian Prime MinisterRobert 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), afterPeter Fraser consulted theCabinet; although as Chamberlain's broadcast was drowned by static, the Cabinet (led by Fraser as Prime MinisterMichael 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 GeneralJ. B. M. Hertzog favouredneutrality but was defeated by the pro-war vote in the Union Parliament, led by GeneralJan Smuts, who then replaced Hertzog. Canadian Prime MinisterMackenzie 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. Ireland, though still a member of the Commonwealth, severed its legal ties as a dominion in 1937[10] and chose to remainneutral throughout the war.[11]
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 atFort Queenscliff fired across the bows of a ship as it attempted to leaveMelbourne without required clearances.[12] On 10 October 1939, an aircraft ofNo. 10 Squadron RAAF based in England became the first Commonwealth air force unit to go into action when it undertook a mission toTunisia.[13] The first Canadian convoy of 15 ships bearing war goods departedHalifax just six days after the nation declared war, with two destroyersHMCS St. Laurent andHMCS Saguenay.[14] A further 26 convoys of 527 ships sailed from Canada in the first four months of the war,[15] and by 1 January 1940 Canada had landed an entiredivision in Britain.[16] On 13 June 1940 Canadian troops deployed to France in an attempt to secure the southern flank of theBritish 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 thecolony of Newfoundland, on Canada's east coast, the closest point in North America to Germany. Fearing the loss of a land link[clarification needed] to the British Isles, Canada was also requested to occupy Iceland, which it did from June 1940 to the spring of 1941, following theinitial British invasion.[17]
From mid-June 1940, following the rapid German invasions and occupations ofPoland,Denmark,Norway,France,Belgium,Luxembourg and theNetherlands, the British Commonwealth was the main opponent of Germany and theAxis, until the entry into the war of theSoviet 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 andEgypt, where British troops were outnumbered four to one by the Italian armies inLibya andEthiopia.[18] Canada delivered a further2nd Canadian Infantry Division, pilots for two air squadrons, and several warships to Britain to face a possible invasion from the continent.
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In December 1941,Japan launched, in quick succession, attacks on BritishMalaya, the United States naval base atPearl Harbor, andHong Kong.
Substantial financial support was provided by Canada to the UK and Commonwealth dominions, in the form of over $4 billion in aid through theBillion Dollar Gift and Mutual Aid and theWar 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.[citation needed] By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in thearmed forces (out of a population of under 7 million), whose military units fought primarily inEurope,North Africa, and theSouth West Pacific.
TheBritish 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:
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.[c]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.[20]
In June 1940, Francesurrendered to invading German forces, and Italy joined the war on the Axis side, causing a reversal of the Singapore strategy.Winston Churchill, who had replacedNeville Chamberlain as BritishPrime Minister the previous month (seeNorway debate), ordered that theMiddle East and theMediterranean were of a higher priority than the Far East to defend.[21] 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:[22]
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.[23]
Commonwealth forces played a major role in North and East Africa following Italy's entry to the war, participating in the invasion of ItalianLibya andSomaliland, but were forced to retreat after Churchill diverted resources to Greece and Crete.[24]
At 2:19AMHong Kong Time on 8 December 1941, Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor inHawaii. Approximately 3 and a half hours later, Japan beganan assault on British-held Hong Kong.[25] By the morning of 13 December, British forces had been forced to retreat from theNew Territories andKowloon toHong Kong Island.[26] On 25 December,Mark Aitchison Young surrendered.[27]
Hong Kong was the first of the BritishCrown Colonies to surrender to Japan, and over 10,000 British troops were taken as prisoners of war.[28] Over the course of Japanese occupation, over 10,000 Hong Kong civilians were executed by Japanese forces.[29]
The Battle of Singapore was fought in theSouth-East Asian theatre of World War II when theJapanese Empire invadedBritish Malaya and its stronghold ofSingapore. Singapore was the major British military base inSouth East Asia and nicknamed the"Gibraltar of the East". The fighting in Singapore lasted from 31 January 1942 to 15 February 1942. It followed ahumiliating naval engagement in December 1941 in which two British capital ships were sunk.
It resulted in thefall of Singapore to the Japanese, and the largestsurrender of British-led military personnel in history.[30] About 80,000British,Australian andIndian troops becameprisoners of war, joining 50,000 taken by the Japanese in theMalayan campaign. Britain's Prime MinisterWinston Churchill called the ignominious fall of Singapore to the Japanese the "worst disaster" and "largest capitulation" in British history.[31]
Africa is a large continent whose geography gave it strategic importance during the war. North Africa was the scene ofa major campaign against Italy and Germany, which itself included theTunisian Campaign, theWestern Desert Campaign (resulting in tide-turning battles such as those inEl Alamein and inTobruk) and, with large-scale American support,Operation Torch. East Africa was also the scene of amajor campaign against Italy which resulted in the liberation of Somalia, Eritrea and most chiefly Ethiopia which had beenconquered by the Italian Empire in 1936. The vast geography provided major transportation routes linking the United States to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. The sea route around South Africa was heavily used even though it added 40 days to voyages that had to avoid the dangerous Suez region. Lend Lease supplies to Russia often came this way. Internally, long-distance road and railroad connections facilitated the British war effort. The Union of South Africa was part of theBritish Commonwealth of Nations, and had been an independent self-governing country since 1931.[b] British colonies in Africa were administered by the Colonial Office, which frequently implemented a policy ofindirect rule. France also held extensive possessions in Africa, but they played a much smaller role in the war, since they were largely tied to Vichy France. Portuguese holdings played a minor role. Italian holdings were the target of successful British military campaigns. The Belgian Congo, and two other Belgian colonies, were major exporters. In terms of numbers and wealth, the British controlled the richest portions of Africa, and made extensive use not only of the geography, but the manpower and the natural resources. Civilian colonial officials made a special effort to upgrade the African infrastructure, promote agriculture, integrate colonial Africa with the world economy, and recruit over a half million soldiers.[32]
Before the war, Britain had made few plans for the utilization of Africa, but it quickly set up command structures. The Army set up the West Africa Command, which recruited 200,000 soldiers. The East Africa Command was created in September 1941 to support the overstretched Middle East Command. The Southern Command was the domain of South Africa. The Royal Navy set up the South Atlantic Command based inSierra Leone, that became one of the main convoy assembly points. The RAF Coastal Command had major submarine-hunting operations based in West Africa, while a smaller RAF command Dealt with submarines in the Indian Ocean. Ferrying aircraft from North America and Britain was the major mission of the Western Desert Air Force. In addition smaller more localized commands were set up throughout the war.[33]
Before the war, the military establishments were very small throughout British Africa, and largely consisted of white troops, who comprised only two percent of the population outside Africa.[clarification needed] As soon as the war began, a large number of new military units were established in Africa, primarily by the Army. The new recruits were a mixture of volunteers and conscripts, who were raised in close cooperation with local tribal leaders. During the war, military pay scales far exceeded what African civilians could earn, especially when food, housing and clothing allowances are included. The largest numbers were in construction units, called Pioneer Units, consisting of over 82,000 Africans. The RAF and Navy also recruited in Africa during the conflict. East Africa provided the largest number of men, over 320,000, chiefly from Kenya, Tanganyika, and Uganda. They did some fighting, a great deal of guard duty, and construction work. 80,000 served in the Middle East. Special care was taken in dealing with African servicemembers not to challenge or overturn the existing social and racial hierarchies which existed in colonial Africa; nevertheless, the soldiers were drilled and trained to European standards, given strong doses of propaganda, and learnt leadership and organizational skills that proved essential to the formation of nationalistic and independence movements after 1945. There were minor episodes of discontent among Africans who fought for the British Empire, though the majority remained loyal.[34]Afrikaner nationalism played a major role in South African opposition to joining the war, but pro-German Prime MinisterJ. B. M. Hertzog resigned in 1939 and was replaced byJan Smuts, a fellow Afrikaner who was an enthusiastic supporter of South Africa participating in the conflict. Under Smuts' direction, theUnion Defence Force raised 340,000 volunteers (of which 190,000 were white, about one-third of all eligible white men in South Africa) to fight in the war.[35]
The Viceroy Linlithgow declared that India was at war with Germany with no consultations with Indian politicians.[37]
Serious tension erupted over American support forindependence for India, a proposition Churchill vehemently rejected.[38] For years Roosevelt had encouraged Britain's disengagement from India. The American position was based on principled opposition to colonialism.[39] The politically active Indian population was deeply divided.[40] One element was so insistent on the expulsion of the British, that it sided with Germany and Japan, and formed theIndian 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.[41] 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 theMuslim League, led byMuhammad 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 SirStafford Cripps to India with aspecific 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 if Roosevelt pushed too hard. Roosevelt pulled back.[42] In 1942 when theCongress Party launched aQuit 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; over 2 million died of starvation.[43][44] To this day a large Indian element blames Churchill for theBengal famine of 1943.[45] In terms of the war effort, India became a major base for American supplies sent to China, 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 India, forming of the new state of Pakistan.[46]
The Soviet victory on theEastern Front and theNormandy landings brought about theend of World War II in Europe. TheAllies formally accepted theunconditional surrender of the armed forces ofNazi Germany and the end ofAdolf Hitler'sThird Reich on 8 May 1945. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in theChannel Islands was not until 9 May 1945.Hitler committed suicide on 30 April during theBattle of Berlin, and so the surrender of Germany was authorized by his replacement, President of GermanyKarl Dönitz. Theact of military surrender was signed on 7 May inReims, France, and ratified on 8 May inBerlin, Germany.
The US-led victory over theEmpire of Japan brought about theend of World War II in Asia. In the afternoon of 15 August 1945, thesurrender of Japan occurred, effectively endingWorld 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.
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, includingEritrea,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 inJapan,Germany andAustria 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 and Soviet Union 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.[47] 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.[48]
In terms of actual engagement with the enemy, historians have recounted a great deal in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as summarized byAshley Jackson:
British historians of the Second World War have not emphasized the critical role played by the Empire in terms of money, manpower and imports of food and raw materials.[50][51] The powerful combination meant that Britain did not stand alone against Germany, it stood at the head of a great but fading empire. As Ashley Jackson has argued," The story of the British Empire's war, therefore, is one of Imperial success in contributing toward Allied victory on the one hand, and egregious Imperial failure on the other, as Britain struggled to protect people and defeat them, and failed to win the loyalty of colonial subjects."[52] The contribution in terms of soldiers numbered 2.5 million men from India, over 1 million from Canada, just under 1 million from Australia, 410,000 from South Africa, and 215,000 from New Zealand. In addition, the colonies mobilized over 500,000 uniformed personnel who serve primarily inside Africa.[53] In terms of financing, the British war budget included £2.7 billion borrowed from the Empire's Sterling Area, And eventually paid back. Canadamade C$3 billion in gifts and loans on easy terms.[54]
The contributions from individual colonies, dominions, mandates, and protectorates to the war effort were extensive and global. Further information about their involvement can be found in the military histories of the individual colonies, dominions, mandates, and protectorates listed below.
Ascension IslandBasutolandBechuanaland Protectorate
British Cameroons
Gambia
Gold Coast
Kenya
Mauritius
Nigeria
Northern Rhodesia
Nyasaland
Saint Helena
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somaliland
South Africa
Southern RhodesiaAnglo-Egyptian SudanSwaziland Protectorate
TanganyikaTogoland
Uganda
Zanzibar
Bahamas
Barbados
Bermuda
Canada
Falkland Islands
British Guiana
British Honduras
Jamaica
Leeward IslandsNewfoundland
Trinidad and Tobago
Windward Islands
Aden
Bahrain Protectorate
Egypt
Kuwait ProtectorateMandatory Palestine
Qatar Protectorate
Transjordan
Trucial States
Australia
Fiji
Gilbert and Ellice IslandsNauru
New Hebrides
New ZealandPitcairn Islands
Solomon Islands
Tonga ProtectorateThe nationalist movements used the political principles of European democracy - self-determination, one man one vote - against European colonialism. Their cause was greatly assisted by the humiliating defeats to which Britain and the other colonial powers were subjected in the Second World War.
[...] the war brought forth a new generation of African politicians who refused to accept the pace of political change laid down by the colonial governments. [...] politicians in British West Africa agitated for self-government [...]. [...] There is a paucity of material about how the Second World War facilitated the decolonization process in individual countries. However, some work has been done on Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia.
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