Jack Mastros

[jackmastros]

Here is my bibliography.

[jackmastros]

The Canadiens were also a huge part in Britain’s war effort and made very valuable contributions throughout the war. They helped in Hong Kong against Japan’s invasion until the Japanese surrendered, they played a pivotal role in the battle to take Caen (at Normandy), and helped in the successful attack on Hitler’s line at Ortona and Monte Cassino. The Canadiens also made huge contributions on sea, as the Royal Canadian Navy grew to almost 100,000 personnel and almost 400 vessels. Their main duty was to act as convoy escorts across the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean and to Murmansk in the USSR.

[jackmastros]

The Suez Canal (pictured above), was very important to the Britains in the war, as it gave them access to valuable oil reserves in the Middle East. The Africans used this canal to help Britain in the war and provide them with valuable resources and raw materials.

[jackmastros]

Britain was heavily in need of raw materials for the war, and South Africa solved this problem. Platinum, uranium, and steel from South Africa was very valuable. Durban and Cape Town transported materials to Britain during the time the Med. Sea was closed to the Allies.

[jackmastros]

Above is an example of propaganda used by the Britains to convince the Africans to help them in the war. Propaganda was huge in convicing the Africans to help. Britain put in a lot of effort in using propaganda, showing that they needed the help of their empire/colonies in Africa.

[jackmastros]

In 1942, India launched its “quit India” movement. This was a protest for independence that stated that they wouldn’t fight in the war against Nazi Germany unless they were granted independence. Britain agreed to give them indepencence, showing that they really needed their help in the war. The goal of an empire is to keep their colonies and expand— but because Britain needed India’s help they were willing to make the sacrifice.

[jackmastros]

The awards that were given to the people from the colonies show how valuable they were to the army. 31 Indians and 1 Finian were awarded the Victoria Cross. The colonies won a total of 56 Distinguished Conduct medals, 180 military crosses, and 300 military medals. In addition to this, Indians were given about 4,000 awards for their brave and courageous behavior in the battle.

[jackmastros]

The Colonies provided more than just manpower— they also ran British merchant ships and supplied food for the soldiers. It was the Africans specifically that led the way in providing food staples to feed the soldiers in not only the British Army, but the French Army as well— also on the side of the Allies. This was a huge sacrifice for Africa, because many people in Africa died due to starvation because of all the food that was going into feeding the soldiers.

[jackmastros]

Britain received so much help in the war, that they thought it would be appropriate to return a favor back to the colonies that assisted in the war— particularly India. After a very long struggle for independence, India was finally granted independence in 1947. Ghana was the first African colony to be granted independence in 1957, and by 1967 more than 20 British colonies were independent. This is huge because the goal of an empire is to expand itself, or at least keep its colonies. Britain had to let go of a lot of its colonies because they helped them in the war so much.

[jackmastros]

Funding is obviously important in a war, as there are lots of costs involved with fighting in a war. Africa proved to be very valuable in funding. The Bechuana sent £10,400 to purchase two spitfires for the RAF and also paid extra taxes. In addition, their government sent £50,000 as a free gift to Britain. The 25 million people of Nigeria send a quarter of a million pounds to war charities, and the West African colonies sent a total of 1.5 million pounds to charities, in addition to £1,000,000 in interest-free loans.

[jackmastros]

The Indians had a great performance in WWII, and did a terrific job in helping the British soldiers. Over 2.5 million Indians served in the British Army in WWII, making it the largest volunteer army in history. India was the backbone of Britain’s land forces, as Britain’s best aspect of their army was their naval forces. With India providing tons of help on land, Britain could focus more on their main advantage in the army— the Navy. Without the Indians, there is a great chance that Germany would have won the war and conquered Europe.

[jackmastros]

Britain was well known for helping take down Nazi Germany in World War II. But however, I will say that the British Empire deserves a lot more credit than it got. Without the contributions of the British Colonies, Britain would have come nowhere close to defeating Germany in World War II.