A Very British Experience: Coalition, Defence and Strategy in the Second World War

This collection of essays gives close scrutiny to three elements of the Second World War and Britain’s wartime strategy: the paramount importance of defending the British mainland and its population, the challenges of building and maintaining coalitions and alliances, and the central role the African continent assumed in all British strategic planning. In considering each of these topics, these works also reflect more generally upon the critical role played by Winston Churchill before concluding with a review of the degree to which these themes underpinned the British experience of the conflict. Additional topics addressed include the British Empire Air Training Plan, the crisis in 1940 and plans to defend Britain, the campaign fought in East Africa; the recall of General Alan Cunningham from Libya in 1941, and the role of the Eastern Fleet during its temporary basing in Africa.