Embattled Empire: Britain and its Empire in the Second World War

Aims

This course aims to:

• give you a secure base of knowledge and understanding of the outline of British Empire 
  and Commonwealth involvement in the Second World War and its wider consequences
   
• help you to understand and interpret source material of different types relating to Empire 
  and Commonwealth involvement in the war
   
• help you to discuss and make an informed assessment of the debates and arguments surrounding the impact of the Second World War on the British Empire and on British 
  attitudes towards it

Content

“We have not entered this war for profit or expansion”, said Churchill in 1942, to loud cheers from his audience in the City of London, “I have not become the King’s First Minister in order to preside over the liquidation of the British Empire”. That, however, is exactly what happened. Britain and its dominions entered the Second World War as one of the world’s leading power blocs, but even before the war was over the British Empire had begun to collapse: within three years of victory Britain had been forced out both of India, its most prized possession, and of Palestine, the middle east mandate Britain never really controlled. For believers in Empire – and Churchill was certainly one of those – victory in the war had come at a terrible price.

It's not hard to see why. Asian nationalists did not fight against Japanese occupation simply to put European colonial power back into place; African troops encountering nationalist-minded troops from elsewhere in the Empire troops soon picked up their own ideas of nationalism and self-determination. Canada, Australia and New Zealand rallied to the defence of the ‘motherland’ against Germany, although the Canadians in particular paid a heavy price at Dieppe and the Australians and New Zealanders felt badly let down by British strategic mistakes that left them exposed to attack by the Japanese.

The crucial dilemma for Britain was that victory depended on alliance with the United States, but the Americans were not going to fight to maintain European colonialism. When the atom bomb made the United States the world’s first superpower, the European empires, even victorious ones, became redundant overnight. It took some time for them to see it, though.

This course will take you through the familiar events of the Second World War but from an angle less often covered by filmmakers. In the end, the impact of the war on the British Empire was every bit as important for the future of the world as its impact on the defeated Axis powers.

Presentation of the course 

The main method of presentation will be illustrated lectures, with time built in for discussion. We will also look at some source material to see how it can be evaluated to help us understand the issues and the outlook of the people who created it.

Course sessions

1. From Wembley to war 
   The 1924 British Empire Exhibition celebrated an Empire apparently at the height of its power and prestige, yet by the end of the 1930s the Empire was vulnerable to Italy and Japan and seeking to accommodate Nazi Germany.
    
2. Finest Hour 
   Churchill’s decision to fight on after the fall of France in 1940 placed the Empire in the front line of a war it had no obvious way of winning. Why did he do it?
    
3. The Empire too – we can depend on you 
   So sang Vera Lynn in There’ll Always be an England. But how united was the Empire in the face of defeat and mounting losses?
    
4. The Empire in Britain 
   What was it like for colonial troops based in Britain? And how did their presence affect their British hosts?
    
5. In the Med, in the Desert 
   Why did Britain fight so hard for control of North Africa and the Middle East? 
    
6. The Atlantic – the Charter and the Battle 
   The Battle for the Atlantic was a struggle for survival and a symbol of Britain’s transatlantic partnership with the USA. How would America’s involvement change Britain’s imperial outlook?
    
7. Asian Empires at War 
   The war between Britain and Japan was a clash between two major Asian Empires, which threw into doubt the whole nature and future of imperialism.
    
8. Churchill’s Empire 
   Churchill’s strategic decisions were to prove controversial, especially in relation to India and the Far East. But is it fair to view him just as an old-fashioned Victorian imperialist?
    
9. Victory – and Defeat 
   The British made much of their being on the winning side in 1945 but the reality was that the war cruelly exposed the limits of British power. The peace settlement was a defeat not just for the Axis powers but for the European Empires that had fought against them.
    
10. Retreat to Redundancy The war did not just break the power of the British Empire; it rendered imperial power an anachronism in the postwar age.

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are:

• to talk with confidence and knowledge about major themes and events in the involvement 
  of the British Empire and Commonwealth to the Second World War
   
• to discuss with insight and understanding the major wartime political ideas and strategic decisions which affected Britain’s Empire and Commonwealth
   
• to reach an informed assessment of the historical debate surrounding Britain’s wartime 
  imperial strategy and about the impact of the war on Britain’s imperial role

Required reading

There are no compulsory readings for this course. 

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.