The British Empire

In Part Two of this series, we will be taking a look at the symbols, leaders, tactics, and equipment of each of the major powers. This will be a small selection of archetypes, and is in no way comprehensive, nor does it try to be.

The flag of the United Kingdom since 1801, the Union Jack is not only the national flag of the United Kingdom, but appears on the flags of all the major members of the Empire and Commonwealth during the war years.

**The Royal Arms of the United Kingdom under King George VI**

**The White Ensign, serving as the recognition symbol of the Royal Navy**

**The flags of the major British Commonwealth and Imperial states: Australia, India, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Britain herself**

A familiar face in Whitehall, Winston Churchill had been First Lord of the Admiralty in teh eraly phases of the Great War, until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign had forced his resignation, and he subsequently served in the trenches for a period. Following several different cabinet positions he would eventually, through his strong positions of British rearmament to counter German expansionism, return to his old post as First Lord of the Admiralty as war approached again. He was appointed Prime Minister in May of 1940, after Neville Chamberlain’s resignation in the face of German victories on the field, just as France was being invaded and at risk of collapse. His stubborn resolve to achieve victory was a source of strength for all of Britain, and he would be remembered as one of the best Prime Ministers in British history. Following the end of the war in Europe he was voted out of office in July of 1945, replaced by Clement Atlee before the surrender of Japan and the final end to hostilities..

The British Tommy of the Second World War started out in similar equipment to that of the Great War, but the small changes accelerated throughout the war. The basic uniform consisted of a khaki tunic what was notably short compared to other nations, worn with a canvas web suspension system for gear, the Pattern 1934 having replaced the P08 gear of the last war. This was a very modular system, allowing the soldier to customize his loadout to suit his duties, such as a machine gunner or engineer. The basic gear was all but unchanged, such as the canteen, mess kit, and entrenching tool, although that notably was made compatible with the new spike bayonet of the No4 rifle to facilitate use as a mine probe. The older Brodie Helmet, or Tin Hat, remained in use, although in 1944 a new MkIII, or “Turtle” helmet entered service with the British Army. A simple forage cap was also in general use as a field cap, although officers sometimes elected to wear their peaked service cap instead. Also of note are the variations of uniform from different regions of the Empire, such as the kilts and glengary of the Scottish, turbans of the Indians, or slouch hats of the Australians and New Zealanders.

The standard service rifle of the British Empire was the Lee Enfield. The older No1 Mk3 variant was unchanged from the Great War, but was superseded in the war years by the updated No4 Mk1 in British and Canadian service, although the other Commonwealth and Imperial armies retained the older rifle. The rifle used a ten round magazine and was loaded by two five round chargers, giving it a capacity double that of most other nations, which mated well to the cock-on-close bolt action with it’s rear mounted bolt handle to provide a good rate of fire. The No4 also featured a rear mounted aperture sight, and also fitted a simple spike socket bayonet.

In addition to the Lee Enfield rifles limited use was given to the Pattern 1914 rifle, now designated the No3 Mk1, primarily for rear line and sniping use. A substantial number of assorted foreign arms were also made available during the war, primarily from the United States.

The Enfield No2 Mk1 revolver was an attempt by the British to replace the Webley revolvers then in service with a more cost effective weapon produced by government arsenals. The Enfield No2 was the result, a top break double action revolver chambered in the .38/200 cartridge. The design was essentially a copy of the Webley, and Webley and Scott attempted to sue the British Government as a result. Despite this, wartime conditions would result in the need for more revolvers than the British arsenals could provide, and Webley’s would be procured as well as American revolvers, all chambered in the .38/200 cartridge. Additionally, the older .455 Webley models remained in service.

The British had entered the war with a limited inventory of American Thompson submachine guns, but the need for this type of weapon made it abundantly clear that a simple, domestic design was urgently needed as the war began. This would lead to the Sten, an ingeniously simple stamped steel weapon that only had 69 total parts and only consumed about five hours to produce. The weapon also used a 32 round detachable magazine, interchangeable with the German MP40, feeding the same 9x19mm ammunition, and thus making it possible to use captured enemy munitions.

British machine guns consisted of the Bren light machine gun, a variation on the Czech ZB26 chambered for the .303 cartridge and feeding from a top mounted 30 round magazine. This was augmented by the older .303 Vickers heavy machine gun, remaining in service from the Great War, as well as the Vickers Gas Operated (VGO), a light machine gun originally intended for aircraft that fount it’s way to ground combay in significant numbers.

The British Royal Air Force, of RAF, was one of the best in the world in 1939, with a fleet of excellent Hurricane and Spitfire fighters. The Supermarine Spitfire was just entering service, a descendant of a civilian racing aircraft, and would prove throughout the conflict to be one of the war’s outstanding fighters. The older Hawker Hurricane would prove its worth during the desperate days of mid 1940, but would be phased out of general use by late 1943. The Hawker Typhoon and Tempest, however, would excel in the fighter-bomber role, becoming the bane of the German panzers in the last year of the war.

The de Haviland Mosquito was an unorthodox design, being made primarily from plywood, but proved to be an outstanding aircraft, with speed unrivaled until the introduction of jet aircraft later in the war, performing fighter, night fighter, bomber and reconnaissance roles, among others. The British entered the war with a small fleet of light and medium bombers, but these types mostly performed poorly in the early campaigns of the war. They would be repalced later with three types of heavy bomber, the Handley-Page Halifax, the Short Stirling and the Avro Lancaster, with the latter in particular being considered one of the best bombers of the war. All three of these would be put to use against Germany in sustained night attacks for the duration of the war following their introcuction, and it should be noted that the British bombers had the largest average bomb load of the war.

The RAF would also be the only Allied nation to operationally use jet fighters during the war, with the Gloster Meteor flying missions against German V1 missiles in the last months of the war, although it never engaged actual manned German aircraft.

British tanks followed their own unique system, with light tanks like other countries, including the airborne-capable Tetrarch, but then the Infantry tanks, like the Churchill, which were heavily armored, very slow, and lightly armed to support infantry, and the Cruiser tanks, which were fast and moderately armored and heavily armed.

British land doctrine was based on the use of infantry and tanks together to hold off enemy attacks before advancing with armored support after a massive artillery barrage. The British used a slow, methodical approach intended to minimalism casualties that, while effective often irritated their allies, particularly the Americans.

The Royal Navy had always been the British Empire’s ace-in-the-hole, with a huge and modern fleet of carriers, battleships, destroyers and other ships that were more than a match for any other navy in the world. With such a force available it could guarantee that Britain herself would be safe from invasion, and that the vast resources of her overseas Empire could be brought to bear anywhere in the world.

The Fleet Air Arm served as the naval aviation force of the Royal Navy, and operated a variety of aircraft both from carriers and shore bases. The main fighter aircraft of the FAA was the Supermarine Seafire, a navalized version of the RAF Spitfire, with upgrades for carrier use such as folding wings, reinforced landing gear and an arresting hook. It served alongside attack aircraft, mainly made by Fairey Aviation, including the Swordfish, a torpedo bomber that by appearance was outdated, but would prove its worth during the war. The Fleet Air Arm would not see as much service as the United States Navy fliers in the pacific, due to a general lack of British carriers, but would still make its presence known in all naval theaters of the war, as well as contributing crews and aircraft to the defense of Britain as needed.

The German Reich

The Soviet Union

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