British 2nd army ww2

British army ww2 size
Ww2 stories from soldiers
Ww2 british soldiers names

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British Army during the Second World War

At the start of 1939, the British Army was, as it traditionally always had been, a small volunteer professional army. At the beginning of the Second World War on 1 September 1939, the British Army was small in comparison with those of its enemies, as it had been at the beginning of the First World War in 1914. It also quickly became evident that the initial structure and manpower of the British Army was woefully unprepared and ill-equipped for a war with multiple enemies on multiple fronts. During the early war years, mainly from 1940 to 1942, the British Army suffered defeat in almost every theatre of war in which it was deployed.

From late 1942 onwards, starting with the Second Battle of El Alamein, the British Army's fortunes changed and it rarely suffered another defeat. While there are a number of reasons for this shift, not least the entrance of both the Soviet Union and the United States in 1941, as well as the cracking of the Enigma code that same year, an important factor was the stronger British Army. This included better equ

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World War 2 Service Records

It is estimated that between 75 and 80 million people around the world died during World War Two or as a direct result of the conflict. The CWGC commemorates more than 580,000 World War Two Commonwealth casualties at our sites and memorials around the world. Learn more about WW2 records…

Photo: RAF Air Historical

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission does not store the military records for the Second World War. However, you can search the CWGC database for commemoration records of Commonwealth servicemen and women who died during World War Two. Our records include any Commonwealth war casualty who died while in service between the outbreak of war in 1939 and the end of our commemoration period, 31 December 1947.

Our casualty database contains commemoration details about every identified World War Two casualty, and can give you a lot of additional information, such as rank, regiment and honours. Where possible we also include their age, date of birth and next-of-kin information and some casualties also include additional citations where furt

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Military Resources: World War II

NARA Resources

Archives Surviving from World War II
An excerpt copied with permission of the author, Gerhard Weinberg, from his book A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II.

"Buddies: Soldiers and Animals in World War II"
Lisa B. Auel wrote this Prologue article.

Continuing the Fight: Harry S. Truman and World War II
This Truman Library website contains a collection of documents, photographs, and eyewitness accounts concerning the latter stages of World War II.

Day of Infamy Speech
Audio of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's speech to Congress the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

"Getting the Message Out: The Poster Boys of World War II"
Prologue article by Robert Ellis about government-produced posters from World War II.

Holocaust Era Assets
Information about the records and research available in the National Archives and Records Administration regarding Holocaust Era Assets.

Information Concerning Philippine Army and Guerrilla Records
This NARA site gives in-depth information on the collection of records of Wo