Laurence Fox is an ignorant, spoilt brat.

[longwayoff]

What is wrong with this fool? Apparently in James Delingpole's podcast, heavy sigh, he criticises Sam Mendes for featuring a Sikh soldier in WW1 film. Ever heard of the British Empire, Laurence? How many Indians died for Britain? AIBU to say LF is being deliberately divisive and provocative and evidently doing his own publicity?

The debate is about LF complaining about one Sikh character in a film being historically inaccurate and woke.

There is no difference between other countries sending troops and who was fighting. You are clutching at straws.

There was no Britian alone moment cause it was backed by the Empire.

BoB wasn't a British victory it was an allied one, as there were more than just British pilots.

It's amazing how often posters ignore things that poke holes in their argument. Quite obviously the only other country to have declared war on Nazi Germany was Greece. The rest of Europe had been overrun by the Nazis.

America hadn't joined and neither had the Soviets, as at that point Hitler and Stalin were allies. And France was at that stage an occupied country. There were of course the 'Free French', who served under De Gaul, who was in London during the war.

Yes there would have been troupes from all over the Commonwealth, but they didn't have separate armed forces, they were serving as part of the British army.

Oh dear, what an idiot I am. I meant 'troops' not 'troupes'. I hate spelling mistakes, especially my own.

The Commonwealth did declare war on Germany soon after the UK did. That is a historical fact.

Ask Google when the Commonwealth countries declared war on Germany. See what comes up

What comes up is South Africa and Canada declaring war in 1939 , but these are not 'all' commonwealth countries. Far from it

What we're saying is that the Commonwealth troops would have been called up to serve the then British Empire. They weren't allies, because they didn't form an alliance. So by today's standards, it wasn't Britain standing alone, it was British and Commonwealth forces.

Point taken, @Flaxmeadow I didn't know that. So not all countries of the Commonwealth.

The debate is about LF complaining about one Sikh character in a film being historically inaccurate and woke.

I thought our particular debate was about the BoB.

There is no difference between other countries sending troops and who was fighting. You are clutching at straws.

There is a massive difference.

There was no Britian alone moment cause it was backed by the Empire.

No it was not

BoB wasn't a British victory it was an allied one, as there were more than just British pilots.

You dont seem to understand the difference between men from other countries, in small numbers, joining the RAF, some of who were British nationals, and a government actively sending men.

Your search ignored Australia New Zealand Nepal South Africa Bahrain Canada Oman. Also the fact we controlled a lot if territories included them automatically in the declaration of war

Yes we were backed by the Empire. We controlled it.

I was going to google this man Fox, but I just don't care enough.

Your search ignored Australia New Zealand Nepal South Africa Bahrain Canada Oman.

I have just said South Africa and Canada. But this made no difference to the BoB because the only nations fighting in the BoB were Britain and Germany. A declaration of war is not the same as deploying troops

Also the fact we controlled a lot if territories included them automatically in the declaration of war?

Which ones?

Rather than ask me, why not search for yourself about the Empire and territories in 1939.

The Commonwealth did declare war on Germany soon after the UK did. That is a historical fact.

'commonwealth', like 'empire', is a loose term and open to to many interpretations. It is not a sovereign nation.

You can google all you like to win an internet discussion but it will never make you an historian. Your understanding will always be very limited.

Nope it isn't, you are just filtering the facts to shape your narrative.

There was no Britain alone moment, other troops from other countries were here, air divisions from other countries were here and fighting. The Canadian Airforce fought during the battle of Britain.

Oh and "in small numbers" 20 percent of the pilots from other countries is not small numbers.

Britain didn't stand alone.

Fact.

Google thr commonwealth air training plan. See what comes up

They were not fully trained or involved during the BoB (June 1940 to Oct 1940)

Britain was backed by the Empire, the declaration of war included the Indian Empire, the Crown Colonies and the Protectores.

South African troops didn't serve as part of the British Army. They served as the South African army and indeed navy and air force.

Of course individuals also volunteered to serve in British forces – including the RAF during the Battle of Britain, as posters here know full well from their frantic googling.

South Africa was self-governing in 1939 and declared war on Germany on its own behalf on 6 Sep 1939, three days after the UK did. South African troops were all volunteers, not "called up" even by South Africa, never mind by the UK.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Army

The South African forces were mobilised in mid-1940, ie before and during the Battle of Britain. In practice, their engagements were against German-allied Italian troops, because that's who was in East and North Africa at the time (first action I can see was 11 Jun 1940, bombing raid against Italian troops). The German Afrika Korps arrived in Feb 1941.

So if you want to make some incredibly narrow claim that "the only troops who fought against troops who were under the Nazi swastika during the British version of the dates for the Battle of Britain, 10 July – 31 October 1940, were fighting under the Union Flag," then it's possible you may be able to do so (I don't know about other forces and engagements).

If you're trying to claim "Britain stood alone"... Nope, and seriously insulting to those who volunteered.

BTW, Churchill was under no illusion that the Britain was alone. Strangely, the next few words of his famous speech don't often seem to make the cut.

We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

574 pilots from countries outside the UK are recognised as Battle of Britain pilots 2253 British pilots are recognised. I would say that was a massive contribution

This is a great thread, I'm learning things I didn't know before. Thanks for sharing that part of Churchill's speech, @PerkingFaintly I've certainly never heard that.

I knew that the Battle of Britain had non UK pilots but I didn't realise how many there were.

This thread has shown me how little I know about the history of the war.

Since when was Poland or Czechoslovakia etc part of the empire or commonwealth?

BoB RAF pilots
British 2,353
Polish Republic 141–145
New Zealand 127–13?
Canada 112
Czechoslovakia 84–88
Belgium 28–30
Australia 26–32
South Africa 22–25
Free France 13–14
Ireland 10
United States 9–11
Southern Rhodesia 3–4
Barbados 1
Jamaica 1
Newfoundland 1
Northern Rhodesia 1