The Gambia in World War II The Gambia in World War II During the Second World War (1939–1945), the Gambia was part of the British Empire as the Gambia Colony and Protectorate. At the outbreak of war between the British Empire and Nazi Germany in September 1939, the Gambia was home to the Gambia Company of the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF). There was a risk of Axis invasion of the Gambia due to Senegal being aligned with Vichy France and the failure of the Battle of Dakar. The Gambia Local Defence Volunteers were founded in the war. It was later renamed as the Gambia
Portugal during World War II islands and over the wolfram (tungsten) trade. At the outbreak of World War II, Portugal was ruled by António de Oliveira Salazar, the man who in 1933 had founded the "Estado Novo" ("New State"), the corporatist authoritarian government that ruled Portugal until 1974. Salazar's dislike of the Nazi regime in Germany and its imperial ambitions was tempered only by his view of the German Reich as a bastion against the spread of communism. He had favoured the Spanish nationalist cause, fearing a communist invasion of Portugal, yet he was uneasy at the prospect of a Spanish government bolstered by strong