Cryhavoc101
Donor
It always amazes me that Britain can 'Run out of money' despite a world spanning Trading fleet - that was trading - but Germany (and Aust/Hung) who does not have a world spanning Trading fleet and was being blockaded somehow does not have the same problem (or can somehow ignore the effects of it).
I appreciate that Britain has to retask its industry and build a continental army from scratch but it had largely acheived both by 1916
So can some one explain why Britain is doomed by the lack of US Money while Germany is somehow immune?
My understanding of the situation is that the US loans made things a lot easier for Britain to find the money in order to persecute the war
The main way in which Britain initially raised funds (certainly early in the war) was through the Bank of England leaving the Gold standard and raising Interest Bearing War Loans* + passing a number of acts to prevent 'a run on the banks' ie the Currency and bank Notes act.
Had the US Gov decided to not allow any war loans (ie to pay for US goods, Supplies etc) then I suspect that Britain would have raised further money via the previous means
They were just as likely to eventually default on this as they were the US Loans (as the US government effectively did to their own 'Forth Liberty' War Bonds in 1934).
Now Im not a financial expert but it seems to me that the US Loans were taken because they were there and available and seen as a better alternative at the time.
Had they not been there then the British would have continued to raise the money themselves - and probably been in just as much trouble (as was everyone else) in the early/mid 30s.
*Paid back in 2015!!!!
I appreciate that Britain has to retask its industry and build a continental army from scratch but it had largely acheived both by 1916
So can some one explain why Britain is doomed by the lack of US Money while Germany is somehow immune?
My understanding of the situation is that the US loans made things a lot easier for Britain to find the money in order to persecute the war
The main way in which Britain initially raised funds (certainly early in the war) was through the Bank of England leaving the Gold standard and raising Interest Bearing War Loans* + passing a number of acts to prevent 'a run on the banks' ie the Currency and bank Notes act.
Had the US Gov decided to not allow any war loans (ie to pay for US goods, Supplies etc) then I suspect that Britain would have raised further money via the previous means
They were just as likely to eventually default on this as they were the US Loans (as the US government effectively did to their own 'Forth Liberty' War Bonds in 1934).
Now Im not a financial expert but it seems to me that the US Loans were taken because they were there and available and seen as a better alternative at the time.
Had they not been there then the British would have continued to raise the money themselves - and probably been in just as much trouble (as was everyone else) in the early/mid 30s.
*Paid back in 2015!!!!