Britain, France and the Financing of the First World War

by Horn, Martin

• ISBN13: 9780773522930
• ISBN10: 077352293X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: McGill Queens Univ Pr

Summary

Fighting the First World War consumed lives, material, and money. Millions died; more suffered. By the war's end, the political map of Europe had been redrawn as empires disappeared and new states arose. In Britain, France, and the Financing of the First World War Martin Horn traces the financial contours of the war, which crippled France financially, leaving Britain, itself weakened, to contest international financial leadership with the United States, the principal beneficiary of the war. Horn shows that victory followed not only from the ability to arm and feed mass armies but also from the capacity to raise money. Fighting the war imposed new demands on the belligerents, extending the power of the state and forcing co-operation among allies. Given their long tradition of hostility, adapting to these new realities was a wrenching process for Britain and France. Britain financed the war not only to win but also to preserve its pre-war financial dominance; France financed it to survive and to ensure that the stability of the Third Republic was not threatened.

Author Biography

Martin Horn is associate professor in the Department of History, McMaster University.

Table of Contents

Tables	viii
Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction	3	(4)
Finance, War, and Foreign Policy before 1914	7	(21)
A Short War, 1914-1915	28	(29)
Relations with the United States, 1914-1915	57	(19)
A Long War, 1915-1918	76	(17)
The Debate over Finance and Resources in 1915	93	(24)
The Collapse of France	117	(25)
The Dollar Problem	142	(24)
A New World	166	(17)
Conclusion	183	(4)
Notes	187	(38)
Bibliography	225	(14)
Index	239