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6 - The Knock-Out Blow

September–October 1916

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2021

Daniel Larsen
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

The optimism within the government steadily receded. Some ministers began to grapple with the reality of the failure of British war strategy, while others remained in emphatic denial of their growing US economic problem. Although some within the government remained tempted by the possibility of American mediation, Montagu aimed to offer an alternative way forward, seeking to build new munitions factories. This would enable the Allies to continue the war even after a radical wind-down in their American purchasing. Lloyd George, however, stridently opposed any reductions in their US spending. He also abruptly became a vehement opponent of American mediation when he was shown misleading intelligence that seemed to reveal secret German-American collaboration against the British. Distrusting his colleagues to take appropriate action, Lloyd George moved to kill the possibility of American mediation with a dramatic newspaper interview. Lloyd George committed Britain to an indefinite war until they had landed a 'knock-out blow'. This was popular with Conservatives, but it left his Asquithian colleagues furious and the Americans bewildered and hurt. Grey attempted, with some success, to apply a salve to the wound inflicted on the Americans by publicly promising British support for a league of nations.

Type
Chapter
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Plotting for Peace
American Peacemakers, British Codebreakers, and Britain at War, 1914–1917
, pp. 159 - 187
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • The Knock-Out Blow
  • Daniel Larsen, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Plotting for Peace
  • Online publication: 26 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761833.009
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  • The Knock-Out Blow
  • Daniel Larsen, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Plotting for Peace
  • Online publication: 26 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761833.009
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Knock-Out Blow
  • Daniel Larsen, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Plotting for Peace
  • Online publication: 26 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761833.009
Available formats
×