still paying off £50million in reparations following World War One

[Scott Powell]

Yes the causes are complex. Belgium could have allowed German forces to cross their country un molested but they chose not to. That was Belgium's choice not Germany's. T

Germany invaded Belgium to attack France but Belgium had the choice not to take part. They chose war rather then diplomatic solutions as the Germans were engaged in diplomatic talks with the Belgians for free passage and were offering Belgium incentives. But whatever that was the right of the Belgiums and their call to make.


W.

This has to be the most uninformed absurd post i have ever read ,not only on this forum but the ENTIRE web.
congrats, that's quite a feat

[Don D.]

We could what if things forever. Like what if the Germans hadn't decided to build up the High Seas Fleet to rival Britian's naval dominance? The Kaiser was related to the British Royal Family and this act served to alienante him from them. Had he not done that then britian would not have made a treaty with its ancient enemy, France.

[Gary Jucha]

Follows the

Seems to correspond to the following logic !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_l5ntikaU

Gary J.

[PlaceOfBayonets]

This has to be the most uninformed absurd post i have ever read ,not only on this forum but the ENTIRE web.
congrats, that's quite a feat

If you were un aware of the diplomatic side of the Belgium question it's you who is not well informed. The terms were harsh but Belgium still did not have to fight a war.

Read up on it yourself if you think I am making this up. Just because school text boobks make no mention of it does not mean it was not so recorded as history.

W.

[Finnishlion178]

Well, one thing was for sure. Had Queen Victoria still been alive, things could had played out differently but then you get into maybes and ifs.

Don, as far as Pearl Habor goes. There are things that could had been done differently, to keep the Japanese from attacking the U.S. Also the Australians had been watching the Japanese the whole time and they were sending messages to the U.S. about the IJN movements.

Really, I can see both sides of the coin . Then again, one cannot really blame Belguim. They had to mobilized before during the Franco-Prussian War, even known they did not join. Also, I guess they were a little fearful of France coming down on them for letting German troops use Belgium as a path to attack France. Really, Belguim was in between a rock and a hard place. No matter what they decided, it could had ended badly for them.

[Oiva]

War debts

Well Gents; Finland, that little country with few people, has paid its WAR DEBT! Regards, Oiva

[prussian.guard]

the funniest topic i think i have read on this forum.britain started ww1 i find that absurd.

[Mat Holloway]

Now if we could only get the UK to pay the billions in war debt they still owe the US from WW1. And from WW2 for that matter. They just finished paying back what they borrowed AFTER the war to rebuild their economy, they haven't started paying the war loans yet.
Steve

interesting that as other countries still owe britain as well! Was the ww2 debt not the total amount as it was only started to be paid at the wars end. Now if russia honoured what it was due to pay it may well drag america out of its economic troubles

[prussian.guard]

Now if we could only get the UK to pay the billions in war debt they still owe the US from WW1. And from WW2 for that matter. They just finished paying back what they borrowed AFTER the war to rebuild their economy, they haven't started paying the war loans yet.
Steve

Britain owed the US $4.4bn of World War I debt (about £866m at 1934 exchange rates).

Britain is the only country to pay off the debt from ww2

[paddywhack]

Britain owed the US $4.4bn of World War I debt (about £866m at 1934 exchange rates).

Britain is the only country to pay off the debt from ww2

as has been said Finland paid it all off to!!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4757181.stm

[SIGNALMAN]

Why not have the Debtors send a ton of money to Haiti for humanitarian reasons, and call it a wash !

[Simon O.]

As we're off into cloud cuckoo land..

continental Europe owes Britain big time for both wars. We didn't have to get involved at all, but as our role at the time was worlds policeman, similar to the US today, we felt it our duty to fight. WWII, as is well known we could have just sat back and let Germany have it's way and had Halifax become PM instead of WC, that might have happened. but no, we chose to fight and in the process it made us bankrupt. As far as economics and world power goes, Britain came off very badly out of the war. The US on the other hand profitted enormously from it and the post-war reconstruction, launching the country to be the worlds main superpower of the postwar period.

[Theodor]

But wasn't that the trigger, which made a limited conflict into a World War and a massacre of highest grade? After all, it could be just another of the many wars between Germany and France, short and easy so to say. But Britain just had to send its forces in Europe and make a hell out of the war, making a short conflict last 5 bloody years! For sure not to save France because of France itself, but rather fear of a stronger Germany and an attempt to protect the Empire, sucking blood from all around the globe. But the civilization develops in such a way, that the world empire was doomed already and the that war actually helped it collapse, rather than strengthen. Or the false US neutrality, hostile from the beginning against Germany /without the US help and funds both France and Britain would face hard times/ but at the end playing attacked innocent and openly attacking the Central powers. Just IMO, feel free to disagree

[prussian.guard]

but Hitler would have attacked the soviet union anyway.Hitler wanted peace with Britain as he knew it would be one hard fight to invade and win.if Britain had not of stood up to Hitler there would be no springboard to launch an attack from.after Britain and Russia the usa would have been next on the hitlist.don't get me wron the usa helped out big time but had it not been for britain standing up to hitler where would we be now.

[PlaceOfBayonets]

Is there any documentation to support a theory that Germany would have gone to war with the United States after securing all of west and east Europe? I know there is a Nazi March Song about today Germany tomorrow the world but really that was just one song writers sentiment and a song does not make for national policey in Germany or anywhere else.

W.