Keynes, characteristically, hit upon the central point. The dependence of the Entente on the United States was not necessary. Like Germany, the Entente could have tried to fight the war without American resources. But this would have been a very different kind of war than that for which London, Paris and Petrograd had planned in early 1917. London’s decision to lead the Entente toward Wall Street was taken as part of the deliberate high-risk strategy, as part of an all-out effort to deliver the ‘knock-out’ blow.
