Title Wealth of an empire : the treasure shipments that saved Britain and the world / Robert Switky

Edition First edition Published Washington, D.C. : Potomac Books, [2013]

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Description 1 online resource (xiii, 247 pages) Contents Shoring Up Support -- For the Sake of the Realm -- Seeking Refuge from the Storm -- Gold and the Phony War -- Thin Armor -- Into the Furnace of the War -- Living from Hour to Hour -- Keeping Mum -- Taking Fearful Risks -- Britain's Most Valuable Convoy -- Clearing the Decks in Halifax -- Speculation -- Credit -- Appendix 1 : Code Names and Nicknames -- Appendix 2 : Tracking Ships and Shipments Summary This book tells the dramatic true story of a top-secret mission that changed the course of World War II: Great Britain's shipment of virtually its entire treasury across the treacherous waters of the North Atlantic to safety in the United States and Canada. Had the Germans captured or sunk the treasure-laden ships, the war could have been lost more than eighteen months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The British government authorized this immensely risky and long-running operation not only because of the obvious danger that Germany's rising militancy posed but also because of the isolationist sentiment that permeated both American society and Congress. America's refusal to sell arms and other goods without payment up front left Britain little choice but to mount this daring operation. Only a few banking, political, and military leaders were responsible for the complicated logistical and security procedures that were designed to safeguard the transfer of both gold and financial securities to North America. Although the special shipments were initially of relatively modest value, the strategic imperative changed dramatically when Germany threatened to invade Britain in the summer of 1940. Fearing that Britain's wealth might fall into German hands, in an audacious yet visionary decision, newly-installed prime minister Winston Churchill authorized the evacuation of nearly all of Britain's liquid assets. This book sheds new light on this underexplored aspect of Britain's wartime history Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-234) and index Notes Print version record Subject World War, 1939-1945 -- Economic aspects -- Great Britain World War, 1939-1945 -- Naval operations, British Naval convoys -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century Bank reserves -- Great Britain -- History -- 20th century HISTORY -- Europe -- Western. Bank reserves Economics International economic relations Naval convoys SUBJECT Great Britain -- Foreign economic relations -- United States United States -- Foreign economic relations -- Great Britain Subject Great Britain United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2013013185 ISBN 9781612344973 1612344976

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