Basil Zaharoff - World War I

World War I

In the years immediately preceding World War I Zaharoff’s fortunes grew in other areas to support his arms business. By purchasing the Union Parisienne Bank (which was traditionally associated with heavy industry) he was better able to control financing arrangements. By gaining control of the daily newspaper, Excelsior, he could be assured of editorials favorable to the arms industry. To gain public recognition and honours he set up a retirement home for French sailors, while a chair in aerodynamics at the University of Paris gave him the rank of an officer. On July 31, 1914, coincidentally the same day that the noted antimilitarist Jean Jaurès was assassinated, Raymond Poincaré signed a decree making Zaharoff a commander of the Legion of Honour.

In March 1914, Vickers announced the coming of a new era of prosperity. During the course of the war Vickers would produce 4 ships of the line, 3 cruisers, 53 submarines, 3 auxiliary vessels, 62 light vessels, 2,328 cannon, 8,000,000 tonnes of steel ordnance, 90,000 mines, 22,000 torpedoes, 5,500 airplanes and 100,000 machine guns. By 1915, Zaharoff had close ties with both David Lloyd George and Aristide Briand. It is reported that, on the occasion of one visit with Briand, Zaharoff quietly left an envelope on Aristide Briand’s desk; the envelope contained a million francs for war widows.

One of Zaharoff’s tasks during the war was to ensure that Greece became involved in the war on the Allied side, helping to reinforce the eastern front. On the surface, this seemed impossible since King Constantine was himself a brother-in-law to the Kaiser. Setting up a press agency in Greece to spread news favorable to the allies led, within a few months, to Constantine’s being deposed in favour of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos.

With the end of World War I, The Times estimated that Zaharoff had sacrificed £50 million for the Allied cause.)