Unrestricted Submarine Warfare2

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare By: Jessie Carroll Kevin Russell

What does unrestricted submarine warfare mean? o Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink any ships in the waters without warning.₁ This meant even neutral ships or merchant ships, which caused an uproar among uninvolved nations. This tactic was announced on February 1st , 1917 by Germany.₂

Maps indicating updated war zones: Shaded region represents Germany ’ s warzone in 1917 .

Arrows indicate major sinking before 1915

America Joins the War o When Germany had announced unrestricted submarine warfare they feared that it would provoke the Americans. It had a large impact on WWI and it was one of America’s main reasons for joining the war.₃ After sinking the Lusitania, the Germans made a list of conditions they would follow pertaining to the sinking of neutral ships. Following the announcement of Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, the US

Significant People o Erich Lundendorff was the Chief if Staff of the German army and along with Paul Von Hindenburg they were both strong supporters of unrestricted submarine warfare. Lundendorff was convinced that war could not be won on land alone. He was ultimately responsible for bringing the USA into the war.₅ o Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg on the other hand was strongly against the idea of unrestricted submarine warfare. He pointed out that it would do unrepairable damage to neutral shipping in enemy

Lundendorff

Bethman-Hollweg

Significant People Continued o Alfred von Tirpitz was the State Secretary during the war for Nazi Germany. He was responsible for developing the German navy fleet to a position in which it could challenge the British Navy. He was a strong advocate for Unrestricted Submarine Warfare.₇

Von Tirpitz

o o Prince Max von Baden was an imperial chancellor from Germany and was firmly opposed to unrestricted submarine warfare. He “Instigated in any event the policy ultimately proved

Von Baden

Why Unrestricted Submarine Warfare? o It was to achieve the purely military objective by increasing the security and efficiency of submarines.₉ o Before it was initiated, experts believed 600 000 tons of English shipping would be sunk monthly. With this amount of supplies being lost, the idea was that England’s economy would be crippled within six months, English government would be oS uforced b m a rinto e ssurrender.₁₀ w e re th e u ltim a te w a y to sta rve yo u r o p p o sitio n e co n o m ica lly. T h e y cu t o ff th e ir su p p lie rs va stly. ₁₁

Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Facts oIn th e q u a rte r o f A p rilto Ju n e 1 9 1 7 , o ve r tw o

m illio n to n s o f A llie d S h ip p in g w e re lo st. ₁₂ oG e rm a n y b e lie ve d th a t o f th e tw o n a va la sp e cts o f th e w a r, u n d e rn e a th th e w a te r w a s m o st im p o rta n t. T h e y b e lie ve d th e y co u ld w in th e w a r w ith su b m a rin e s a lo n e . T h is w a s a o 180 d e luof sio360 n a lth o u gwere h t. ₁₃ sunk, which subs broke the moral of the submarine crews.₁₄ o Geographically, Britain had the advantage on Germany, since the naval routes had to pass by Britain.₁₅ o 1 in 4 boats from Britain were sunk

Combating Unrestricted Submarine Warfare o A way of defending allied ships from unrestricted submarine warfare was the convoy system. The convoy system was a method that the Allies came up with to defend their merchant ships. It allowed defenseless ships to travel together along with a warship escort. This system was implemented in May of 1917. 80% of ships in the war used the convoy system.₁₇ The convoy system at work.

Bibliograph y

1. Encyclopædia Britannica, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/618408/unrestricted-submarine-warfare (accessed April 17, 2009). 2. Encyclopædia Britannica, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/618408/unrestricted-submarine-warfare (accessed April 17, 2009). 3. Vogt, Hannah. The Burden of Guilt; A Short History of Germany 1914-1945. (USA. University of Oxford Press, 1976), 21. 4. Passant, E.J. A Short History of Germany 1815-1945 (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1960), 141. 5. Michael Duffy, Who’s Who – Erich Ludendorff, FirstWorldWar.com, http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/ludendorff.htm (accessed April 22, 2009). 6. Michael Duffy, Who’s Who – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg FirstWorldWar.com, http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/bethmann.htm (accessed April 22, 2009). 7. Michael Duffy, Who’s Who – Alfred von Tirpitz, FirstWorldWar.com, http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/tirpitz.htm (accessed April 22, 2009). 8. Michael Duffy, Who’s Who – Prince Max von Baden, FirstWorldWar.com, http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/maxvonbaden.htm (accessed April 23, 2009). 9. Dill, Marshall Jr. Germany. (USA: University of Michigan, 1961), 226. 10. Passant, E.J. A Short History of Germany 1815-1945 (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1960), 141. 11. Passant, E.J. A Short History of Germany 1815-1945 (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1960), 141. 12. Passant, E.J. A Short History of Germany 1815-1945 (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1960), 141. 13. Chris Trueman, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, historylearningsite.co.uk, http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/unrestricted_submarine_warfare.htm (accessed April 17, 2009). 14. Vogt, Hannah. The Burden of Guilt; A Short History of Germany 1914-1945. (USA. University of Oxford 