German U-boats were once the terror of the high seas, and this was true during both world wars. In the First World War, this campaign had much to do with the eventual American entry into the war. But we tend to associate these campaigns with the Second World War, which will probably continue to enjoy more glory than the first one ever did. And, in truth, the Battle of the Atlantic really was quite important. We thus tend to associate the phrase “Battle of the Atlantic” with World War Two, and describe its World War One equivalent simply as the “Atlantic U-boat campaign.” (When using the generic phrase “U-boat campaign,” though, this can also include the lesser-known “Mediterranean U-boat campaign.”) But in a broader sense, the First World War version was also a “Battle of the Atlantic,” and was vitally important in its own right. It was the lifeline of Allied Europe during the Great War, and (as mentioned earlier) played a big role in getting America to enter the war. This post will describe the U-boat front of the Great War, with a particular focus on the changing role of the Americans in this campaign. But I assure readers from other countries that I will tie in our own situation to that of our many allies, since it affected every other nation that participated in these campaigns – as readers may soon see, if they indeed decide to read this post.
German U-boats at Kiel (before the war started), 1914
Comments on the two different U-boat theatres, and who was involved in them
There were aircraft carriers during World War One, and they were actually used therein – albeit on a somewhat limited scale. But on the surface of the ocean, this was the age of the battleship, including the dreadnought – with a lesser (but nonetheless important) role for destroyers and cruisers as well. As far as submarines go, some would argue that the history of submarines goes back to the Peloponnesian War in Ancient Greece. (More about that here.) In the nineteenth century, the concept was further popularized by the French writer Jules Verne, in his novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.” Alternatively, this has been translated from the French as “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” But in the First World War, the effective military use of submarines was still a comparatively recent development. The war was preceded by a general arms race, particularly a naval arms race between Britain and Germany. When the war began, the German strategy was to try and starve the Allies into submission – primarily via U-boats. Part of this involved trying to starve the British, as they would later do in the Second World War. But there was a difference in the First World War, which was simply the ongoing involvement and full participation of the French army and navy. Starving the French would thus prove somewhat harder, since France had both an Atlantic and a Mediterranean coastline. Thus, the French were involved in both of these naval theatres from the beginning. Other targets of German naval assault included Belgium and Holland to the north – and, to a lesser degree, the pro-British Italians to the south. For geographic reasons, the Italians focused their naval involvement on the Mediterranean theatre – as did their enemies in Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Some of these Axis nations tried to starve out the Italians in similar ways. Like the French fleets, though, the British fleets were involved in both of these theatres from the beginning, as were the Australian fleet and the New Zealand fleet. The Canadians, for similar geographic reasons, focused their naval involvement on the Atlantic theatre – just as the Americans later would, when they got involved in this war. (But I’m getting ahead of myself here.) The Germans were likewise involved in both theaters from the beginning, and in other parts of the naval war.
Sinking of the RMS Lusitania, 1915
How the sinking of the RMS Lusitania affected the war in the Atlantic
But from the beginning, the Americans actually wanted to help the Allies. Relatively few Americans wanted to send troops or combat ships at this point, but most wanted to send some food and weapons to Western Europe. Some historians have referred to this policy as “neutrality with a tilt,” and this seems to me to be a pretty accurate description. From the beginning, this American support was a source of some frustration for the Germans. Thus, the Germans initially favored a policy of “unrestricted submarine warfare” – targeting any non-German ship in the Atlantic that they suspected to be carrying supplies for Western Europe. They probably thought that this would “deter” the Americans from even this limited scale of involvement. But when the Germans sank the RMS Lusitania in 1915, it almost had the opposite effect. That is, the Americans were outraged. It turned out that the Lusitania was indeed carrying weapons to Western Europe, which was a violation of the rules that were then classifying this British ship as a neutral ship. But the Americans nonetheless (rightly) saw the Germans as “aggressive bullies,” and believed this to be a violation of their own rights to the high seas. The deaths of 128 Americans on board also angered the United States. Many Americans, including the former president Theodore Roosevelt, then wanted the United States to declare war on the Germans … right then and there. But the sitting president at that time was Woodrow Wilson, who was reluctant to get involved very much at this early stage. Nonetheless, even Wilson was concerned about the sinking of the Lusitania. Thus, he warned Germany that it would face strict accountability if it continued its policy of “unrestricted submarine warfare.” The Germans quickly decided that avoiding a war with America was more in their interest than “unrestricted submarine warfare.” Thus, the policy was withdrawn – for the time being, at least.
German U-boat U-14
The Allies adapt themselves to Wilson’s compromise, as trouble brews in Mexico
This was still a partial victory for the Allies in Western Europe, because it made it easier for the Americans to send supplies to them. It also made it easier for their ships to protect themselves by feigning neutrality, and engaging the Germans in battle only at more convenient moments. But the Allies must still have been frustrated by the American refusal to get fully involved, even if their lifeline to North America remained open at this time. Thus, they hoped to get America fully involved at a later time. In the meantime, they made the most of Wilson’s problematic compromise, and American supplies continued to find their way across the Atlantic to Western Europe. At the time, the sinking of the Lusitania had little effect on the fighting in the Atlantic, but it became very important later on. It was events on America’s southern border that would start to change things in the Atlantic. That is, Mexico was then embroiled in its Great Revolution. There were a number of incidents at the border that then concerned American citizens, and the Americans even deployed some troops to Mexico in the famous “Pancho Villa expedition.” Such was the American concern over the events in Mexico.
Image from America’s “Pancho Villa expedition” – Mexico, 1916
Germany then sends the Zimmermann Telegram, causing America to enter the war
The Germans thus chose this moment to send the Zimmermann Telegram, a secret telegram to the Mexican government. It proclaimed the Germans’ intention to resume the “unrestricted submarine warfare” policy. But, even more provocatively, it declared that in the event of rupture with America, “Mexico [was] to reconquer the lost territory” in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. If the telegram had remained secret, I suppose that the war might have gone very differently for the Allies. But British Intelligence actually intercepted the telegram, and had other ideas about what to do with it. They then handed the telegram to the American government, hoping that the resulting American outrage over the telegram would convince the United States to enter the war on their side. And this, as it turned out, is exactly what happened: The United States officially entered the war on the British side, with no more half-measures. This had important consequences for the Atlantic U-boat campaign, as the American navy was thrown into the fight. In other ways, it also had important effects on the land part of the war – and, in particular, on the Western Front, which American troops soon entered in large numbers. The American entry also freed up more British and French ships for the Mediterranean U-boat campaign (and other parts of the naval war), and helped to feed and further arm the Allied nations that were involved in the fighting in Western Europe.
Austro-Hungarian dreadnought sunk in the Mediterranean, 1918
Other parts of the naval war, including the U-boat campaign in the Mediterranean
For the sake of acknowledging the Mediterranean U-boat campaign, this had earlier involved an amphibious landing on the (Ottoman) Turkish coast of Gallipoli – which proved disastrous for the British, ANZAC, and French troops in that operation. Thus, the troops were eventually withdrawn by the Allied navies involved there. This had also included some other operations against the Ottoman Turks to support the Middle East’s Mesopotamian campaign, and its later Sinai and Palestine campaign. Nonetheless, the Allies tended to experience more success at sea than they did on land. There was also the Battle of Jutland, in the North Sea – another part of this forgotten naval war. There were also operations in the English Channel, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Adriatic Sea, and even the distant Persian Gulf – where the Persian campaign was then going on (also a part of the Middle Eastern theatre). But these campaigns all contributed much to the eventual outcome of the war. The war’s end still had some unresolved issues, which would eventually lead to the Second World War – with further conflicts in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, as well as other parts of the world. But the First World War could have gone very differently than it did for the Allies, especially at sea. Thus, we have reason to be glad that the Allies experienced as much success as they did, even if this joy is tempered by some other aspects of how the war would ultimately turn out.
Battle of Jutland, 1916 – which was in the North Sea
An epilogue about World War Two, and the later ballistic missile nuclear submarines
Since the Second World War, many world navies have given a central role to aircraft carriers. And submarines were later employed by both sides in the Second World War. Today, the seas are patrolled by nuclear submarines, some of which carry nuclear missiles for a very different kind of war. These are especially used by the United States, Russia, China, and (to a lesser extent) North Korea. But, since 1945, the seas have never since experienced any shooting war like the U-boat campaigns of the Great War, or the analogous campaigns of the Second World War. Thus, one hopes that massive campaigns of that kind will never again happen on the high seas, and that future interactions at sea will involve more scientific research and peaceful trade – as they mostly do today. I should note that submarines have also been used for peaceful endeavors, including the crossing of the North Pole in 1958. The public is interested in both peaceful and military uses of submarines, and this will probably continue for years to come.
“We [the German government] intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.”
– Zimmermann Telegram (1917), one of the events that led to the American entry into World War One
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