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
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 Bethman-Hollweg
that it would do unrepairable
damage to neutral shipping in enemy
 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 Von
Tirpitz
Warfare.₇
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
d e luof
o 180 sio360
n a lth o u gwere
subs h t. ₁₃ sunk, which
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
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4. Passant, E.J. A Short History of Germany 1815-1945 (Great Britain: Cambridge University Press, 1960), 141.

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http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/ludendorff.htm (accessed April 22, 2009).

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http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/tirpitz.htm (accessed April 22, 2009).

8. Michael Duffy, Who’s Who – Prince Max von Baden, FirstWorldWar.com,

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