Why did the Germans wait until it was too late to reinstate their unrestricted submarine warfare in WWI?
score:13
Plainly: Fear of American retaliation, and entry to the war.
Why? Because the US very nearly entered the war in 1915 in retaliation for the sinking of Lusitania; Only Germany's pull-back from unrestricted submarine warfare kept the US out for two more years (or at least such was believed in German high command:
A German decision on 9 September 1915 stated that attacks were only allowed on ships that were definitely British, while neutral ships were to be treated under the Prize Law rules, and no attacks on passenger liners were to be permitted at all.[66][67]
It was in the interests of the British to keep US passions inflamed, and a fabricated story was circulated that in some regions of Germany, schoolchildren were given a holiday to celebrate the sinking of Lusitania. This story was so effective that James W. Gerard, the US ambassador to Germany, recounted it in his memoir of his time in Germany, Face to Face with Kaiserism (1918), though without substantiating its validity.[68]
Almost two years later, in January 1917 the German Government announced it would again conduct full unrestricted submarine warfare. This together with the Zimmermann Telegram pushed US public opinion over the tipping point, and on 6 April 1917 the United States Congress followed President Wilson's request to declare war on Germany.[69]
see more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lusitania
Upvote:1
Basically, it was a race between the effects of unrestricted submarine warfare (USW) and U.S. intervention (USI).
If USW had been instituted earlier, the Germans would have come closer to starving out Britain. But USI would also have happened earlier, with the U.S. providing more food to Britain, and soldiers on the Western front earlier.
Given that the Germans did not come as close to winning the war by starving out Britain as by the 1918 "superoffensive," a case could be made that USW was resumed too early. If it had been deferred until say, early 1918, maybe the Americans would have been ready to arrive in France in force only in 1919, after the Germans won the war in 1918.
Upvote:1
The U-boat of WWI was not nearly the weapon that it became in the next war. Holger Herwig documented the limitations of the U-boat in his book The First World War: Germany and Austria-Hungary 1914-1918. U-boats were primitive and prone to various failures. The means of radio communication with a submerged vessel were still underdeveloped. Germany had no answer for the convoy.
The Germans did not have the resources to fight a two-front war and build an effective submarine fleet. In 1917 they were only able to keep at most 30 subs on station west of Britain at any time.
The German U-boat did not threaten the British lifelines. Herwig documents the countermeasures that Britain implemented, including rationing and setting insurance rates to prevent a breakdown in world maritime trade.
Upvote:3
The US ultimatum threatened war unless Unrestricted submarine warfare was abandoned.
A war can be won either by crashing an opponent on the battlefield or by strangling it economically. Submarine warfare is the strangulation approach. I.e., when applying it, one has to calculate long term effects. The pro of unrestricted submarine warfare is a better blockade of Britain (and France). The contra is the addition of the resources of the USA to the already formidable combination of Britain, France and Russia.
The German General Staff decided that in 1915 the costs were larger than the benefits.
More post
- 📝 At what age did samurai children start going into battles in the Sengoku era?
- 📝 When did people start saying about the US that "it's a free country"?
- 📝 Why was PTSD not written about as much before the 20th century?
- 📝 Do we know if Patton ever said "l'audace l'audace toujours l'audace"?
- 📝 How did the Weygand Line collapse so quickly?
- 📝 Why did Russia give up its claims to the Oregon Country?
- 📝 How much gold did humans possess by century starting with Neolithic?
- 📝 When and why was Seleucia ultimately abandoned?
- 📝 Why does the US have many top-level web domains?
- 📝 Elevated walkway in background at 1980s Potsdamer Platz seen in Wim Wenders' film “Der Himmel über Berlin”
- 📝 Why are the signatures on the United States Declaration of Independence structured as they are?
- 📝 Who titled the works of Aristotle?
- 📝 Is it really true that more high-ranking Nazis died in Tatra cars than in combat?
- 📝 Was the 35 year age minimum chosen for US president roughly equal to the average life expectancy for a reason?
- 📝 Did Nazi Party members fight on the front lines?
- 📝 Why has Iran's GDP shrunk over the last three decades?
- 📝 Were African-American slaves forced to reproduce under the assumption of artificial selection?
- 📝 After the 1947 India Partition, why did Sikhs & Hindus fleeing Pakistan travel to Delhi rather than stay in Amritsar?
- 📝 What is the current consensus on the origins of the Brahmi script?
- 📝 Why did people die for their religion in the 400s CE (or even now)?
- 📝 Why did the Ballahoo and Cuckoo-class schooners earn a bad reputation?
- 📝 Has history mistreated Nero?
- 📝 When was the last time that the U.S. as a country, state, or city was occupied by foreign troops?
- 📝 Is Bulgaria the only country in modern history to have gained territory after being on the losing side of a war?
- 📝 Are there wars still going on, but officially ended? (found two)
- 📝 Early instances of bacteriological warfare
- 📝 What was the available level of agricultural technology in late 2nd century China?
- 📝 Did any British working class men have the vote before 1918?
- 📝 Why did Nebuchadnezzar keep King Jeconiah alive?
- 📝 Was Wilhelm II aware of the Franco-Russian Military Convention 1892?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why did the Germans wait until it was too late to reinstate their unrestricted submarine warfare in WWI?
- 📝 Why did South Carolina continue to select their Presidential Electors by legislative choice until after the Civil War?
- 📝 In the 1920's, why did the German government fire working women if their husband was employed?
- 📝 Why did mass production have to wait until the Industrial Revolution?
- 📝 Why did Hitler attack the Soviet Union when he was still busy fighting the United Kingdom?
- 📝 Why did archery not make a comeback when armor was phased out in the 18th century?
- 📝 Why did the Germans spare Allied troops trapped at Dunkirk?
- 📝 Why did Europe not see Roman-era numbers of men participating in battles until the 17th century?
- 📝 Why did the Germans use the Enigma machine rather than the far superior "Lorenz" cipher machine?
- 📝 Why did the Soviet Union name their strongest bomb Tsar Bomba?
- 📝 Why did Lincoln wait to issue the Emancipation Proclamation?
- 📝 Given their reputation for fighting to the last man in the Pacific, why did 700,000 Japanese troops surrender in Manchuria?
- 📝 Historically, why did the US station their nuclear weapons in Germany for delivery through German pilots?
- 📝 Why did Germany not join the United Nations until 1973?
- 📝 Why did Jodrell Bank assist the Soviet Union to collect data from their spacecraft in the mid 1960's?
- 📝 Why did US Navy WW2 torpedoes detonate at the end of their run?
- 📝 Why did quill pens persist until the early 19th century despite the capacity to make metal dip pens?
- 📝 Why did the Germans not encircle and besiege Stalingrad?
- 📝 Why were battles massed until the late 1800s?
- 📝 Why did piracy thrive in the late 17th and early 18th centuries?
- 📝 Why did the German air force lose experienced pilots faster than the Allies, even though they were defending their home airspace?
- 📝 Why did the Arabs start the 1973 War during Ramadan, and did it affect their performance?
- 📝 Why did the Germans forbid the possession of pet pigeons in Rostov-on-Don in 1941?
- 📝 Why did it take so long for the Germans to develop the first tank model in World War I?
- 📝 Why did families in 6th century Mecca send their babies to be raised in the desert?
- 📝 If salt was scarce and expensive, how did people "salt the earth" to ensure their enemies would stay defeated?
- 📝 After the fall of the Roman Empire, where did their armor go? Was it used by any dark ages forces?
- 📝 During World War I, why were church bells stopped until the war was over?
- 📝 Why did the Mayflower leave so late in the year?
- 📝 Why did the Ottomans not change their capital to an Arab city?