![]() ![]() The following month, 5,000 ships entered and exited British ports, with only 21 sunk. Unable to protect themselves if they provoked a war against America, Bethmann-Hollweg demanded that Germany exclude neutral ships from the order. America responded by sending a note to Germany, stating that they would be held responsible for any American ship sunk. However, on February 18th 1915, Germany did announce that it would start a commerce war against any country trading with the UK. ![]() However, with a U-boat fleet that couldn’t cope with such a large campaign and concern for ethics and the rules of war, this didn’t take place. As early as 1915, Admiral von Pohl had wanted neutral shipping in the ‘war zone’ (the English Channel and other waters around the UK) attacked, believing that sinking neutral ships would scare off trade ships. Unfortunately, German’s opinion of its U-boats were overestimated, while concerns that they may anger neutral targets were well-founded. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |