German Submarine Warfare 1914-1918 in the Eyes - British Naval ...

counted for something in World War I and Spindler wanted it documented. The
second volume presents the merchant warfare element in elaborate in detail,
including tables and maps. Volume three covers the period from the autumn of
1915 to the New Year of 1917 but is poorly organized. However, merchant
statistics are helpful as well as reliable, e.g. patrols per boat, ships and BRT sunk.
Publication tempo abruptly slowed to a snails pace thereafter. The fourth
volume was printed in 1941 but was not published until 1964. It covers the epochal
period from January to December 1917 and is exact and clear, with all cruises and
sinkings listed in order. The final volume came out in 1966 and wraps up the last
year of the war, from January to October, 1918. There are detailed accounts of
cruises and sinkings redacted from U-boat logbooks. Spindler also makes an effort
to present statistics, but with only partial success. The numbers are confusing,
contradictory, and incomplete. There are sinking numbers per commanding officer
and per boat and year but not per patrol, and there are no numbers detailing patrol
days. Numbers associated with patrol days have to be tabulated individually, page
by page. In all, this is not the most glowing official history ever produced but
considering the context of the mere twenty years that separated the two epic bloodlettings
in human history, we should be grateful that any scholarship at all was
attempted.
We can only speculate why so few details about the German submarine war
were published so late. Britain quashed serious effort because the submarine war
had been so surprisingly successful. The Germans were unenthusiastic because
contrary to all their memoranda, propaganda and public oaths it was not successful
enough. To the contrary, U-boats were the chief reason that brought America into
the war on the side of the Allies. One might even say that the submarines had lost
the war for Germany.
Editor’s perspective
The First World War still fascinates and confounds us. Everything about the
war is super-sized. Arguments about cause and effect abound. Paul Halpern 3 is a
great source for understanding the maritime aspects of the war. John Lambert 4
fascinates with his explanation of the technical revolution in warships, especially
submarines. Joachim Schröder 5 gives us a fine overview on the submarine war as
well as the internal political discussion that prevailed in Germany, using relevant
numbers and charts. In 1968 Stegemann 6 attempted to demonstrate with his
statistical analysis (based on Spindler’s 7 numbers) the debatable view that
unrestricted warfare was no more efficient than restricted warfare. Schroeder also
3 Halpern, Naval History of World War I.
4 Lambert, Sir John Fisher’s Revolution
5 Schroeder, Die U-Boote des Kaisers.
6 Stegemann, U-Boot-Krieg.
7 Spindler, Handelskrieg.
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