German Submarine Warfare 1914-1918 in the Eyes - British Naval ...
German Submarine Warfare 1914-1918 in the Eyes - British Naval ...
German Submarine Warfare 1914-1918 in the Eyes - British Naval ...
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“We are go<strong>in</strong>g to have a new <strong>British</strong> tradition, and a new <strong>British</strong> doctr<strong>in</strong>e, that <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong> fleet is to<br />
rema<strong>in</strong> <strong>in</strong> harbour because <strong>the</strong> fleet is <strong>in</strong> danger at sea! ... Nelson would turn <strong>in</strong> his grave...” 20<br />
But even if <strong>the</strong> <strong>German</strong> High Seas Fleet sortied: “Georges Clemencau once remarked that<br />
if <strong>the</strong> <strong>British</strong> destroyed <strong>the</strong> <strong>German</strong> Navy it ‘would make a nice hole <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> water’ but would not<br />
w<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> war.” 21<br />
The World Merchant Fleet <strong>1914</strong><br />
Table 3: Merchant Tonnage <strong>in</strong> summer <strong>1914</strong> 22<br />
US<br />
6%<br />
KuK<br />
2%<br />
DE<br />
10%<br />
NO<br />
4%<br />
NL<br />
3%<br />
SV<br />
2%<br />
UK<br />
50%<br />
World merchant tonnage <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> summer of <strong>1914</strong> was around 42.4 Million<br />
BRT. <strong>German</strong>y’s merchant navy with 4.4 Million BRT was second only to Brita<strong>in</strong>’s<br />
20.8 Million BRT. Russia, Italy, Japan and France - <strong>the</strong> Allies - had merchant fleets<br />
totall<strong>in</strong>g about 6.4M BRT. The Austro-Hungarian Empire’s merchant fleet stood at<br />
about one Million BRT. Important neutrals like <strong>the</strong> United States, Norway,<br />
Sweden, <strong>the</strong> Ne<strong>the</strong>rlands along with <strong>the</strong> rest of <strong>the</strong> world’s merchant fleet<br />
possessed some 9.8 Million BRT. Most of <strong>the</strong> <strong>German</strong> merchant vessels were<br />
<strong>in</strong>terned at <strong>the</strong> outbreak of war <strong>in</strong> neutral countries. (Two and a half million BRT<br />
of <strong>in</strong>terned <strong>German</strong> vessels were confiscated dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> war and converted to serve<br />
as Allied re<strong>in</strong>forcements.)<br />
This world merchant fleet consisted of over 22,000 vessels with more than<br />
100 BRT. Only 8,000 ocean-go<strong>in</strong>g vessels from 1,600 BRT upward, result<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong><br />
35M BRT, were <strong>the</strong> core of <strong>the</strong> oceanic merchant traffic, while <strong>the</strong> rest<strong>in</strong>g 14,000<br />
vessels were used <strong>in</strong> coastal and cont<strong>in</strong>ental waters, distribut<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> overseas<br />
20 Lambert, Fisher’s Revolution, p. 165<br />
21 Still, Crisis, p. 77.<br />
22 Salter, Allied Shipp<strong>in</strong>g Control, pp. 7-8.<br />
Rest<br />
8%<br />
FR<br />
5%<br />
JP<br />
4%<br />
IT<br />
4%<br />
RU<br />
2%<br />
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