A Strategic Analysis of Germany's 1917 Unrestricted Submarine Warfare Campaign

Abstract

This essay analyzes Germany's decision to employ unrestricted submarine warfare against British commerce in 1917. After three years of fighting, World War I was a stalemate. Germany's intent was to eliminate Great Britain, tip the balance in favor of the Central Powers, and bring a swift end to the war of attrition. Counterproductively, the campaign drew the United States into the war on the side of the Allies and ultimately led to Germany's defeat. Despite the eventual outcome, this essay will build the case that unrestricted submarine warfare was the best military strategy available to Germany at that time and that the campaigns failure was a product of shortcomings at levels.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 04, 2021
Accession Number
AD1144832

Entities

People

  • Nathan A. Greenwood

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Alliances
  • Boats
  • Commerce
  • Cyber Warfare
  • First World War
  • Information Operations
  • Military Strategy
  • Naval Warfare
  • Navy
  • New York
  • Ships
  • Strategic Analysis
  • Submarine Warfare
  • Submarines
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • Maritime and Naval Warfare Studies
  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies