U-Boat+Attack,+1916

A U-boat was a submarine invented by the Germans during World War I. It stands for under sea boat. They would secretly attack or raid other ships. They caused a lot of damage during WW1. **__German Submarine warfare__** February 1915 the Germans announced a good way to use submarine warfare called unrestricted submarine warfare. Most people did not use submarine warfare, because they did not have any room to put prisoners or captured weapons and other supplies on the submarines because they were filled with machinery. It became a lot easier to use submarine warfare when they came up with the idea of just sinking enemy ships and everything on it. Germany then declared a war zone around the British-Isles where they would sink any merchant allied ship they would come upon. From February to September fifty ships were hit and one hundred thirty-eight American lives were lost out of a total of one thousand one hundred ninety-eight in the attack of the Lusitania. This attack made Americans really mad, so Germany stopped using U-bout attacks, but only for a little while. Germany started there strategy of unrestricted submarine warfare again, February 1917. German ships not only attacked allied ships this time, but also neutral ships. Germany knew that this would bring America into the war, but they were willing to try it. America joined the war in April, and Great Britain was not doing so well. Germany was trying to starve Britain out of the war. One thousand thirty British merchant ships were su nk and the British people were almost starved. Germany almost succeeded, but the U.S. stopped them.
 * __What is a U-boat__**

__ **The Battle of the Jutland, 1916** __ The battle of Jutland was a naval battle fought between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. The Royal Navy or British navy had an advantage of having more ships than Germany. Even though Britain had an advantage, Germany had a plan of luring the British navy into traps, and they felt they could win using this tactic. General Scheer, a German general, stationed u-boats off of major British naval bases, and then try to get the British out of the harbour and over to the u-boats. They drew the Grand Fleet out by sending battle-cruisers to the skagerrak sea to threaten British patrol and merchant ships. The Grand fleet got the indication that the Germans were preparing for battle and were on their way two and a half hours before the Germans. The Grand Fleet got right by the German U-boats that were waiting for them without being hit once. In the afternoon of May 31 the British sighted their enemy and they opened fire. By the end of the battle both sides claimed that they won. The British said they won because the Germans turned back and did not come back out and fight again. Britain did not follow them because they were afraid of being attacked by u-boats. Germany said they won because they sunk the most battle cruisers. This battle could have gone a lot better if both sides were more aggressive.

__** Convoy System **__ The convoy system was used by allied forces to minimize the amount of u-boat attacks.

"I saw that the bubble-track of the torpedo had been discovered."
 * __ U-boat attack 1916-personal account __**

Adolf K.G.E. von Spiegel commanded a German U-boat during the First World War. He published his memoirs in 1919. Here he describes the attack on a cargo vessel in April 1916.

"The steamer appeared to be close to us and looked colossal. I saw the captain walking on his bridge, a small whistle in his mouth. I saw the crew cleaning the deck forward, and I saw, with surprise and a slight shudder, long rows of wooden partitions right along all decks, from which gleamed the shining black and brown backs of horses."

'Oh heavens, horses! What a pity, those lovely beasts!'

'But it cannot be helped,' I went on thinking. 'War is war, and every horse the fewer on the Western front is a reduction of England's fighting power.' I must acknowledge, however, that the thought of what must come was a most unpleasant one, and I will describe what happened as briefly as possible."

'Stand by for firing a torpedo!' I called down to the control room.'

'FIRE!'

" A slight tremor went through the boat - the torpedo had gone."  A U-boat crew in action, ca. 1916 ||
 * [[image:http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/images/su03.jpg width="258" height="186"]] ||
 * Cramped quarters

"The death-bringing shot was a true one, and the torpedo ran towards the doomed ship at high speed. I could follow its course exactly by the light streak of bubbles which was left in its wake."

"I saw that the bubble-track of the torpedo had been discovered on the bridge of the steamer, as frightened arms pointed towards the water and the captain put his hands in front of his eyes and waited resignedly. Then a frightful explosion followed, and we were all thrown against one another by the concussion, and then, like Vulcan, huge and majestic, a column of water two hundred metres high and fifty metres broad, terrible in its beauty and power, shot up to the heavens."

'Hit abaft the second funnel,' I shouted down to the control room."

"All her decks were visible to me. From all the hatchways a storming, despairing mass of men were fighting their way on deck, grimy stokers, officers, soldiers, groom, cooks. They all rushed, ran, screamed for boats, tore and thrust one another from the ladders leading down to them, fought for the lifebelts and jostled one another on the sloping deck. All amongst them, rearing, slipping horses are wedged. The starboard boats could not be lowered on account of the list; everyone therefore ran across to the port boats, which in the hurry and panic, had been lowered with great stupidity either half full or overcrowded. The men left behind were wringing their hands in despair and running to and fro along the decks; finally they threw themselves into the water so as to swim to the boats."

"Then - a second explosion, followed by the escape of white hissing steam from all hatchways and scuttles. The white steam drove the horses mad. I saw a beautiful long-tailed dapple-grey horse take a mighty leap over the berthing rails and land into a fully laden boat. At that point I could not bear the sight any longer, and I lowered the periscope and dived deep."



[] [|http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/sub.htmhttp://www.worldwar1.com/]

[]

[]

[]

[]

By: Louisa Kerrigan