Starvation Blockades, The: the Naval Blockades of Ww1

(Hardback)

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During World War 1 Britain and Germany tried to starve each other into submission by naval blockades. Both blockades antagonised the USA. The torpedoing of the Lusitania with the heavy loss of US lives nearly brought America into the war, but when Germany relaxed its U-boat campaign, Britain's continued interference with US trade exasperated the USA. British code-breaking brought about the greatest ever battleship action at Jutland, after which the Kaiser was persuaded to resume the unrestricted U-boat campaign. That, plus German plots revealed by British Naval Intelligence, finally pushed America into war. Even so, in spite of Q-ships, armed freighters, sea-planes and airships, the U-boat campaign nearly bough Britain to her knees before convoys were introduced. With the growing number of German submarines, the scales were evenly balanced until a few months before the end of the war, but ultimately the U-boats were held at bay. As American men and munitions poured across the Atlantic the Allies continued their blockade of the Central Powers, causing terrible suffering for the civilian population.

Author Bio

Nigel Hawkins was educated at Sherboure School, Dorset and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. After national service in the Royal Navy he became a solicitor. He is a published author and a fluent Russian speaker. Now retired to concentrate on his writing he lives in London WC1.