The U Boat Threat A blockage simply stops something getting through. In the case of World War I, blockades were set up to restrict the amount of supplies getting through to enemies ports. In earlier history surface ships simply blocking ships entering or leaving a port did this. 2. Unrestricted submarine warfare was set up in February 1915. It meant that any vessel heading for an English port would be fired upon. This was because it was thought that some ships carrying food were also carrying supplies for the war effort. 2 b. As the Germans could not break the British Naval blockade in the North Sea on German ports, they turned to using submarines to starve the British into submission, by destroying Allied shipping carrying food and raw material. Source 4 shows that the German Admiral Tirpitz thought that by also blockading our supplies, Britain would face a similar situation as their country. 3. The chart is source 2 shows three main points. Firstly, the graph starts at only 0.3 million tons of Allied shipping loss. This rises gradually due to the increase in German U Boats. Secondly, it can be seen that in 1917 the reintroduction of unrestricted submarine warfare has had a great effect on the quantity of Allied shipping sunk. The graph peaks at 6.25 million tons. Lastly, it is apparent that the anti submarine tactics dramatically reduced the amount of shipping lost. Depth charges were very effective, second only to mines. It is also thought that the decrease is due to destroyers travelling with large convoys in order to protect them. 4. There were a few serious food shortages and riots around Britain. This informat... ... middle of paper ... ...ut of bodies. Adults were not the only ones to receive this propaganda. Patriotic books and toys were made for children, to encourage further support for the war effort. Another important factor in defeating the U Boat threat was threat the Germans did not have enough of them. Historian, Holger Herwig stated that with an average of twenty to thirty U Boats in the vast expanses of sea around Britain they were simply "insufficient do the job". However the German Admiralty may have realised that with a 50% loss rate they would have needed several hundred U Boats and they knew that the raw materials for U Boat building could be used elsewhere, such as in munitions and gun production. The Germans may have also been put off from building more U Boats as Britain quickly overcame the immediate threat with new technology.
The German’s unrestricted submarine warfare was the main reason for the U.S. to enter war. Wilson had tremendous support from Americans. The Germans had to be stopped. The attacks came without warning killing many innocent people (Winter and Baggett, 1996). The Germans sank numerous ships including our own. The most famous ship sunk was the Lusitiania. Aboard that ship 128 Americans were killed (http://www.angelfire.com/in3/wilson/wilson.html). The Lusitania was torpedoed without any notice. The Lusitania sunk in 18 minutes killing a total of 1198 people (http://www.poltechnic.org/faculty/gfeldmeth/chart.ww1.html).
On September eleventh, two thousand one, the entire world was stunned when two Airline jets hit the world trade center killing thousands and injuring more. This was the largest terrorist attack the world has ever seen. This attack caused extreme terror and panic but it also caused something even more, it caused people to come together. No matter their race, religion or social standings people from all walks of life came together that day to help. In the documentary Boatlift, the film shows this phenomenon, and talks of and about people from every walk of life that came together to help their fellow human beings and Americans.
Both sides accepted the United States’ aid but they also sought to cut-off each other’s supply chain. While the Allies barricaded Germany’s ports with the British Navy, Germany began attacking merchant ships using their submarines, or U-boats. While Wilson was angered by the British tactics he was even more infuriated by the German’s. This would be the ultimate end of U.S. neutrality as Wilson would sternly address Germany’s actions and not Britain’s.
The Black Death struck Europe in a time of great despair. "Although a `Great Famine' struck northern Europe between 1315 and 1322, nothing prepared Europeans for the horrendous onslaught of the Black Death" (Aberth, 2). The famine had caused a massive hunger shortage from which Europe had yet to recove...
Germany is desperate with no trade with the U.S., and their economy is frantically crumbling. In retaliation, Germany violated the international warfare law by attacking submarines without warning. Wilson’s response: Germany must stop the blockade or face the consequences. Wilson agrees to reach a deal with Germany after they publish a statement to negotiate, even though both France and Great Britain have proclaimed that this war would end with total victory over Germany. Wilson is trapped by his own ultimatum.
The blockade started with very few ships attempting to block entrance to the major ports. Eventually more ships...
Before the United States entered WW II, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a series of documents known as the Neutrality Acts. These acts were passed and followed between the years 1935 and 1941 and were used to keep the U.S. out of the war.1 The Neutrality Acts limited weapons sales to countries not involved in the war, gave the U.S. power to keep its citizens off of ships of, or travelling to nations involved in the war, and outlawed loans to countries currently in war and countries who had not paid back previous loans.2 These acts also outlawed American ships to carry weapons to nations in the war. The U.S. believed that if a nation in war knew that a ship had weapons on it, this ship would be a prime target for that country, therefor drawing the U.S. into another war. The Neutrality Acts helped keep the U.S. out of WW II until the bombing of Pearl Harbor, at which point the U.S. helped the British through a "Lend-Lease Program". The Lend-Lease Program allowed the U.S. to give arms and...
Blair Jr., Clay, (1975). Silent Victory: The U.S. Submarine War Against Japan. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, p. 78. p. 1072. Buell, Thomas B. -. (1987)
World War II propaganda posters were used mainly for three reasons: to invoke public sympathy for the war cause, to help finance the war, and by encouraging people to support the war. Many t...
The errors committed by the United States in terms of inaccurate planning and overconfidence within the Bay of Pigs Invasion rose the confidence of Cuban government in its own people and intelligence services and tactics for future attacks. The Bay of Pigs debacle not only strengthened Fidel Castro's hold on power, but also brought the Soviet Union firmly on to his side, thus increasing Castro’s initiative to implement Communism ideals in Cuba. This is evident in Castro’s strong relationship with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev between 1960 and 1962. The failure of the 1961 Invasion served as motivation for Fidel Castro to start planning a counter attack on the United States Government. Immediately as the Invasion had finished, Castro acted in order to further strengthen the nation in sight of possible future conflicts. To facilitate this, he consequently approved of Khrushchev's plan to place missiles on the island, something that immediately established a political alliance between the two Communist leaders which was convenient to both. Castro needed Soviet help to protect his regi...
By December 1914 the First World War had reached a dilemma on the western front that neither the triple entente nor the triple alliance had expected. The war had reached a stalemate, a state where both sides are so evenly balanced that neither can breakthrough against the enemy. The advances in Technology played a big role in creating the stalemate through strong defensive weaponry such as Machine Guns and Artillery, this caused ‘trench warfare’ (BOOK 48). Trench war is when troops from both sides are protected from the enemy’s firepower through trenches. Many advances in technology also attempted to break the stalemate throughout the war with tanks, gas and aircraft, these however failed. Eventually the stalemate was broken through a combination of improved technology, new strategies and the blockading of the German ports.
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a major event in U.S History that almost led to nuclear destruction. It was over a period of thirteen days in which diplomats from the U.S and the Soviet Union were trying to reach a peaceful resolution so that they wouldn’t have to engage in physical warfare. The crisis was the hallmark of the Cold War era which lasted from the 1950’s to the late 1980’s. The Cold War was a power struggle between the U.S and Soviet Union in which the two nations had a massive arms race to become the strongest military force. The U.S considered Communism to be an opposing political entity, and therefore branded them as enemies. Khrushchev’s antagonistic view of Americans also played a big role in the conflict. The Cold War tensions, coupled with a political shift in Cuba eventually lead to the military struggle known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Cuban Missile Crisis was the point of most tension and near collapse causing the Cold War to almost shift from a passive and underground struggle to a violent and catastrophic one.
The United States faces countless threats on both home front and aboard. The countries that pose the greatest threat to U.S. national security are China, Iran, and Russia. Anyone of these countries could inflict grave damage to the United States, resulting in catastrophic results. I’ll compare and contrast these countries 5 intelligence disciplines to determine which country poses the biggest threat to U.S. national security.
This book follows an esteemed doctor and a local clergyman who, together, are the heart of an investigation to solve the mystery of the cholera epidemic. In 1854 London was ravaged by a terrible outbreak of cholera, where within the span of mere weeks over five hundred people in the Soho district died. London, at the time, was a city of around two and a half million people, all crammed into a small area with no system for sewage removal. With overflowing cesspools, improper drainage of all the human and animal waste, and no system for guaranteed clean water, the people of London were in a bad state. They were essentially dumping all of their feces into their drinking water supply, a perfect environment for cholera to thrive.
United States during 1940 and 1941 evoke Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor is often regarded by many American’s as a ‘surprise’ attack that was gratuitous, while historical documents from principal figures on both the Japanese side and the side of the U.S, but there has been evidence and research to the contrary. Pearl Harbor is one of the most memorable events in World War II from U.S perspective. While one may debate as to whether or not the U.S would have still entered WWII (though the argument strongly leans to the former,) the attack on Pearl Harbor served as symbol of sacrifice for the American people and help contribute to the patriotism that help them win the war. The scope of this investigation will focus on U.S–Japanese relations between 1937-1941, but will make us of evidence as far back as 1919 to justify analytical interpretations as well as other perspectives. Methods used in this investigation are an examination of a public address (fireside chat) given by Franklin D. Roosevelt on December 9th, 1941, and and an Inventory of Conflict and Environment Case study (The Way to Pearl Harbor: US vs Japan) by Yuichi Arima and conducted through the American University. These two particular methods are evaluated for their origin, purpose, value and limitations. A propaganda film cited is only used for its quotes and/or facts that were then checked through multiple sources.