The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-10-05
Submarine War.

Submarine War.
Germany's purpose in adopting the
ruthless submarine warfare was, OF
course, the one which have indicated
to deprive the allied armies in the
field and the. civil populations. of the
supplies from overseas which were es-
sentiaI to victory. Nature had been
kind to this German program when
she created the British Isles. Indeed
this tight little kingdom, and the wa
tiers which surround 1t, seemed to
have been almost expressly made in
anticipation of the submarine cam
paign. For purposes of contrast, let
us consider our own geographical sit
uatfon. A mere glance at the map dis
closes how difficult if not impossible
it would be to blockade the United
States with submarines. In the first
place the operation of submarines more
than two thousand miles from their
bases would present almost insup-
cradle difficultie. Germany could send
an occasional submarine to our coasts
she demonstrated this fact in the
war-but it would be hardly possible
to maintain anything like a regular
and persistent campaign. Even though
she could keep a force constantly
working in our waters, other natural
difficulties would defeat their mos
determined efforts.
The trade routes approach our At
lantic seacoast in the shape of fan,
of which different sticks point to such
ports as Boston, New York, Philadel-
phia, Norfolk, and the ports of the
Gulf of Mexico. To destroy shipping
to American ports it would be neces-
sary for the enemy to cover all these
routes with submarines-a project so
vast as to be hardly worth eth trial
vast as to be hardly worth the trial
In addition we have numerous Pacific
ports to which we could divert ship
ping in case our enemy attempted to
blockade us on the Atlantic coast; our
splendid system of transcontinental
railroads would make internal dis
tribution not a particularly difficult
matter.
Above all such considerations of
course, is the fact that the United
States is an industrial and agricultural
entity, self-supporting and self-feed-
ing, and, therefore, it could not be
starved into surrender even though
the enemy should surmount these prac-
tically insuperable obstacles to sub
marine blockade. But the situation of
Great Britain is entirely different. 1t
obtains from overseas the larger part
! of its food and a considerable part of
it's food and a considerable part of its
raw materials; in April of 1917, ac-
| cording to statements made at that
time England had enough food on hand
! for only six weeks or two months. The
trade routes over which these sup
plies come made the submarine block
ade a comparatively simple matter.
/ Instead of the sticks of fan, the COM
parison which I have suggested with
our own coast, we now have to deal
with the neck of a bottle. The trade
routes to our Atlantic coast spread out
as they approach our ports; on the
other hand, the trade routes to Great
Britain converge almost to point.
The far flung steamship lines which
/ bring Britain her food and raw ma
I terials from half a dozen continents
focus in the Irish sea and the English
channel. To cut the communication
of Great Britain, therefore the sub
marines do not have to patrol two or
three thousand miles of seacoast, as
would be necessary in the case of the
United States; they merely need to
hover around the extremely restricted
waters west and south of Ireland.
/ This was. precisely the area which
! the Germans had selected for their
main field of operations. 1t was here
| that their so-caIled U-boats were OPP
perating with the most deadly effect;
! these waters constituted their happy
hunting grounds, for here came Tho
great cargo ships. with food and sup
plies from America, bound for Liver
pool and the great channel ports. The
submarines that did destruction In this
region were the type that have gained
universal fame as the lU-boats.
No Spanish and Irish U-Boat Bases
There We're other types, which
shall describe, but the U-boats were
the main reliance Of the German navy
they were fairly large vessels, of abou
500 tons, carrying from eight to twely'
ltorpedoes and enough fuel and supple.
Ito keep the sea for three or four weeks
And here let me correct one universal
misrepresentation These U-boats dit
mot have bases off the Irish and Span
fish coasts as most people believe. Sucl
bases would have served no useful pur
ipose. The cruising period of a sub
marine did not depend, as most PEG
Iple think, upon its supply OF fuel OF
land food, for almost any Enderwate
boat could carry enough of these es
sential materials for practically in
definite period. and the average u
boat could easily make the voyag
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