Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store
seo-qna
SearchIcon
banner

How is unrestricted submarine warfare a threat to neutrality?

Answer
VerifiedVerified
527.7k+ views
Hint: Unrestricted submarine warfare is a practise of attacking and sinking submarines of enemy shipping, both military and civil. It is closely related with the First World War, which brought America to the war and led to their defeat by Germany's decision to use the USW.

Complete answer:
Unrestricted submarine warfare poses a neutrality threat -
i) In the wake of the First World War, Germany and Britain participated in a naval competition to see how many bigger and better fighting ships could be built. Many expected the resulting navies to sail out and combat a great naval battle when this war began.

ii) Indeed, this happened in Jutland almost never, and this was incomprehensible. The British knew that their navy was their only army to be able to lose the war at night and decided that it should not be used in a massive battle, but that it was blocking shipping routes to Germany and trying to starve their enemy.

iii) They confiscated and caused a lot of upheaval on the shipments of neutral countries, but Britain managed to calm ruffled feathers and to reach agreements with them. Of course, Britain had the advantage of effectively cutting US purchases, as it had been between Germany and the Atlantic shipping lines.

iv) The Germans have changed their tactic faced with opposition from neutrals (like the United States who threatened to join in the war) and with German politicians' demands that the submarines should be brought under control.

v) Example of Unrestricted submarine warfare - Submarine warfare is unrestricted. Lusitania, a British passenger liner, lost almost 1200 people One of the most renowned examples was (including many Americans).

Note: Four major unrestricted submarine warfare campaigns, one during World War I and three in World War II, have been held.
-The World War I Submarine Campaign.
-During World War II the Atlantic battle.
-The Eastern Front Baltic Sea Campaigns during World War II.
-The Pacific war between the Allies and the Japanese Empire during World War II, from 1941 to 1945.