What was the ultimate result of the German U-Boat (submarine) campaign?
The Germans attempted to impose a blockade on England, which was far more dependent on sea traffic. However, as noted, the German navy never broke out of its home waters. At the beginning of the war, Germany had a handful of commerce raiders scattered around the world, but these were quickly hunted down and either destroyed, scuttled, or interred in neutral ports. To impose a blockade, Germany had to rely on one weapon: the submarine, otherwise known as the U-boat. The problem with submarines is that they are extremely small, weak vessels, vulnerable to the sorts of guns often put on merchant ships. Thus, submarines could not board vessels, capture vessels, or redirect them. The only thing submarines can do is sink vessels by stalking them underwater and launching torpedoes. Any anger Americans and other neutrals felt at Great Britain for forcing their ships to sell their cargoes to the British was quickly eclipsed when ships started to get sunk by German U-boats. In 1915, soon after t
