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Britain was an industrial nation that relied on the sea lanes to import food for its large urban population. The success of the U-boat as a commerce raider forced the British to introduce a rationing system. Food becane increasingly scarce, especially meat. People laregly relied on potatos. The Germans were convinced that Briton's need to import food made it vulnerable to a naval blockade by Germany's U-boats. Even without unrestricted sunmarine warfare. the Germans U-boats took a substantial toll on British shipping. The World War I U-boat, however, was not a true submarine, but a surface bot that could submerge. Restrictions on its operations substantially reduced its effectiveness. Thus the Germans decided to reintroduce unrestricted submarine warfare (March 1917), even though it meant that America would probably come into the War on the Allied side. This proved to be dreadful miscalculation. The Ministry of Food finally introduced rationing. The rationing system and, after the U-boat threat was largely defeated, food from America meant that Britons did not go hungary. Briton also benefited from a bountiful 1917 wheat harbest. At the end of the War, food consumption in Brition was close to pre-War levels.
Britain was an industrial nation that relied on the sea lanes to import food for its large urban population.
German was involved in a naval arms race before World War I broke out. When war came, the Royal Navy had a great superority in numbers despite Germany modern fleet to battleships. Thus the Germans only challenged the Grand Fllet once and this was not on purpose--at Jutland (1916). Instead the Germans turned to their small fleet if U-boats to launch an unconventional attack on British commerce. The German U-boats proved a major challenge to the British. The invasion of neurtal Belgium and the sinking of the Lusitania combined to create the image of Germans in the American mind as modern day Huns. After the sinking of the Luisitania, the threat of American entry into the War forced the Germans to restrict U-boat operations. Even without unrestricted sunmarine warfare. the Germans U-boats took a substantial toll on British shipping. The World War I U-boat, however, was not a true submarine, but a surface bot that could submerge.
German U-boats in late 1916 were sinking about 300,000 tons of Allied shipping monhly. The Germans sank 230 Allied ships (February 1917). This level of suvceess was affecting the British food supply and the war effort. By the end of the Wat, the Germans had succeeded in sinking 5,000 ships. That was an amazing 25 percent of the Allied merchant fleet.
The Germans were convinced that Briton's need to import food made it vulnerable to a naval blockade by Germany's U-boats. The German Navy chafed under the restrictions imposed on U-boat operations. Restrictions on its operations substantially reduced its effectiveness. German Admiral Capelle, Secretary of State for the Navy, assured the German Parliament, "They will not even come because our sunmarimes will sink them. Thus America from a military point of view means nothing, again nothing, and for a third time notthing," [Keegan, p. 372.] At the time the American Army totaled only slightly more than a 100,000 men. Capelle would not be the last German official to under estimate the Americans. Admiral Henning von Holtzendorff, Chief of the GermannNaval Staff, argued that only unrestricted sunmarine warfare could impair British maritime commerce suficently so the war in the West could be won before the British blockade crippled the German economy. [Keegan, p. 351] Making another effort to win the War, Germany in 1917 reimplemented unrestricted submarine warfare (March 1917). German U-boats sank a record 507,001 tons of shipping (March 1917). The Germans finally seeing that the Russians were fataly weakened believed that they could now finally achieve victory on the Western front. The Germans feared the entry of America into the War, but in the end concluded that they could force the British and French to seek terms before the American Expeditionary Force could be created and brought to France. It proved to be a huge miscalculation.
When the Home Guard began drilling to meet an expected German invasion in World War II, some wag commented, "They'll be using connkers next." Conkers were actually marginally involved in World War I. World War I broke out to the surprise of most world leaders (August 1914). Unlike World War II, no one expected it to happen. Most thought it would be quickly over. It prived to be a long, bruising conflict killing many and requiring vast quantities of arms and munitions. The proellent used in artillery shells was almost entirely cordite which had other military uses as well. Cordite was made from various forms of nitrocellulose. Britain with its enormous cotton textile industry mostly used cotton waste which was mixed with nitrated glycerine. The manufacture of cordite required solvents, acetone and ether-alcohol. Acetone was produced by distilling wood. This proposed a problem for Britain which no longer had large forested areas. Instead corn was imported from Canada and America. When the U-boat campaign began to restrict imports, British scientists developed a process for using that British schoolboy staplke--the
conker (horse chessnuts).
American President Woodrow Wilson camaigned for re-election in 1916 with the slgan "He kept us out of war". America at various points tried to negotiate an end to the War. Wilson in a 1917 speech called for a "peace without victory". None of the major European combatants showed much interest in the American efforts. The Britsh were still hopeful that America would join the Allies. Kaiser Wilhelm dimissed Wilson's efforts as unrealistic. The Germans seriously under estimated the potential impact of American involvement. Gambling that they could force a decission in the Western Front, the military convinced Kaiser Wilhelm to resume unrestricted sunmarine warfare. After German U-boats sank five American merchant vessels, President Wilson on asked Congress to Declare War on Germany which was approved April 6. This proved to be a disastrous German miscalculation. The American and Britsh Navies defeated the U-boat campaign. The collapse of Russia in late 1917 and peace treaty forced upon the Bolshevicks in 1918 enabled the Germans to transfer powerfil forces to the Wesern Front. By the tinme they were able to launch their offensive, an American Army of over a million men awaited them in the Allied trenches. Without the arrival of the Americans, it is likely that the Germans would have won the war. German General Ludendorff was to say after the War that it was the arrival of the American infantry that was the decisive factor on the Western Front.
Food becane increasingly scarce, especially meat. People laregly relied on potatos, but even potatoes were sometimes in short supply. Sugar was a special problem because almost all of the sugar supply was imported. The avaiability of both meatr and sugar fell precipitously. The public by late 1917 was becoming increasingly concerned about the declining availability of food. Panic buying and hordening resulted in serious shortages.
Britain in its long history had never before dispatched a massive army to the Continent. It became obvious early in the War that the small BEF deployed August 1914 wold be insufficent against the massive conscrip German army. A recritment drive enduced larger numbers oo men to volunteer, but the lossess ad needs for manpower finally forced Britain to introduce conscription--the first such effort in British history. This created a severe labor shortage in both industy and agriculture. To fill the gap, women began working factory jobs that had previously been filled by men. To provide agriciltural labor, the Government established the Women's Land Army (WLA). Some tradition-minded farmers resisted the idea of using women farm hands. The Board of Trade dispsatched agricultural organizing officers to convince the farmers that the WLA girls and women, most from towns and cities, would be useful. They were geerally successful and about 260,000 WLA recruits were hard at work on Britain's farms (1917). This is generally considered a footnote of the War, but it was in fact of some importance. There was no comparable program in Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Germny. And each of these countries experienced severe food shortages that in the end affected their ability to make war.
The success of the U-boat as a commerce raider forced the British to introduce a rationing system. The Ministry of Food finally introduced rationing (January 1918). The Ministry first rationed sugar and susequently added butchers' meat. (Fresh butchered meat as opposed to canned meat.)
The Allies attempted to determine how to sink U-boats and developed the depth charge. It was, however, the introduction of the convoy system that defeated the U-boat. The World War I U-boat was really a surfacre vessel that could sumbmerge. Against esorted convoys, World war I era U-boats had little chance of
success. In the end the German Navy only served to bring Britain and America into the War, ensuring Germany's defeat. An embittered German naval office, Karl Donnietz, confined in a British POW camp in 1918 was already planning Germany's strategy in the next war.
Britain like Germany was not self sufficent in food. It depended on food imports to feed its industrial workers. The German U-boats thus posed a huge danger to Britain and the war effort. The British adopted a range of policies and programs to maintain food production. This became especially important when the Government had to intriduce conscripion. The Womens's Land Army was introduced tp provide more farm labor. People including children were incouraged to plant gardens. Rationing was introduced. These measures and the defeat of the U-boat in the North Atlantic meant that Britons did not go hungary. ood from America and the Dominions arrived innquantity. Briton also benefited from a bountiful 1917 wheat harbest. At the end of the War, calorie consumption in Brition was close to pre-War levels. The situation was very different in Germany and it had a major impact on the German war effort.
One of the thoughts behind the Boy Scouts was the fact that so many British men during the Bohr War were not healty and capable of military service. I'm not sure if the brief period the Scouts operated before the War (1907-13) had ny apreciable impact on public health. The Scouts played an active role on the home front. I have not yet, however, been able to find details. I believe they were involved in agricultural labor as weell as many other publis sdervice activities. This is an interesting topic I want to persue, but to date have been unsucessful in finding any actual information. Hopefully our English readers will be able to provide some information. Of course beyond the substantial efforts the boys made in supporting the war effort, another aspect to be considered is the apauling losses on the Western Front and the number of boys left without their fathers after the War.
Keegan, John. The First World War (Knopf, 1999), 475p.
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