The total tonnage sunk by German submarines from the beginning of the war up to February 1, 1917, has been given by British sources as over three million tons, while German authorities claimed four million. The result of the German edict for unrestricted submarine warfare has been rather appalling, even if it fell far short of German prophesies and hopes. During the first two weeks of February a total of ninety-seven ships with a tonnage of about 210,000 tons were sent to the bottom of the sea. Since then the German submarines have taken an even heavier toll. It has, however, become next to impossible, due to the restrictions of censorship, to compute any accurate figures for later totals, though it has become known from time to time that the Allied as well as the neutral losses have been very much higher during the five months of February to July, 1917 than during any other five months.
[Illustration: © U. & U.
U. S. Submarine H-3 Aground on California Coast.]
The figures of the losses of British merchantmen alone are shown by the following table:
Ships Over 1,600 Under 1,600 Week ending-- Tons. Tons. Total.
March 4 14 9 23 March 11 13 4 17 March 18 16 8 24 March 25 18 7 25 April 1 18 13 31 April 8 17 2 19 April 15 19 9 28 April 22 40 15 55 April 29 38 13 51 May 6 24 22 46 May 13 18 5 23 May 20 18 9 27 May 27 18 1 19 June 3 15 3 18 June 10 22 10 32 June 17 27 5 32 June 24 21 7 28 July 1 15 5 20 July 8 14 3 17 July 15 14 4 18 July 22 21 3 24 July 29 18 3 21 Aug. 5 21 2 23 Aug. 12 14 2 16 Aug. 19 15 3 18 Aug. 26 18 5 23 Sept. 2 20 3 23 Sept. 9 12 6 18 Sept. 16 8 20 28 Sept. 23 13 2 15 Sept. 30 11 2 13 Oct. 7 14 2 16 Oct. 14 12 6 18 Oct. 21 17 8 25 Oct. 28 14 4 18 Nov. 4 8 4 12 Nov. 11 1 5 6
The table with its week by week report of the British losses is of importance because at the time it was taken as a barometer indicative of German success or failure. The German admiralty at the moment of declaring the ruthless submarine war promised the people of Germany that they would sink a million tons a month and by so doing would force England to abject surrender in the face of starvation within three months. During that period the whole civilized world looked eagerly for the weekly statement of British losses. Only at one time was the German estimate of a million tons monthly obtained. Most of the time the execution done by the undersea boats amounted to less than half that figure. So far from England being beaten in three months, at the end of ten she was still unshattered, though sorely disturbed by the loss of so much shipping. Her new crops had come on and her statesmen declared that so far as the food supply was concerned they were safe for another year.
During this period of submarine activity the United States entered upon the war and its government immediately turned its attention to meeting the submarine menace. In the first four months literally nothing was accomplished toward this end. A few submarines were reported sunk by merchantmen, but in nearly every instance it was doubtful whether they were actually destroyed or merely submerged purposely in the face of a hostile fire. Americans were looked upon universally as a people of extraordinary inventive genius, and everywhere it was believed that by some sudden lucky thought an American would emerge from a laboratory equipped with a sovereign remedy for the submarine evil. Prominent inventors indeed declared their purpose of undertaking this search and went into retirement to study the problem. From that seclusion none had emerged with a solution at the end of ten months. When the submarine campaign was at its very height no one was able to suggest a better remedy for it than the building of cargo ships in such quantities that, sink as many as they might, the Germans would have to let enough slip through to sufficiently supply England with food and with the necessary munitions of war.
Many cruel sufferings befell seafaring people during the period of German ruthlessness on the high seas. An open boat, overcrowded with refugees, hastily provisioned as the ship to which it belonged was careening to its fate, and tossing on the open sea two or three hundred miles from shore in the icy nights of midwinter was no place of safety or of comfort. Yet the Germans so construed it, holding that when they gave passengers and crew of a ship time to take to the boats, they had fully complied with the international law providing that in the event of sinking a ship its people must first be given an opportunity to assure their safety.
