![]() It was soft at first, but became stronger with each sinking. The newspapers daily were now carrying stories of American ships sunk, American lives lost, and the skulking insult of the Kaiser’s submarines killing innocent American sailors flying the American flag.Ī drumbeat was beginning in the United States. The American people had been strongly isolationist, but that feeling was also crumbling. He would not find it as almost immediately American ships in British and French waters began to be sunk. and England were huge trading partners, and he knew that American ships were going into harm’s way.Īmerica began to arm itself, but Wilson still sought a way to peace. He had campaigned for office with the pledge that America was going to stay out of the European war, but the U.S. Now the decision rested upon the shoulders of U.S. The diplomats got red in the face, and there was a lot of finger pointing and shouting, but the die was cast. government that unrestricted submarine warfare in European waters was going to recommence. The Germans had backed down and called off their wolf packs of “unterseeboots.”Īnd now the Germans were going to roll the dice. The United States protested vigorously to the German ambassador, and had warned that America might join the allies then. There had been quite a number of Americans aboard. In 1915, a German submarine had sunk the passenger liner, “Lusitania,” with a horrific loss of civilian lives, including many women and children. In the end, the Germans decided to send their submarines out to sink everything they found around Great Britain and the coast of France.Īfter all, it would take longer than four months for the Americans to mobilize their forces and arrive in Europe. ![]() Some members of the German General staff objected, pointing out that this would serve to bring the Americans into the war on the Allied side. This proposal included the indiscriminant sinking of any American vessels headed to or from Britain. One of the German admirals rose up and declared that if Germany would declare unrestricted submarine warfare against Britain, along with any ships that sailed in her waters, the war could be won in four months. Kaiser Wilhelm and his generals were desperately searching for some way to reverse their fortunes and win the war against Britain and France. The crushing defeats at Verdun and the Somme, along with the absurdly long lists of dead, wounded and missing from the front lines only served to pull the shroud closer around the German people. The people were hungry, they were sick and their patriotic fervor so evident early in the war was now running on empty. Worst of all, the German nation was running short of morale. ![]() Germany had been blockaded by the British Navy since the war began, and now, two years into the war, they were running out of everything – food, medicine, cloth, fuel, machine goods and weapons. These battles hurt the French army, nearly crippled the British army, but it shattered the Germans. Add to that, the Battle of Verdun just down the line of trenches inflicted another million. The Battle of the Somme would go on until November, some four and a half months.ĭuring the fighting in that very small part of France, there would be over one million casualties. ![]()
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