WWI IN COLOUR - EPISODE 4 - KILLERS OF THE SEA

WWI IN COLOUR - EPISODE 4 - KILLERS OF THE SEA

"The Luisitania is a godsend to the British. It's quite the most stupid thing the Germans could have done."
PROFESSOR ANDREW LAMBERT, KINGS COLLEGE LONDON

Naval rivalry between the empires of Britain and Germany had played a majorfactor in the build up to World War I. Despite expectations, fear of losingtheir ships meant that both fleets stayed in port for the first two years,and when the great naval battle did come - Jutland in 1916 - it was indecisive.

The British swiftly put a stranglehold on all German overseas trade, and
gradually began to starve the country. The Germans responded by using a newand as yet untried weapon - the submarine.

The early success of their U-boats was offset by the side effect of bringingthe United States into the war against Germany, a move which ensured Germany's ultimate defeat.