000 tons and it wasn’t until September when any other large drop off was seen. (Terraine, p. 300) German submarine bases that were close to Britain had been raided and on April 22, 1918 British forces destroyed the harbor at Zeebrugge and the High Seas Fleet (German fleet) was held in its home ports. Now the Allies once again had complete freedom of the seas. In May 1918, 14 submarines out of 125 were destroyed and from then on the threat gradually subsided. By the end of the war in November the U-boats had been driven from the North Atlantic and were prevented from coming back by the laying of a large mine barrage across a 180 mile passageway between Norway and the Orkneys. (Pimlott, p. 41)One effect of Freedom of the Seas was to impose on Germany a similar blockade that Germany tried against Britain. In Germany the food became scarce and the civilian morale dropped. The German Government was forced to limit everything from potatoes to clothing. (Pimlott, p. 41)A great influenza epidemic swept through Europe in 1918 and the German people were hit hard, which added to the pressure to make peace. (Pimlott, p. 41)According to the information provided it is evident that THE GERMAN U-BOAT BLOCKADE DURING WORLD WAR I WAS A MISTAKE ON THE PART OF THE GERMANS for the following reasons: the statement by von Trotha, the German Chief of Naval Staff, and the severing of the relations between the United States and Germany which aided in the United States entry into the war. Although at certain times during the war this campaign seemed to help the Germans, in the final analysis it proved to be a huge mistake that eventually lead to their defeat. ...
