Racine County, Wisconsin - Chapter 4: Navy Clears for Action, 1920

THE United States Navy, the nation's first line of defense, was ready for war when war came. Always a popular branch of the service for young men, its ranks were kept filled to whatever degree was desired by voluntary enlistments during the first months following the outbreak of the European conflict in 1914. Warships were in first-class condition and the armament and ammunition supply and reserve was equal to the desires of the department heads. This much could be done by America during the period of neutrality without arousing the ire of foreign combatants.

The first important duty of the navy was to supply guns and gunners for American merchant vessels when the unlimited submarine campaign was begun by Germany. It was maintained that even a neutral country had a right to prepare its merchants vessels to meet piratical attacks at sea, and that vessels so equipped could not be classed as fighting ships.

Our government, in common with its people, had been kept in ignorance of the straits in which the Allies found themselves in the spring of 1917. From the President down, our people believed the censored reports from France and England to the effect that the submarine blockade by Germany was a failure, and that the menace would soon be entirely removed by devices recently perfected.

Admiral William S. Sims, U. S. N., was sent to England late in March when it was seen that America would certainly be forced into the war by Germany's attitude. When he reached there, war had been declared and he was taken entirely into the confidence of the British admiralty. He was then informed frankly that "Germany was winning the war, and winning at a rate that means the unconditional surrender of the British empire in four or five months."

The full statement of the extent of submarine sinkings had not been made public because of the probable effect upon the Allied morale, and the fact that the Germans themselves did not know how successful their U-boats had been. The total sinkings in February, 1917, had been 536,000 tons; in March, 603,000 tons; and a destruction of 900,000 tons in April was anticipated. These figures were about three times as large as the ones published by the government. It was feared the situation would get much more serious, as it was becoming summer when the U-boats would have longer periods of daylight and fair weather in which to operate.

Admiral Sims, in his memoirs from which these facts are gleaned, said that he was astounded and asked Admiral Jellicoe if there was no remedy.

Briefly, the situation was this: The transportation of supplies to the British army and navy, and the civilian population was being effectually stopped. The nation was threatened with starvation. Not many U-boats operated at sea at a time - perhaps not more than fifteen or twenty at the most, but they had the advantage of invisibility and could range around the British isles and as far south as the Mediterranean with safety. The length of their cruises was limited only by the number of torpedoes carried and used. About the only defense against them was the use of swift, shallow draught vessels of the destroyer or steam yacht type. These boats could approach them before they could submerge deeply, and drop depth bombs which would destroy them or put them out of commission if they exploded nearby.

But the Allies did not have enough of these vessels to convoy their merchant fleet effectively. Many were required to protect the high seas fleet and the transports. The Germans had deliberately sunk one or two hospital ships, knowing that the Allies would use destroyers to protect other hospital ships in the future. It was a barbarous thing to do, but the plan worked. Thereafter no more were attacked. Before America entered the war a large "merchant submarine" visited these shores, and after we were in the war a naval submarine sunk a few ships off the New England coast in the hope that we would keep our destroyers at home to defend our own shipping. The United States saw through this ruse, however, and did not allow itself to be led into abandoning the protection of vessels in the real danger zone off France and England.

"What a dark moment in the history of the Allied cause: Not only were the German submarines sweeping British commerce from the seas, but the Germans were also defeating French and British armies in France. The high peak of success of the U-boats was achieved at the very moment that General Nivell's offensive failed on the western front."

At this time, says Admiral Sims, Premier Lloyd George was the only high British official who was at all optimistic, and his view was explained by his faith in God and in a divine ordering of history which was so profound that a German victory never seized his mind as a probability.

In April 1917 the British had 200 destroyers. Of these 100 had to remain at all times with the grand fleet, prepared for battle in case the German fleet should leave its base. Of the remaining hundred, those that could be released from other essential work to guard merchant shipping were pitifully inadequate to patrol the vast reaches of the Atlantic ocean,

The first work of America was to see that the Allies were not defeated. Therefore, the first request of Admiral Sims was that all available American destroyers and other light craft be ordered to Queenstown to cooperate with the British in their anti-submarine campaign. This was done, and immediate action was taken to build additional craft of similar or smaller types.

Two more steps were considered at once. One was the manufacture of vast quantities of mines, which at a future date could be used to cut off the exit of the German surface and submarine vessels from their bases. The other was the construction of merchant shipping to replace that already destroyed. As a result of the first work, a "mine barage" was almost completed from Scotland to Norway before the war ended - a task so stupendous that the ability of the Allies to perform it had not even been considered prior to America's entry into the war. In regard to the other plan, it was working out in magnificant style during the following year, when millions of tons of shipping were turned out by the typically Yankee method of manufacturing standardized parts for ships in factories all over the country, and then assembling them into the completed ship in a few weeks at yards on the coast.

But the use of the destroyer fleet was the first big naval assistance given the Allies, and it began to turn the tide against the Central Power at once and contributed largely to their ultimate defeat.