Having stopped unrestricted submarine warfare after sinking the Lusitania in 1915, Germany resumed the policy on January 31, 1917. The campaign peaked in April 1917, and helped bring the United States into the war.

U-Bootswirkung im Mittelmeer.

12 Monate uneingeschränkten

U-Bootskrieges auf dem Mittelmeer-Kriegsschauplatz

Alle durch Minen und vor dem 1. Februar 1917 vernichteten Schiffe sind in dieser Karte nicht enthalten.

[symbol] bedeutet ein durch die Tätigkeit unserer U-Boote versenktes Schiff ohne Berücksichtigung seiner Größe.

Die Eintragungen der Schiffe entsprechen dem Versenkungsort.

"Die wichtigste unmitteilbare militärische Ursache der Italienischen Niederlage wird unwidersprchen in dem Mangel an Munition und schweren Kanonen erblickt: den die Unterseeboote haben die Erz- und Kohlenzufuhr unterbunden." - (New York Times, 4.11.17)

Monatsergebnisse der Gesamtversenkungen

Februar, 1917, 785,000 Br.-Reg.-T.

Marz, 890,000

April, 1,100,000

Mai, 870,000

Juni, 1,020,000 Br.-Reg.-T.

Juli, 815,000

August, 810,000

September, 675,000

Oktober, 675,000 Br.-Reg.-T.

November, 610,000

Dezember, 705,000

Januar, 635,000

Insgesamt 9,590,000 Br.-Reg.-T.



Submarine action in the Mediterranean.

Full 12 months

U-Boat War in the Mediterranean theater of war

All ships destroyed by mines or before February 1, 1917 are not included in this map.

[symbol] indicates a ship sunk by the activity of our submarines regardless of its size.

The entries of the vessels meet the Versenkungsort.

"The most important cause of the indescribable Italian military defeat is indisputably due to the lack of ammunition and heavy guns. The submarines have prevented the supply of ore and coal." - (New York Times, 4:11:17)

Monthly breakdown of the total sinkings:

February, 1917, 785,000 imperial tons

March, 890,000

April, 1,100,000

May, 870,000

June, 1,020,000 imperial tons

July, 815,000

August, 810,000

September, 675,000

October, 675,000 imperial tonnes

November, 610,000

December, 705,000

January, 635,000

A total of 9,590,000 imperial tonnes



Reverse:

Auf Anregung Sr. Majestät des Kaisers

i. Auftr. des Admiralstabes d. Rais. Marine zu Gunsten der S

Other views: Larger, Larger, Back

Thursday, April 26, 1917

"I am getting impatient. The Mediterranean beckons with her transport steamers, so much the more inviting since now there are no more restrictions. And I want to arrive in good time for the final effort.

Then I am asked 'affectionately' if my boat will be ready soon, especially by those who have been moored for years.

But the work is actually delayed It is quite similar to Penelope's tapestry: mysterious forces impede the construction. The crew is suspicious.

There are many Czechs in the arsenal known to be capable of sabotage. In the mess they sit together and speak Czech and every time a setback occurs on the front, their faces beam. At the American declaration of war, they supposedly really celebrated, but you can't pin anything on them."

Quotation Context

Excerpt from the memoir of Austro-Hungarian Captain Georg von Trapp, whose U-boat was being repaired in Pola, one of Austria-Hungary's ports on the Adriatic Sea. In April, 1917, he had been awaiting a refurbished ship since late 1915. His boat, U-14, had been the French submarine Curie, captured in December, 1914 and already refurbished once. Earlier in his book, von Trapp had complained of a Czech crewman not following protocol: responding 'yes' to an order rather than repeating the order. On at least one occasion the result may have been the firing of an unarmed torpedo. The 'restrictions' he references had been lifted on February 1, 1917 when Germany (and Austria-Hungary) began its expansion of unrestricted submarine warfare which led to the United States' declaring war on Germany, but not on Austria-Hungary, on April 6, 1917. Von Trapp was Austria-Hungary's most successful submariner, later famous as the father of the Von Trapp Family Singers, portrayed on stage and screen in The Sound of Music. Penelope was the loyal and ingenious wife of Ulysses.

Source

To the Last Salute: Memories of an Austrian U-Boat Commander by Georg von Trapp, pp. 92–93, copyright © 2007, publisher: University of Nebraska Press, publication date: 2007

Tags

1917-04-26, 1917, April, Czech, Czechs, submarine, U-14, U-boat