In February 1916 the German government announced that after 1 March its submarines would sink whenever possible and without warning all armed merchantmen, irrespective of whether they were armed for defensive or offensive purposes. The German government took the position that a merchant vessel had no right to carry guns, not even for the purpose of defense. Although the practice of carrying arms for defense against unlawful attacks had keen followed by the merchant vessels of all nations for 200 years, the German government maintained that this practice had been intro duced for the purpose of enabling them to de fend themselves against pirates and later against privateers, but since piracy had disap peared and privateering had been abolished by the Declaration of Paris in 1856 the old rule no longer had any raison d'ętre and consequently the German government could not recognize it as binding. In short, according to the German contention, the rule was never intended to au thorize merchant vessels to arm for the purpose of defense against the lawfully commissioned war vessels of belligerents. In fact not only armed merchantmen but also unarmed merchant vessels continued to be sunk, notwithstanding the pledges of September and October 1915. The torpedoing in April 1916 of the Sussex, an unarmed English Channel steamer, with 380 passengers on board, some 80 of whom lost their lives, came very near precipitating a crisis in the relations between the United States and Germany. The German government at first denied responsibility for the act, but when the proof produced removed all doubt as to this the German government finally acknowledged that the steamer had been torpedoed by a Ger man submarine.
The President in an address to Congress, on 20 April, reviewed the history of German submarine warfare since its inauguration in July 1915 and informed Congress of the contents of a note which he bad two days before dis patched to the German government and in which he denounced German methods of sub marine warfare as contrary to both the law of nations and the sacred principles of humanity. The President concluded by saying that unless the "Imperial government should now im mediately declare and effect an abandonment of its present methods of submarine warfare against passenger or freight carrying vessels, the government of the United States can have no choice but to sever diplomatic relations with the German Empire altogether.' The German government replied that it had "imposed far reaching restraints in the use of the submarine' denied that the torpedoing of the Sussex was but one instance of a deliberate policy of in discriminate destruction of merchant vessels of both enemy and neutral nationality. as the President had charged in his note; declared that it was ready to admit that there had been un avoidable errors and, again for the hundredth time, placed the responsibility upon Great Bri tain for having proclaimed a blockade against Germany for the purpose of starving the Ger man nation, men, women and children alike, into submission. Notwithstanding all this, how ever, the German government in the interest of the sacred principles of humanity" pledged itself that in the future unarmed ocean liners would not be torpedoed without warning pro vided they did not attempt to escape or offer resistance. This was the third time a pledge of
this kind had been made to the American gov ernment. Like the others it was not lived up to and a considerable number of unarmed vessels were torpedoed and sunk by German sub marines. As time passed, public opinion in Germany demanded a repudiation of the pledges given by the German government and the re sumption of the policy of unrestricted sub marine warfare. The tightening of the Anglo French blockade and the growing feeling thit this policy alone could save Germany from de feat intensified the popular demand. Finally, on 31 Jan. 1917, the German government threw off the mask and informed the American government that in consequence of a °new situation" having arisen which forced Germany to °new decisions" Germany must resume the liberty of action reserved in the Sussex pledge of 4 May 1916, and that, therefore, beginning on 1 Feb. 1917, German submarine commanders would no longer be bound by the previous as surances given to the American government. German submarines would, therefore, sink without warning all merchant vessels, neutral as well as enemy, encountered within a vast zone embracing more than a million square miles of the open seas (see WAR ZoNEs). The 'new situation" referred to in the German note was the refusal of the Entente powers towing to their lust of conquest,* to enter into a discussion of peace terms with Germany and their avowed determination to starve the Ger man people into submission in °brutal contempt of international law." The American govern ment, it was added, knew the steps which Ger many had taken to cause England and her allies °to return to the rules of international law and to respect the freedom of the seas* and the hope was expressed that it would °view the situation from the lofty heights of impartiality and assist on their part to prevent further misery and unavoidable sacrifice of human life.* In consequence of this deliberate repudiation of its pledges the President recalled the Ameri can Ambassador from Berlin, handed the Ger man Ambassador his passports (3 Feb. 1917) and broke off diplomatic relations with the Ger man government.
The new policy thus announced by the Ger man government was promptly and ruthlessly put into effect and large numbers of merchant vessels, neutral and belligerent alike, were torpedoed and sunk without warning. Neutral vessels laden with innocent cargoes even when consigned to their own governments, ships homeward bound in ballast, even hospital and Belgian relief ships proceeding on missions of mercy and philanthropy, in fact vessels of every nationality and mission were sunk as if they were pirate vessels. Down to 29 March 1917, 226 American lives had been lost since the out break of the war, in consequence of the torpedo ing of merchant vessels by German submarines. In August 1917, the American consul, Mr. Frost, at Queenstown placed the total number of British lives, mostly non-combatants, lost in consequence of the German methods of sub marine warfare at more than 10,000.