The U-Boats Again

Northern Advocate, 5 September 1939, Page 4

The U-Boats Again

THE first spectacular episode of the war has been the sinking of a British liner crowded with passengers, including 300 Americans. Fortunately, although the liner was apparently torpedoed without warning in the open Atlantic, 200 miles from land, the death roll appears to have been very light; but there are several important conclusions to be drawn from the incident. The first is that the Germans have apparently failed to profit from the lesson of the last war, that the ruthless sinking of unarmed merchant vessels, without warning, is not in the long run good policy. The sinking of the Lusitania on May 7, 1915, with the loss of 1100 lives, did much to rouse hostility to Germany in America, resulting in America’s entry in the war two years later. Yet once again, in sinking the Athenia, a German submarine commander has outraged the humane feelings of all impartial onlookers. Sentiment in America is already strongly anti-German, in spite of the Neutrality Act, and it is safe to assume that the sinking of the Athenia, in circumstances which could not possibly be justified from any practical viewpoint, has intensified that feeling. Another aspect of the incident is the fact that once again the German submarine emerges as an important factor in the war. This particular vessel was operating a long way from land, and there is sure to be speculation as to what it was doing there. Was it going to American waters, or returning therefrom ? It would seem, from additional reports that U-boats are active in the West Indies,, that German submarines are already widely scattered, and possibly Germany will again rely very heavily on this weapon. In home waters the convoy system is again being introduced. It was this which, at a critical stage of the last war, in 1917, reduced losses of British ships from one in four to one per cent.; but the convoy system may not be easy to operate in waters remote from Great Britain. There will, therefore, be much interest in further reports of the doings of the U-boat. This time, at any rate, their danger is not under-rated, and every effort will be made to curb their activities from the start.