THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: Britain warned to prepare for ruthless U-Boat campaign

From the News Letter, September 10, 1939

The British Ministry of Information had issued the following statement which was published in the News Letter on this day in 1939 on the threat of German submarines.

It read: “It is now palpably evident that Germany is prosecuting an unrestricted submarine campaign against merchant shipping, as violent as that on which Germany embarked in 1917, and that the German submarine commanders have been given orders to sink merchant ships on sight, and without warning.”

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The statement continued: “This, of course, is in direct contravention of the rules of submarine warfare, which were unconditionally accepted by Germany in 1935 for all time and irrespective of the actions of any other power.”

The Ministry statement added: “It is also quite clear that German submarines were on their stations on the ocean trade routes with these orders several days before war broke. This confirms the statement of the Prime Minister that Germany was determined on war, and that although a just settlement was possible without war ‘Hitler would not have it’. As was announced recently, the German submarine campaign has inflicted certain initial losses, notably that of the liner Athenia. As stated at the time, the Royal Navy is taking energetic measures against enemy submarines.”

The Ministry added that it would not always be desirable to publish news of the destruction of enemy submarines.

The statement explained: “This is partly because, as was discovered during the last war, the moral effect of crews disappearing without a trace is greater than when news of [a] sinking is received by the enemy, and partly because if the enemy knew that a submarine detailed to operate in a certain area had been sunk they would, of course, take steps to replace it.”