The January 1917 decision turned Holtzendorff's staff calculation into policy. Kaiser Wilhelm II and Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg opposed it, and the dispute contributed to Bethmann Hollweg's resignation. German leaders understood that unrestricted attacks could bring the United States into the war and violate the accepted norms of cruiser warfare. In this reading, the decision shows a war effort entering a death spiral. Germany accepted extraordinary diplomatic and moral risks because its leaders believed the existing course offered no path to victory.
Notable Point · 44:12-45:42
Political opposition to the 1917 decision
The January 1917 decision met opposition from Kaiser Wilhelm II and Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg because it risked American war and abandoned established limits on commerce warfare.