Early submarines were still essentially submersible torpedo boats, yet their campaign exposed Britain's dependence on imported food and maritime trade. Contemporary estimates placed Britain perilously close to exhausting its food stocks during World War I. World War II planners learned from that experience through earlier convoying and greater attention to domestic supply resilience. The First World War campaign showed that submarine commerce warfare could work and warned planners about preparing too literally to fight the previous war.
Chapter · 5:45-7:02
Why the First World War submarine campaign mattered
Compare the two German submarine campaigns and see why Britain came closer to exhausting its food stocks in World War I.