First Battle of the Atlantic

The First Battle of the Atlantic (1914–1918) was a naval campaign of World War I, largely fought in the seas around the British Isles and in the Atlantic Ocean. Both the German Empire and United Kingdom relied heavily on imports to feed their population and supply their war industry; thus both aimed to blockade each other. The British had the Royal Navy which was superior in numbers and could operate within the British Empire. The German Navy could not destroy the British Navy, as seen at the Battle of Jutland.

Battle of the Atlantic
Part of World War I
Date July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918 Location Atlantic Ocean, North Sea Result Decisive Allied Victory
Belligerents
British Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, United States Navy Navy of France	Navy of the German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Sir John Jellicoe	Reinhard Scheer

The German fleet mainly used unrestricted submarine warfare. Neutral countries disliked the blockades and the sinking of RMS Lusitania especially angered the United States. The successful blockade of Germany contributed to its military defeat in 1918, and still in effect, enforced also the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in mid-1919.

German U-Boat U 14

Allied and Neutral Tonnage sunk by submarines in World War I

Month	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918
January		47,981	81,259	368,521	306,658
February		59,921	117,547	540,006	318,957
March		80,775	167,097	593,841	342,597
April		55,725	191,667	881,027	278,719
May		120,058	129,175	596,629	295,520
June		131,428	108,855	687,507	255,587
July		109,640	118,215	557,988	260,967
August	62,767	185,866	162,744	511,730	283,815
September	98,378	151,884	230,460	351,748	187,881
October	87,917	88,534	353,660	458,558	118,559
November	19,413	153,043	311,508	289,212	17,682
December	44,197	123,141	355,139	399,212
Total	312,672	1,307,996	2,327,326	6,235,878	2,666,942

Grand Total 12,850,814 gross tons

Note that unrestricted submarine warfare was resumed in February 1917 and the British began full-scale convoying in September 1917. The heaviest losses were suffered in April 1917 when a record 881,027 tons were sunk by the U-boats.

Source: Fayle, C. Ernest, Seaborn Trade, Vol. 3, p. 465, Table I[a]; London: John Murray, 1924.

German Submarine Force 1914-1918

	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918
On hand	24	29	54	133	142
Gains	10	52	108	87	70
Battle losses	5	19	22	63	69
Other losses		8	7	15	9
Years end	29	54	133	142	134

• Total operational boats: 351
• Total sunk in combat (50%): 178
• Other losses (11%): 39
• Completed after Armistice: 45
• Surrendered to Allied: 179

First Battle Of The Atlantic Media

• 

  German U-boats at Kiel, February 1914

• 

  The sinking of HMS Pathfinder by SM U-21 on 5 September 1914.

• 

  Diagram of events during the Action of 22 September 1914

• 

  German depiction of the sinking of HMS Formidable by SM U-24

• 

  SS Gliltra docked. The ship was the first British merchant vessel sunk by U-boats

• 

  Shaded areas of the map depict the submarine warfare zone declared by Germany in February 1915

• 

  Depiction of a Q-ship, a heavily armed merchant ship, used to lure U-boats during World War I

• 

  Shaded areas of the map depict the submarine warfare zone declared by Germany in February 1917

• 

  A graph depicting the decline in Allied merchant shipping losses with the introduction of the convoy system in 1917

• 

  Diagram of the North Sea Mine Barrage, a large mine field to inhibit U-boat access to the Atlantic Ocean from the approaches between Orkney Islands to Norway

Other websites

• World's Navies in World War 1, Campaigns, Battles, Warship losses