The use of unrestricted submarine warfare was announced by Germany on January 9th, 1917. The use of unrestricted submarine warfare was to have a major impact on World War One as it was one of the main reasons why America joined the war.
When the German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg announced Germany's intention to use unrestricted submarine warfare, his one major concern and fear was that it would provoke an American response – in this he was to be correct.
Why did Germany resort to such a tactic that was likely to provoke such a response from America? By 1917, the war was not going well for Germany on the Western Front. Unrestricted submarine warfare was a result of desperation and the belief that the ferocity of such a tactic might just keep America out of the war if the results were spectacular and shocking enough.
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