1 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:28,549 In August 1914, the two greatest navys in the world made ready for war. 2 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:34,555 Now the Royal Navy will settle the question of the German Fleet. 3 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,998 And if they do not come out and fight, they will be dug out like rats from a hole. 4 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,355 But the two fleets rarely met. 5 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:47,910 Instead, a new kind of war evolved: more stealthy, more cruel. 6 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,719 A war not against battleships, but people. 7 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:36,158 The world's capital ships in 1914 were the products of a cold war. 8 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,438 Britain's HMS Dreadnought had set the benchmark: 9 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:42,795 heavy armour, big guns, fast. 10 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:50,593 Dreadnoughts were bargaining chips in a great naval poker game. 11 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,675 Germany had thirteen and seven building. 12 00:02:02,400 --> 00:02:05,198 Austria-Hungary: three. America: ten. 13 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,236 Britain: twenty. 14 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,832 They kept the peace. But then the cold war turned hot. 15 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:33,668 Britain and Germany were the main opponents, staring each other down across the North Sea. 16 00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:42,277 The longer the two sides looked at the map, the more obvious their problems became. 17 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,558 Germany's ships couldn't get clear of the North Sea. 18 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:50,269 To the south, the Channel, blocked by mines and the Dover Patrol. 19 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,032 To the north, the British Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow. 20 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:00,270 But Britain couldn't get at the German Fleet 21 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:03,397 unless it came out from its heavily-protected bases. 22 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:09,112 And if they actually met in the North Sea, the result could be catastrophic. 23 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:19,316 The sight everyone feared. 24 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,472 Austro-Hungarian battleship, the Istvan, 25 00:03:22,560 --> 00:03:25,916 sunk late in the war by a tiny Italian torpedo boat. 26 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:40,198 In 1914, the German Navy believed torpedoes and submarines might tip the balance their way. 27 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,034 A hit-and-run war with little history and no rules. 28 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:53,636 Jacky Fisher, Britain's sharpest admiral, predicted radical change ahead: 29 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:59,750 The use of submarines has convinced us that in wartime nothing can stand against them. 30 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,509 The submarine is the coming type of war vessel for sea fighting. 31 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:10,470 It means that the whole foundation of our traditional naval strategy has broken down. 32 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,031 Two days into the war, Germany unleashed ten U-boats into the North Sea, 33 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,076 to hunt down the British Fleet. 34 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:24,668 One of them, U-21, made her way to the Firth of Forth, 35 00:04:24,760 --> 00:04:28,992 where the British cruiser, HMS Pathfinder, was leaving Rosyth naval base. 36 00:04:34,320 --> 00:04:36,709 U-21 sunk her with a single torpedo. 37 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:43,556 Within a fortnight, the Germans had more good news. 38 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:48,031 This 1927 film celebrates the voyage of Captain Weddigen and the U-9. 39 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:00,356 Through my primatic glasses I noticed a small masthead coming into view, 40 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:02,317 near the Maas Lightship. 41 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:04,356 It looked like the mast of a warship. 42 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:09,594 Could this be the first sight of the enemy that we were to have during the war? 43 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:16,069 The U-9 had found the British cruisers, Hogue, Aboukir and Cressy, 44 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,151 on patrol off the Dutch coast. 45 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,997 Practically obsolete, they were nicknamed the "Live-Bait Squadron". 46 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:30,951 Captain Weddigen seized his chance. 47 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:34,389 Fired torpedo at 500 metres. 48 00:05:34,480 --> 00:05:37,313 Target was middle ship in a three-ship formation. 49 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:42,673 31 seconds later, the torpedo struck Aboukir. 50 00:05:48,280 --> 00:05:50,589 On board was Kit Musgrave. 51 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:52,716 We were woken by a terrific crash, 52 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:57,078 and the whole ship shook and all the crockery in the pantry fell. 53 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:00,232 Then Cressy and Hogue arrived and let down their boats. 54 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:04,632 The Aboukir went down suddenly and we slid down her side into the water. 55 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:09,357 Musgrave jumped into the North Sea 56 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:13,558 and became the only man in the war to be sunk on three ships within one hour. 57 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,557 I swam to the Hogue and was just going on board, 58 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:20,756 when she was struck and sank in three minutes. 59 00:06:20,840 --> 00:06:24,879 I then swam on to the Cressy and was hauld up the side with a rope. 60 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:27,793 But she was struck also and we sank. 61 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:34,869 George von Muller was chief of Germany's Imperial Naval Cabinet. 62 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:41,399 On our return from the morning ride, the first news of the successful torpedo attack 63 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:44,597 by the U-9 on three English cruisers. 64 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:48,753 We are all delighted and the Kaiser is in seventh heaven. 65 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:54,632 The British were appalled. 66 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,759 First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, got the blame. 67 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,549 Over 1.400 men, many of them young cadets, 68 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,791 had died in a single submarine attack. 69 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:08,235 "Winston's War Babies", they were called. 70 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,875 British submarine lieutenant Ronald Trevor wrote to his parents: 71 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:21,159 The news tonight is sad but what we submariners have been expecting for weeks. 72 00:07:21,240 --> 00:07:24,073 The Commodore has repeatedly warned the Admiralty 73 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:26,879 that those ships ought not to patrol the North Sea. 74 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,713 What has happened is exactly what we predicted, 75 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:35,557 ships stand by to rescue the sinking one's crew, then the submarine gets two sitting shots. 76 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:42,993 Commander in chief of the British Grand Fleet was Admiral John Jellicoe. 77 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,037 He'd joined the Navy in 1874 as a midshipman. 78 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,516 Known as Silent Jack, he was experienced, capable and cautious. 79 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:01,915 He ended patrols off the German coast, 80 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:05,879 confining his most valuable ships to Scapa Flow and Rosyth, 81 00:08:05,960 --> 00:08:08,315 at the very limits of the U-boats' range. 82 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:10,391 He warned the Admiralty: 83 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:13,472 The Germans have shown that they rely to a very great extent 84 00:08:13,560 --> 00:08:16,632 on submarines, mines and torpedoes, 85 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:20,599 and there can be no doubt that they possess an actual superiority over us 86 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:22,591 in these particular directions. 87 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:28,719 Germany's forward submarine base was on the island of Heligoland. 88 00:08:30,560 --> 00:08:33,870 The U-boats were ordered to sweep the North Sea. 89 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:40,796 But the British had gone. 90 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,994 On the 16th of December 1914, hoping to lure the British out, 91 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,311 five German warships steamed across the North Sea. 92 00:08:57,560 --> 00:09:01,155 At seven in the morning, they opened fire on Scarborough and Hartlepool. 93 00:09:03,680 --> 00:09:07,389 There was a terrific crash. We thought it must be sudden thunder. 94 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,313 But when another crash came, we rushed to the window 95 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,631 and saw a lot of smoke and cried, "It 's the Germans!" 96 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:19,352 Two of the wee girls hung on to me and said, "Are the Germans going to kill us?" 97 00:09:20,600 --> 00:09:22,750 122 people died in the attack. 98 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:25,318 It was the first time enemy warships 99 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:28,870 had killed anyone on the British mainland in over a century. 100 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:36,075 Jellicoe too had been thinking about attacking the enemy's homeland, 101 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,232 but his weapon would not be a hit-and-miss naval bombardment, 102 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,278 but a blockade, tight as a drum, and lethal. 103 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:49,551 What we have to do is starve and cripple Germany. 104 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,433 The destruction of the German Fleet is a means to an end and not an end in itself. 105 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:03,951 Here was a use for those huge battleships, 106 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,430 as sentinels sealing the exits from the North Sea. 107 00:10:08,200 --> 00:10:13,035 Stopping Germany's fleet getting out, and her vital food and war supplies getting in. 108 00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:20,477 The North Sea would become no-man's-land, a dead sea. 109 00:10:28,440 --> 00:10:30,396 Jellicoe was helped by an invention 110 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:35,076 more important than Dreadnoughts or even submarines: wireless. 111 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,953 Every day, every German ship radioed its position 112 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,600 back to Fleet headquarters at Wilhelmshaven. 113 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,633 Across the North Sea, in the coastguard station at Hunstanton in Norfolk, 114 00:10:56,720 --> 00:10:59,154 British Naval Intelligence was listening. 115 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,392 The German messages were passed on to a group of code breakers 116 00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:11,278 working in one of Britain's most secret departments: 117 00:11:11,360 --> 00:11:14,989 Room 40, deep in the heart of the Admiralty Old Building. 118 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:25,077 According to one of their officers, the men in Room 40 were a mixed bag. 119 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:29,995 They knew ordinary literary German fluently and they could be relied on. 120 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,231 But of cryptography, of naval German, 121 00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:37,871 of the habits of war vessels of any nationality, they knew not a jot. 122 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:45,433 Some, like Dillwyn Knox, would help crack the German Enigma code in the Second World War. 123 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,869 But in 1914, they desperately needed some clues. 124 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,551 The break came in the Baltic Sea, where a German cruiser, the Magdeburg, 125 00:11:56,640 --> 00:11:58,596 was captured by the Russians. 126 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:05,316 On board, they found one of the most valuable documents of the war 127 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:07,630 and passed it on to their British allies. 128 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:11,996 This is the Magdeburg's code book. 129 00:12:12,080 --> 00:12:17,108 It allowed the men in Room 40 to read nearly everything the German Navy was planning. 130 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,634 "Oh, well", the Kaiser said, on learning of the Magdeburg's capture. 131 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,188 "Sparks are bound to fly at a time like this." 132 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:37,389 But the Kaiser had no idea his enemies had his code book. 133 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:41,155 No idea of the immense advantage they now possessed. 134 00:12:51,920 --> 00:12:57,517 Britain's sea strategy in the First World War was simple: to isolate and starve her enemies. 135 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,439 At Scapa Flow and Rosyth to the north, at Dover and Harwich to the south, 136 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:08,069 the Royal Navy closed the North Sea to German ships. 137 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,791 The blockade was a brutal vision, 138 00:13:19,880 --> 00:13:23,998 brainchild of Maurice Hankey, of the Committee of Imperial Defence. 139 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,555 My belief in sea power amounted almost to a religion. 140 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,712 The Germans, like Napoleon, might overrun the continent. 141 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:35,839 This might prolong the war but could not affect the final issue, 142 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,354 which would be decided by economic pressure. 143 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:43,114 The Director of Naval Intelligence agreed. 144 00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:47,034 Grass would sooner or later grow in the streets of Hamburg, 145 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,317 and widespread death and ruin would soon be inflicted. 146 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,354 Germany began the war with a merchant fleet of nearly four million tons. 147 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,910 Within months she lost a quarter of her ships, 148 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,869 seized in harbours or caught making a dash into the no-man's-land of the North Sea. 149 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:11,753 Lloyds of London kept a log of every vessel sunk. 150 00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:19,513 Their records show that on one day alone, the 8th of August 1914, Germany lost 41 ships. 151 00:14:25,520 --> 00:14:29,752 Neutral countries: Holland, Denmark, Sweden, were not spared. 152 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:36,313 Germany depended on ports like Rotterdam for grain and raw materials. 153 00:14:36,400 --> 00:14:39,949 So Britain forced neutral ships to submit to the blockade. 154 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:49,277 Starting with Holland, the British pressured shipping companies into declaring their goods. 155 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:53,278 In every country, she built up a network of agents. 156 00:14:53,360 --> 00:14:57,751 They tracked ships coming and going, who was sending what, where. 157 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:01,236 Any ship could be stopped. 158 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,438 Any found with banned supplies for Germany, had its cargo seized. 159 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:11,754 Within weeks, the German government started to ration food. 160 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,831 Caroline Ethel Cooper was an Australian stranded in Leipzig since the start of the war. 161 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,598 Every week, she wrote to her sister in Adelaide. 162 00:15:25,920 --> 00:15:30,354 My Dear Emmie, the Government has seized the whole bread flour and meal supply of the country. 163 00:15:30,440 --> 00:15:35,753 We are allowed only four pounds of bread and can only buy one pound of white flour at a time. 164 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:41,549 Now that the war against neutral ships and food supply has begun, prices rise every week. 165 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:47,954 Sailors like Richard Stumpf were stuck in harbour, frustrated and hungry. 166 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,476 2nd of April 1916. 167 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:54,518 We spend most of our time worrying about our bellies. 168 00:15:54,600 --> 00:15:57,478 Even the officers are embittered and dissatisfied. 169 00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:10,112 To end Germany's isolation, her navy came up with a revolutionary plan: 170 00:16:10,200 --> 00:16:15,558 an unarmed submarine over 200 feet long, that could carry a cargo of 1.000 tons. 171 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,634 In June 1916, the Deutschland set out for America, 172 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:27,269 the first time a submarine had ever tried to cross the Atlantic. 173 00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:31,592 Because of the wet weather and the high running seas, 174 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:33,955 the deck hatches were closed most of the time, 175 00:16:34,040 --> 00:16:37,237 and the diesel engines pumped hot humid air throughout the boat. 176 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:41,714 Sweat ran down the bulkheads and water leaked around loose rivets. 177 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,519 The drinking water tasted like diesel, 178 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,718 and every meal the cook cooked had a layer of oil across the top. 179 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,398 As we approached the American coast, 180 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:54,948 Captain König ordered the crew to say nothing to anyone, 181 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,316 about the strains we'd undergone during the trip, 182 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:00,868 and to especially avoid mentioning our seasickness. 183 00:17:03,800 --> 00:17:05,313 Now, after two world wars, 184 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,632 it's taken for granted that America and Britain are the closest of allies, 185 00:17:09,720 --> 00:17:11,551 naturally on the same side. 186 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:15,469 But in the First World War it wasn't so clear. 187 00:17:20,960 --> 00:17:24,350 Eight million Americans had German parents or grandparents. 188 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,079 Four and a half million were of Irish descent. 189 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,993 Many of them had little love for England. 190 00:17:31,280 --> 00:17:36,115 At the outbreak of war, thousands of US citizens had tried to enlist in the German Army. 191 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:41,632 And America was enjoying a massive economic boom. 192 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:49,279 Half Britain's war budget was spent in the States. 193 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:55,396 Companies like Bethlehem Steel were swamped with orders. 194 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:01,710 They hauled in six times the profits they had made before the war. 195 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,954 The Deutschland was just another good customer. 196 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,876 Her brave Atlantic crossing, dodging Royal Navy warships, 197 00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:22,397 became a rallying point for anyone who had suffered from the British blockade. 198 00:18:27,120 --> 00:18:29,395 Our crossing gradually became a triumph. 199 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,438 All the neutral steamers we met, American or others, 200 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:34,988 greeted us with three hoots or with their sirens. 201 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,311 Only an English steamer sailed past in deadly silence, 202 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:42,712 while we were proudly raising the black, white and red flag in the wind. 203 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,278 The Deutschland's crew received a hero's welcome. 204 00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:51,316 There were dinners in their honour. 205 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:54,512 Captain König was invited to meet the President. 206 00:18:55,600 --> 00:18:59,229 The three weeks we spent in the United States were a non stop party. 207 00:19:00,440 --> 00:19:02,829 Everywhere we went, people gathered round us. 208 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:05,070 They all wanted a souvenir of some kind. 209 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,709 I even sold the buttons off my shirt and the stripes off my tunic. 210 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:14,071 German families introduced us to their daughters and we never had to pay for beer. 211 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:22,759 The Deutschland returned to Germany with a vital cargo of nickel and rubber. 212 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:29,231 The help it gave the economy was nothing compared with the boost to German morale, 213 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:31,959 as even Caroline Ethel Cooper had to admit. 214 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:38,717 The town is flagged today because the Deutschland has got safely back. 215 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,236 The sight of those red white and black flags always makes me sick, 216 00:19:42,320 --> 00:19:44,390 but I am glad she got across all the same. 217 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:46,357 It was a sporting run. 218 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:52,631 But the Deutschland was too small to break the blockade. 219 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:00,510 In Germany and Austria, there were not enough people to work the land, 220 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:03,797 and too many officials trying to ration what food there was. 221 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:08,514 The situation with the hunger and queues is turning nasty. 222 00:20:08,600 --> 00:20:11,672 People wait for potatoes in their hundreds, 223 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:14,513 four deep, from four in the morning until the afternoon. 224 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:19,435 Every morning there are queues, lined with armchairs and cushions, 225 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,476 upon which people sit and sleep. 226 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,949 The shortages worsened after the terrible harvest of 1916. 227 00:20:28,120 --> 00:20:30,350 The Germans called it the Turnip Winter. 228 00:20:30,440 --> 00:20:33,113 Many had nothing to eat but cattle fodder. 229 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,230 There were fifty food riots that year. 230 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:40,871 Oh, what days of terror! Everything's in turmoil! 231 00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,235 There was havoc in town last night. 232 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,357 The windowpanes were smashed in at Café Kaierhof. 233 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:50,512 Angry crowds were shouting outside bakeries and inns. 234 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:56,270 Up at the castle, they cursed the Major in words I shan't repeat. 235 00:20:56,360 --> 00:20:58,237 The army appeared at eleven. 236 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:07,869 It's horribly cold and because the rolling stock has all been taken for the war effort, 237 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:10,758 there is an extreme shortage of coal. 238 00:21:10,840 --> 00:21:14,389 We're learning how to be freezing, which isn't the most pleasant feeling. 239 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:19,314 School, theatres and cinemas have all been closed until further notice 240 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,630 because of the lack of coal. 241 00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:32,276 The German Navy did nothing to help. 242 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:36,795 Even if large parts of our battle fleet were lying at the bottom of the sea, 243 00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:41,510 it would have accomplished more than it does now, lying well preserved in our ports. 244 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,710 At Wilhelmshaven, people wrote graffiti on the walls. 245 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:49,360 "Dear Fatherland, you may rest assured, 246 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,954 the Fleet's in harbour, safely moored." 247 00:21:55,400 --> 00:22:00,679 Admiral Reinhardt Scheer had been ordered not to risk his ships against the full British Fleet. 248 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:06,157 But by mid 1916, the pressure to do something was intense. 249 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:18,548 On the 31st of May, Germany's High Seas Fleet steamed out of Wilhelmshaven, 250 00:22:18,640 --> 00:22:21,598 hoping to engage the Royal Navy's battle cruisers. 251 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:31,116 But the British were one jump ahead. 252 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,390 The men in Room 40 had already decoded Scheer's orders. 253 00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,273 Three hours before the Germans had even left harbour, 254 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:47,035 the entire British Grand Fleet was on its way to intercept them. 255 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,791 Now the world would get the great sea battle it had been waiting for. 256 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:54,438 Jutland. 257 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:06,876 It was a titanic clash. 258 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,111 250 warships, 100.000 men. 259 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,351 Britain's first great fleet action since Trafalgar. 260 00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:17,716 It was a fight they had to win. 261 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:23,072 If Germany ended up masters of the North Sea, the blockade would be finished, 262 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:27,039 the British army in Europe cut off, Britain herself open to invasion. 263 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:31,838 Admiral John Jellicoe was, Winston Churchill said: 264 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:35,276 "The only man who could lose the war in an afternoon." 265 00:23:41,120 --> 00:23:43,076 Less well-armoured than Germany's, 266 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,232 Britain's ships preferred to fight at very long range. 267 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:49,790 But at Jutland, the range was just five miles. 268 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:56,113 We fired very slowly, with deliberation, 269 00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:59,795 while the Kaiser-class ships in front of us shot like mad. 270 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:05,393 Now the English were in an unfavourable position. 271 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:21,350 Our first shot hit the bridge of a German destroyer and blew it to hell. 272 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:25,149 Shells fell all around us and what with ships sinking 273 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:30,268 and dying and dead bodies floating about, it made one shiver at the sight of it. 274 00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,835 At 4:30 p.m., the battle cruiser Queen Mary was hit by a shell, 275 00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:40,354 which exploded in the ship's magazine. 276 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,391 A horrible sight it was. 277 00:24:43,480 --> 00:24:49,396 First an enormous height of dull red flame, followed by a great mass of black smoke, 278 00:24:49,480 --> 00:24:52,836 amongst which was the wreckage thrown in all directions. 279 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:54,990 The blast was tremendous. 280 00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:59,953 Admiral Beatty watched from HMS Lion. 281 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:05,109 There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today. 282 00:25:08,120 --> 00:25:11,476 About seven o'clock, we passed the wreck of a large ship, 283 00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:15,997 which at that time we hoped was a German but later learned was one of ours. 284 00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,389 She was broken right in two. 285 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:22,917 The bow and stern were sticking up about fifty feet and quite independent. 286 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,996 But the British had the Germans out-gunned and outnumbered. 287 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,790 As evening fell, the German Fleet broke off the action. 288 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:40,236 We were in a regular deathtrap. 289 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:44,154 There was only one way to escape the unfavourable tactical situation, 290 00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:47,630 turn the line about and withdraw on the opposite course. 291 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:51,956 We had to get out of this dangerous enemy envelopment. 292 00:25:53,040 --> 00:25:56,476 To "Silent Jack" Jellicoe, peering through the fog of battle, 293 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,597 it didn't look as though the Germans were running for home, 294 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:01,636 but lulling the British into a trap. 295 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:07,315 If the enemy battle fleet were to turn away from an advancing fleet, 296 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,837 I should assume that the intention was to lead us over mines and submarines. 297 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,715 So Jellicoe ordered the British to turn as well, away from their vulnerable foe. 298 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:33,711 As night fell on the 31st of May 1916, 299 00:26:33,800 --> 00:26:37,236 the men in Room 40 tracked the retreating German Fleet. 300 00:26:39,320 --> 00:26:41,880 They passed its positions on to the Royal Navy, 301 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,111 giving Jellicoe a last chance to finish the Germans off. 302 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,755 But the Royal Navy failed to catch them and the German Fleet made it home. 303 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:57,356 During the night, telegrams arrived giving the estimated losses of the English, 304 00:26:57,440 --> 00:26:59,749 which are 2 to 3 in our favour. 305 00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:03,037 The Kaiser was therefore able to announce at breakfast, 306 00:27:03,120 --> 00:27:06,271 "We have won a great victory in the North Sea." 307 00:27:14,560 --> 00:27:17,233 Based on the maths alone, the Kaiser was right. 308 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,238 Germany had 11 lost ships and 2.500 men. 309 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:24,153 Britain: 14 ships and 6.000 men. 310 00:27:28,600 --> 00:27:30,556 But that wasn't the point. 311 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:35,475 The Kaiser's battleships were back in harbour, and stayed there till the end of the war. 312 00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:40,554 The British Fleet still ruled the North Sea, evermore tightening the blockade. 313 00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:56,230 From the start, Germany had replied to the British blockade with her own economic war. 314 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,596 She, too, tried to cripple the enemy by cutting off supplies. 315 00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:04,629 This light raider, the Möwe, 316 00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:08,554 was one of the few surface ships Germany ever sent into the North Sea. 317 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:12,349 Her target not warships, but cargo boats. 318 00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:17,798 She sunk 20.000 tons, building a large collection of captured crews. 319 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,358 According to the English we are in league with the devil 320 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,432 and have acquired the Flying Dutchman. 321 00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,559 The captain of the Möwe said recently, "You can imagine what a great moment it was, 322 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:36,359 when I had eight English captains standing in front of me, 323 00:28:36,440 --> 00:28:39,989 and I could tell them all: This is the work of the German Fleet." 324 00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,877 Germany's U-boats joined in the war against Allied trade. 325 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:02,230 One British admiral was horrified. 326 00:29:03,360 --> 00:29:08,480 Submarines are underhand, unfair and damned un-English. 327 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:14,195 As for U-boats attacking civilian ships, it is impossible and unthinkable. 328 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:18,751 If they do, their captured crews should be hanged as pirates. 329 00:29:20,760 --> 00:29:23,991 The U-boat blockade of Britain would have to be ruthless. 330 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,559 But Germany's chancellor, Bethmann-Hollweg, 331 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:32,111 realised the effect this would have on world opinion, as he told Georg von Muller. 332 00:29:33,520 --> 00:29:35,795 Spent the afternoon with the Chancellor, 333 00:29:35,880 --> 00:29:38,758 who wished once more to discuss the U-boat question. 334 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:43,709 Bethmann envisaged the remaining neutrals united against us, 335 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,758 as the "mad dog" among the peoples of the world. 336 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:48,910 That would mean the end of Germany. 337 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:54,196 Germany's admirals were furious at having their hands tied. 338 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,795 But submarines were ordered to stick to the old rules of war. 339 00:29:57,880 --> 00:30:00,553 They gave warnings of their attacks. 340 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:02,756 They did not attack underwater. 341 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,798 They gave merchant crews time to escape. 342 00:30:12,320 --> 00:30:15,756 German submarines sunk a quarter of a million tons in 1914. 343 00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:20,394 But Britain built new ships faster than the U-boats could sink them. 344 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:26,517 Far from being choked by the German blockade, the British economy flourished. 345 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:33,790 The British firm Vickers, with a workforce of 78.000, 346 00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:38,510 turned out guns, aeroplanes, battleships and record profits. 347 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:46,029 If Germany was trying to play fair, Britain wasn't. 348 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,629 Q-ships looked like unarmed traders, but carried hidden guns. 349 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:54,671 They looked like easy prey, but when submarines came close, 350 00:30:54,760 --> 00:30:57,399 the Q-ships uncovered their guns and attacked. 351 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,388 To add to the deception, they often sailed under foreign flags. 352 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:11,279 Lieutenant Heinrich Crompton on the U-41 was caught by just such a trick. 353 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,478 As the two ships came within 300 metres of each other, 354 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:19,917 the steamer opened a heavy accurate rifle fire from all along the railing, 355 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,913 immediately joined by large-calibre guns hidden fore and aft. 356 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:31,914 The U-41 immediately returned three rounds from the forward gun, all hits to the hull. 357 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:36,596 Throughout the action the steamer continued to fly the American flag. 358 00:31:42,880 --> 00:31:48,989 On the 1st of February 1915, in response to the British blockade, the Kaiser stepped up his campaign. 359 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:54,159 He declared that all the waters around Britain were a war zone, in which any ships, 360 00:31:54,240 --> 00:31:56,879 including neutrals, might be sunk. 361 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:02,350 This decision set Germany on a collision course with America. 362 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:15,478 The pride of the Cunard Line, the Lusitania, was the largest, most luxurious liner in the world. 363 00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,120 She could carry over two thousand passengers. 364 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:24,519 There was a ragtime dance written in her honour. 365 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:36,716 On the 1st of May 1915, Cunard posted a list of her departures in the New York Times. 366 00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:45,429 Next to it was an advertisement placed by the German ambassador. 367 00:32:45,520 --> 00:32:49,513 Those sailing to Britain, it said, did so at their own risk. 368 00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:02,233 At 11:30 that morning, the Lusitania left New York for Liverpool. 369 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:06,633 Her captain made light of the submarine threat. 370 00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:13,034 It's the best joke I've heard in many days, this talk of torpedoing the Lusitania. 371 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:20,355 This is the last picture of her ever taken. 372 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:26,472 The Lusitania sighted the Irish coast on the 7th of May. 373 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:29,590 The lighthouse on the Old Head of Kinsale, 374 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,832 was traditionally used by ships on the Atlantic run to get their bearings. 375 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:45,958 At 2:10, the Lusitania was hit by a single torpedo. 376 00:33:48,040 --> 00:33:51,191 As I watched, one funnel went, 377 00:33:51,280 --> 00:33:56,832 then the other, then the other, until the ship had gone and the sea was calm, 378 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,151 and all you could see was bodies and wreckage of furniture, 379 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:04,074 and everything that had been in the ship floating in the water. 380 00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:07,953 My husband and I got into a lifeboat, 381 00:34:08,040 --> 00:34:10,349 the ropes of which jammed and had to be cut, 382 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:12,874 since when I have not seen or heard of my husband. 383 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:21,432 I've lost all I ever possessed and my dead boys, ages eleven years and eight. 384 00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:27,671 I was rescued by a trawler. 385 00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:33,232 My dear husband was lost but I had the great satifaction of finding him on Saturday, 386 00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:37,359 and seeing him laid to rest in the cemetery in Queenstown. 387 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:48,710 Police reports were sent to relatives to identify the bodies. 388 00:34:51,360 --> 00:34:56,275 1.200 people died on the Lusitania, including 128 Americans. 389 00:34:59,720 --> 00:35:04,077 At the battle fronts in Europe, tens of thousands were dying every day, 390 00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:07,436 but the fate of the great Cunard liner overshadowed them. 391 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:16,035 It led to the most widespread anti-German riots of the war. 392 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:24,076 In Liverpool, a newly-arrived American joined the mob outside a German-owned shop. 393 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:28,676 The crowd was muttering and growling, and the shop was dark, 394 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:30,716 but there were people upstairs. 395 00:35:30,800 --> 00:35:34,190 So I just picked up a brick and heaved it through the window. 396 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:39,432 Then everyone took to shying them and in a few minutes the place was a wreck. 397 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:43,955 There were several policemen at the corner and they just grinned. 398 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:50,510 With the sinking of the Lusitania, Germany had crossed a line. 399 00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:56,357 The whole world hates us because we are conducting the war in such a brutal manner. 400 00:35:56,440 --> 00:35:58,396 And the brutality is increasing. 401 00:35:58,480 --> 00:36:03,508 I was at a party when the report of the torpedoing of the Lusitania arrived. 402 00:36:03,600 --> 00:36:08,390 I saw two officers' wives who, mad with joy, started to dance about the room. 403 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:12,909 "Don't forget", I said, "that there were also women and children aboard." 404 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,878 "That doesn't matter", they said and danced on. 405 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:18,428 "The more who go to the bottom, the better." 406 00:36:25,680 --> 00:36:28,752 The Lusitania came to stand for German barbarity. 407 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:36,112 Britain stirred the indignation with its own propaganda. 408 00:36:36,200 --> 00:36:40,193 Posters and even posed photographs rammed home what had happened. 409 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:47,991 The German Embassy in Washington received bomb threats. 410 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:55,391 President Woodrow Wilson himself began to see Germany as the "mad dog of the world." 411 00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:03,076 In God's name, how could any nation calling itself civilized do so horrible a thing? 412 00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:10,918 It seemed America might clamber down off the fence. 413 00:37:11,840 --> 00:37:13,876 But outrage soon gave way to caution. 414 00:37:14,760 --> 00:37:18,355 Wilson reassured the nation that America would not go to war. 415 00:37:19,240 --> 00:37:22,789 There is such a thing as a man being too proud to fight. 416 00:37:22,880 --> 00:37:25,997 There is such a thing as a nation being so right, 417 00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,993 that it does not need to convince others by force that it is right. 418 00:37:31,480 --> 00:37:35,109 And anyway, war would be very bad for business. 419 00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:41,150 Wilson kept the United States prepared but neutral for two more years. 420 00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:51,073 The sinking of the Lusitania was terrible, 421 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:54,357 but that didn't seem reason enough to throw away more lives and profits 422 00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,750 by joining in a distant war. 423 00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:09,636 Germany's policy in America, after sinking the Lusitania, was complex. 424 00:38:13,360 --> 00:38:16,989 She kept her U-boats in check, but not her spies. 425 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,637 In 1916, German agents blew up Black Tom Island, 426 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:27,234 a loading depot in New York Harbour. 427 00:38:34,520 --> 00:38:38,069 It held 900 tons of ammunition, destined for the Allies. 428 00:38:39,800 --> 00:38:42,837 Several thousand persons lined the sea wall 429 00:38:42,920 --> 00:38:47,596 and acquired a real picture of what the firing line in the European war looks like. 430 00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:51,798 The waterline was one mass of red glare. 431 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:03,355 The explosions were so strong, they were felt in Philadelphia, 90 miles away. 432 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:11,031 German agents slipped bombs onto ships in American ports. 433 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:15,671 There were several assassination attempts, and even a bomb planted in the US Capitol. 434 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:21,997 German agents are everywhere. 435 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:26,915 Extraordinary measures of precaution have now become necessary in all the arms factories, 436 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:31,710 at the docks and on board vessels, even vessels of the United States Navy. 437 00:39:38,400 --> 00:39:42,279 Hard evidence tying Germany to espionage operations against America 438 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:44,316 came from one of the spies himself. 439 00:39:46,200 --> 00:39:50,478 Heinrich Albert left his briefcase on New York's elevated railway. 440 00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:54,553 It held documents proving the German Embassy was bankrolling the sabotage. 441 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,471 Two senior diplomats, including Franz von Papen, 442 00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:02,313 Hitler's future Vice-Chancellor, were expelled. 443 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:13,355 But nothing got in the way of business on the New York Stock Exchange. 444 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:18,996 When Germany won a battle, Allied stocks fell. 445 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:21,674 When Britain won, her shares rose. 446 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:24,354 American investors were betting on the war. 447 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,680 For British cabinet minister David Lloyd George, 448 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,832 there was a direct connection between battle and bank. 449 00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:35,916 Success means credit. 450 00:40:36,000 --> 00:40:40,437 Financiers never hesitate to lend to a prosperous concern. 451 00:40:42,600 --> 00:40:45,876 France and Russia paid for the war by borrowing from Britain. 452 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:50,311 Britain in turn raised money on the American stock market 453 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,675 through her Wall Street bankers, JP Morgan. 454 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:56,992 It was spent buying American armaments, American supplies. 455 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:05,791 Of all the money raised in America to pay for the war, 99% went to Britain and the Allies. 456 00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:11,710 It was something that made many Germans wonder just how neutral America really was. 457 00:41:12,440 --> 00:41:14,874 30th of January 1916. 458 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:19,715 In financial circles it is openly said that England has won the war already, 459 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:24,715 and every day that it goes on after March, can only make the ruin of Germany completer, 460 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:27,519 no matter what her military successes may be. 461 00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:32,716 America lent so much that, by the end of 1916, 462 00:41:32,800 --> 00:41:36,873 the central bank warned that people were betting too heavily on Britain. 463 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:40,270 If the Allies lost, they might never get their money back. 464 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:48,559 The mere thought that American cash might be backing the wrong side, 465 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:51,712 wiped a billion dollars off Allied stocks in a week. 466 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:56,989 Germany's generals felt the odds were stacking up against them. 467 00:41:57,080 --> 00:42:01,073 They grew impatient at hesitant politicians tying their hands. 468 00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:08,360 In view of the military situation, we must lose no time in adopting the measure 469 00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:12,433 of torpedoing armed enemy merchantmen without notice. 470 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:17,150 The Entente are continuing the war with all the resources at their disposal. 471 00:42:23,360 --> 00:42:28,673 Our ambassador prophesies war with America if we persit in our intention 472 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:31,752 of torpedoing armed merchantmen without warning. 473 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:36,277 The Kaiser wrote in the margin of the report "I do not care." 474 00:42:40,120 --> 00:42:44,113 The Kaiser didn't care because of some key German calculations. 475 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:49,956 His generals gambled that, if America joined the Allies, 476 00:42:50,040 --> 00:42:54,318 she would not have a decisive impact on the fighting in Europe until 1919. 477 00:42:56,080 --> 00:43:01,154 Long before then, the U-boat campaign would have brought Britain and France to their knees. 478 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:12,119 One thing stayed Germany's hand. 479 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:17,276 In December 1916, she put out a peace feeler to the Allies, 480 00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:19,794 believing she could hold on to her gains. 481 00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:24,949 The French and British leaders met in Paris and rejected the offer. 482 00:43:34,840 --> 00:43:37,991 Germany now staked everything on a new submarine campaign. 483 00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:42,470 U-boats would sink all ships on sight, without warning. 484 00:43:46,760 --> 00:43:51,038 February the 2nd is a special and uplifting day for us Germans, 485 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:53,953 the beginning of the all out submarine war. 486 00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:58,113 We're all holding our breaths and hoping that with this radical medicine, 487 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:03,115 we will finally cure England of her arrogance and secure a quick peace, 488 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:05,430 the terms of which we will dictate. 489 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:13,679 In April 1917, Germany sunk over 800.000 tons, causing panic at the British Admiralty. 490 00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:19,190 But Germany didn't have enough U-boats to sustain the success, 491 00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:23,159 and Allied ships were getting better at protecting themselves. 492 00:44:24,560 --> 00:44:30,237 Merchant ships now travelled not singly, but in convoy, with more destroyers to protect them. 493 00:44:32,640 --> 00:44:34,835 Airships and aeroplanes scouted overhead, 494 00:44:34,920 --> 00:44:38,959 looking for the telltale signs of submarines lying in wait. 495 00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:44,990 63 U-boats were sunk in 1917, three times the losses of the previous year. 496 00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:55,911 One captured U-boat was put on display in London. 497 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:59,197 13.000 people paid to view it on the first day. 498 00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:05,309 Its German sailors couldn't believe the contrast between the Allied home front and their own. 499 00:45:08,720 --> 00:45:10,915 We remained in Dover for two and a half days 500 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:14,072 and we were plentifully supplied with food, drink and smokes, 501 00:45:14,160 --> 00:45:17,072 for you notice nothing of the war here. 502 00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,914 There are no wooden soles or bicycles with wooden tyres, 503 00:45:21,000 --> 00:45:25,073 and the butchers' shops have rows and rows of pigs hanging up. 504 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:27,993 There is no prospect of starving England. 505 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:32,278 I am glad, for the war is over for me. 506 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:38,112 The second U-boat campaign was a double failure. 507 00:45:38,200 --> 00:45:40,794 It didn't deliver militarily: 508 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:45,032 German submarines could not sink enough Allied ships to make a difference. 509 00:45:45,120 --> 00:45:49,955 And it was a diplomatic disaster, pushing America to the very brink of war. 510 00:45:56,400 --> 00:45:59,119 The final shove came from the men in Room 40. 511 00:46:01,240 --> 00:46:03,834 On the 16th of January 1917, 512 00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:08,038 Britain intercepted a coded telegram from German Foreign Secretary Zimmerman 513 00:46:08,120 --> 00:46:10,680 to his ambassador in Mexico City. 514 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:17,914 The Zimmerman telegram was made up of 1.000 numerical code groups. 515 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,230 It took two weeks to decypher. 516 00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:22,752 And as the meaning emerged, 517 00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:28,233 the men in Room 40 realised they were holding the most extraordinary intelligence of the war. 518 00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:30,709 Destined for the Mexican Government, 519 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:35,749 the telegram outlined Germany's plan for Mexico to invade the United States. 520 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:41,072 We make Mexico a proposal of alliance with an understanding on our part 521 00:46:41,160 --> 00:46:45,995 that Mexico is to reconquer Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. 522 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:49,390 The settlement in detail is left to you. 523 00:46:55,320 --> 00:46:57,311 Zimmerman's scheme was harebrained. 524 00:46:57,400 --> 00:46:59,675 Mexico was in the middle of a revolution. 525 00:46:59,760 --> 00:47:03,355 US troops were already fighting bandits on the border. 526 00:47:03,440 --> 00:47:06,796 There was no way the Mexican Government wanted more trouble. 527 00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:13,598 But Germany's proposal was a godsend to Britain. 528 00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:16,990 It was just what she needed to end America's neutrality. 529 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:26,314 Two weeks into the U-boat campaign, Britain called the US ambassador to the Foreign Office 530 00:47:26,400 --> 00:47:28,630 and passed over the Zimmerman telegram. 531 00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:32,475 It was, said Britain's Foreign Secretary, 532 00:47:32,560 --> 00:47:35,393 "as dramatic a moment as I remember in all my life." 533 00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:43,078 On the 2nd of April, President Wilson went to the Capitol. 534 00:47:44,560 --> 00:47:48,109 The United States had not declared war when the Lusitania went down. 535 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:51,715 It had not declared war when spies blew up its shipyards. 536 00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:56,669 But Germany urging Mexico to attack America was in a different league. 537 00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:04,877 On the 6th of April 1917, the United States declared war against Germany. 538 00:48:41,840 --> 00:48:45,833 For three years, the country had played the war's banker and supplier. 539 00:48:47,140 --> 00:48:49,833 Now as far as president Wilson was concerned, 540 00:48:50,440 --> 00:48:54,133 America was fighting a crusade for international justice and democracy. 541 00:48:58,140 --> 00:49:03,133 The North Sea would remain dead until the very end. 542 00:49:07,740 --> 00:49:10,133 The Germans now set themselves a desperate task. 543 00:49:10,540 --> 00:49:14,110 To win the war before American Troops arrived in Force. 544 00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:19,710 And President Wilson's Liberal Crusade would be up against new ideas, 545 00:49:19,840 --> 00:49:21,710 of socialism and Revolution. 546 00:49:28,140 --> 00:49:30,710 In the next episode of the First World War: 547 00:49:31,140 --> 00:49:33,710 German Spies so rebellion in Ireland and Russia. 548 00:49:34,140 --> 00:49:37,410 And French Troops mutiny on the Western Front. 549 00:49:37,840 --> 00:49:41,710 A war against war itself.