Great Britain’s World War I Naval Blockade of Germany: International Law Versus the Trident of Neptune

Historical coverage of naval wars often rests on great battles between fleets but overlooks that navies greatly affect the course of war through strategy that can entail little fighting: naval blockade. The imposition of an economic blockade at sea in order to damage a country’s war effort was used to great effect by Great Britain in many wars. By World War I, however, the British faced increasing problems in deploying an effective blockade of Germany given legislation through international law that hampered the effort for most of the war. While the blockade had success by the end of the conflict, that success cannot be understood without examining the role of diplomacy in World War I at sea. Britain’s economic blockade of Germany hinged on the use of naval power in the face of diplomatic agreements on the use of blockades. Britain’s blockade was one that London had to justify it through diplomacy as it violated agreements on what constituted a legal blockade. The blockade of Germany was a distant one, not a close one, and the British faced great objections from neutral powers as a result. The British war effort, like that of the Germans, depended on supplies from many of these neutrals, making these objections potentially serious. In addition, any expansion of the contraband lists during the war to increase the blockade’s effectiveness was met with strong opposition by neutral powers. As a result, Britain’s blockade constituted a struggle between the force of international law and the need for the blockade to help secure victory. Thus, this chapter shows how Britain’s economic blockade is one that showcases the interrelated nature of diplomacy and naval war.