March 28, 1915 First Blood

One-hundred and five years ago, the “War to end all Wars” had not yet entered the 9th month.  The war of mobility from 1914 was gone now, replaced by the hundreds of miles of trench-works, destined to characterize the remainder of the war.

Off the battlefield, German and British governments sought control over the waters and thus to choke the economic life, each out of the other.

In 1914, both Germany and the United Kingdom were heavily dependent on foreign trade, not only to feed their own war industries but also to feed civil populations, back at home.

After the war, the German Board of Public Health claimed 763,000 civilian deaths due to disease and starvation, specifically brought about by the blockade.  Ten years later, one academic study put the number at 424,000.

In theory, neutral America was happy to trade with any and all comers but in practice, Britannia…