I had to laugh at the article regarding the Germans telling shipping lines to sail in straight lines with lights on (and don’t use the radio if you see a german ship)...”So weee cahn blow theee sheeeps out of zeee wasser eazileee!
Actually, as I recall, when the BISMARCK was running for France after sinking the HOOD, and damaging PRINCE OF WALES, she was spotted by a U.S Coast Guard vessel, which radioed her position [I believe] to the Brits.
She was also spotted by a British PBY, whose co-pilot was an American. So the German demands weren’t all that out of line at the time [assuming we were serious about being neutral].
At that point, the Germans didn’t want to pick a fight with the Americans. They wanted to make sure that they had justification prior to sinking a neutral ship.
Since most of the ships would have been subject to seizure because of their cargo and destination, they of course couldn’t comply, and the Germans would have justifiable grounds for sinking them.
To this point, Germany has made an effort to conduct its submarine warfare to traditional naval standards. Going to a standard of sinking without warning was a reasonable response to British actions.
Germany trying to set the rules for shipping is hilarious. Want to make it easy on them?