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Good morning. I apologize for my absence. I think we have established that Wilson was less than truthful, Churchill allowed civilians to be murdered to get the US into the war fully. Now the issue, at least to me, is the blockade and unrestricted sub warfare and why.

October 7, 1916, the German U-Boat U53 just popped up out of nowhere in Newport Harbor and dropped anchor off of Goat Island. The skipper of the U53, Hans Rose, paid an official visit to Rear Admiral Austin M. Knight who was the commander of the Newport Naval District. While the submarine was anchored "the crew came ashore and were treated to beer by the American Sailors, while crowds of curious were admitted aboard the submersible and shown about with the most open courtesy." Captain Rose said he had come to deliver a letter to the German Ambassador, Count von Bernstorff. The Germans stayed until sunset and left.

The Navy Department figured it was over and the U53 was on her way back when a message came in from Captain Smith of the liner Kansan. He wanted to know why he had been stopped and boarded by a German sub in the vicinity of the Nantucket light-ship at 5:30 that morning. He added that after he convinced the German Captain of the nationality of the ship he was allowed to go. This changed between the hours of noon and midnight when ships were being sunk off of the Nantucket coast. One of these being a steam liner from Halifax named Stephano. She had Americans on board when she was sent to the bottom.

One German diplomat at the embassy in Washington said "It should be easy to destroy more of the overseas commerce of the Allies, which is principally with America, near where it originates."

Not only were the Germans sinking Merchant Men and passenger liners, they also sank several schooners in June of 1918.

Source: Our Navy In The War, Lawrence Perry, 1918

Hope this at least helps but if not, a decent look into history.

I am not defending the actions taken by the German Navy in a moral sense, but a strategic sense. Kaiser Bill and Ludendorf believed they were morally, and legally, justified to attack American shipping because the United States was viewed as violating the terms of their neutrality.

Your naval anecdote reminds me of the soccer game the Germans and the British played in no-mans land, Ypres, Belgium, Dec 24, 1914 (The Germans preportedly won 2-1.) It certainly was an age of warrior-poets.