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This silent German newsreel shows World War I U-boats preparing for war patrols, and departing for combat, and then sinking vessels on the high seas. Some of the rare images in this film include a U-boat stopping a sailing vessel in the Atlantic, forcing the crew to abandon ship and then sinking the enemy vessel. This type of "gallant" warfare would be replaced by less kind methods -- unrestricted submarine warfare. Unrestricted submarine warfare is a type of naval warfare in which submarines sink vessels such as freighters and tankers without warning, as opposed to attacks per prize rules (also known as "cruiser rules"). Prize rules call for submarines to surface and search for merchantmen and place crews in "a place of safety" (for which lifeboats did not qualify, except under particular circumstances) before sinking them, unless the ship has shown "persistent refusal to stop ... or active resistance to visit or search". The U-boat campaign of World War I, waged intermittently by Germany between 1915 and 1918 against Britain and her allies. This was ostensibly the reason for the entry of the United States into the war in 1917, together with the Zimmermann Telegram. It was also a casus belli for the entry of Brazil into the war in 1917. Following the use of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany in the First World War, countries tried to limit or even abolish submarines. Instead, the London Naval Treaty required submarines to abide by prize rules. These regulations did not prohibit arming merchantmen, but arming them or having them report contact with submarines (or raiders) made them de facto naval auxiliaries and removed the protection of the prize rules. This rendered the restrictions on submarines effectively useless. While such tactics increase the combat effectiveness of the submarine and improve its chances of survival, they are considered by some to be a breach of the rules of war, especially when employed against neutral country vessels in a war zone. We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example like: "01:00:12:00 -- President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference." This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com