File No. 763.72/2740
The German Ambassador (Bernstorff) to the Secretary of State
[Handed to the Secretary by the
Ambassador, February 28, 1916.]
The Imperial Government reiterates the pledges given on September 1 and October 5, 1915,1 and does not consider that these assurances have been modified by subsequent events. The negotiations conducted between the American and German Governments concerning the Lusitania incident never referred to armed merchantmen. In the contrary, the note of the American Government of May 13 spoke expressly of “unarmed merchantmen.” Furthermore the formula agreed upon by both Governments on September 1 contained the proviso “provided that they do not offer resistance.” The presence of an armament on board a merchant vessel creates the presumption that the vessel intends “to offer resistance.” A submarine commander cannot possibly warn an enemy liner, if the liner has the right to fire upon the submarine. It is obvious that such resistance to the warning by a submarine cannot be the meaning of “armament for defensive purposes,” even if it were universally recognized that defensive armament is permitted by international law. This point of view was adopted by the American Government, when it requested assurances from the Italian Ambassador that the armed Italian liners Verdi and Verona, which entered the port of New York, should not fire on submarines, when warned by them.
The Imperial Government issued its new orders to the German naval commanders after having seen by the secret orders of the British Admiralty that the armament of British merchantmen is to be used for the purpose of attack and that these ships are not merely peaceful traders “armed only for defense.” British merchantmen have furthermore on several occasions attacked German or Austro-Hungarian submarines. They do, therefore, not conform with the assurances given by the British Government in the note of the British Embassy in Washington of August 25, 1914,2 and can, even according to the legal point of view adopted by the American Government, not be regarded as peaceful traders.
In issuing the new orders to its naval commanders the Imperial Government believed to be entirely in accord with the American Government which expressed similar opinions in the proposals which it submitted to the Entente powers.
The orders issued to the German naval commanders are so formulated that enemy liners may not be destroyed on account of their [Page 182] armament unless such armament is proved. It is, therefore, obvious that the Imperial Government does not intend to revoke the pledges given on September 1 and October 5, 1915.
The Imperial Government welcomes the intention of the American Government to bring about a modus vivendi between the belligerents with regard to the disarmament of merchantmen, but cannot see its way to change or postpone the new orders to its naval commanders, because the Imperial Government can no longer permit its submarines to be subjected to illegal attacks by armed enemy merchantmen.
A list is annexed of cases, in which British merchantmen attacked German or Austro-Hungarian submarines.1