The Beginning of the Allied Naval Blockade

While events slowed down along the Western Front, thing began to heat up on the seas. The Allies held the bulk of naval power in the world. The British navy was one of the greatest naval powers in history. The navy began to use its power to eliminate German ships and by the end of August 1914, all German merchant (civilian) ships were captured or sunk.

German warships, found by the British navy, were either sunk or chased back to Germany. This gave the Allies control of the sea for the first year of the war, but more importantly, it did not allow Germany access to supplies and resources from its colonies around the world. The blockade became the most effective weapon employed by the Allies. It had the effect of choking Germany, thus slowly starving the nation of food and war materials.