On August 31, 1914, a massive convoy set out from Canada's East Coast. It consisted of more than twenty merchant ships, carrying iron ingots, aluminum ingots, various non-ferrous metals, and food supplies such as wheat and grain.
After the war began, Britain's war machine had already started running madly, consuming enormous quantities of war materiel. The scant resources mined from the British mainland alone were clearly nowhere near enough to meet the needs of the war. Thus, Britain could only draw all kinds of resources from its vast colonies. It was precisely because it had such extensive colonies to exploit that Britain had the confidence to enter this war.
Although the German Navy's Commerce Raiding Fleet was relentlessly attacking Britain's sea lanes and inflicting tremendous losses upon Britain, it could not stop the British from transporting all kinds of supplies back to the mainland. The British understood very well that their sea lanes were their lifeline. For a country that even had to import food from overseas, once those sea lanes were cut, it meant destruction.
That was why the British government was so nervous about the German Navy's attacks on its sea lanes. It demanded that the Royal Navy destroy the German Navy's Commerce Raiding Fleet at any cost and ensure the security of the Royal Navy's sea lanes.
Of course, Germany understood this as well. That was why it was doing everything in its power to cut off Britain's sea lanes, thereby weakening Britain's war potential and winning this war.
It could be said that the contest for naval supremacy between Britain and Germany would mainly revolve around Britain's sea lanes. Especially before the main fleets of both sides fought their decisive battle, commerce raiding and anti-commerce raiding would become the principal battles of this naval war.
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