Lieutenant Commander Charles R. Train, United States Naval Attaché in Rome, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, 10/28/1917

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WWI

Lieutenant Commander Charles R. Train, United States Naval Attaché in Rome, to Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters

CABLEGRAM RECEIVED OCT 29, 1917.

Origin Rome. Serial No.

Via: N C B 25 D Date No. 11026

Copies to: C. of S.; J. V. B.1 File No.

Action referred to: C. of S.

__________________________

Simsadus.

Italian Naval Information Service transmits with reserve that Austria will join Germany in submarine offensive next February against United States with six large submarines which are now building in Germany.2 Department informed. 11028.

Train Naval Attache.

3:06 am.

Source Note: Cy, DNA, RG 45, Entry 517B. Document is: “INFORMATION COPY.” Document reference: “RHS 16-3-2.”

Footnote 1: Capt. Nathan C. Twining served as Sims’ Chief of Staff. Cmdr. John V. Babcock acted as Sims’ aide and de facto Intelligence Officer.

Footnote 2: As stated the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared unrestricted submarine warfare on the United States after an initial delay while considering the possibility of withdrawing from the conflict rather than face the United States. The United States responded by officially declaring war on the Austro-Hungarian Empire in December 1917. Vaclav Horcbreveika, “Austria-Hungary, Unrestricted Submarine Warfare, and the United States’ Entrance into the First World War,” The International History Review, Vol. 34, No. 2, June 2012, 245-269.

Naval History and Heritage Command