Skip to main content
Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Vice Admiral William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters, to the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

          CABLEGRAM SENT October <16> 17, 1918. Y-29.

To Opnav, Washington                   Serial No. 7186.

Prep. by  CS                NCT     SX

                                           53 ADR.

SECRET.

     7186 URGENT. Your 3154.1 Terms preliminary to a peace discussion should be articles nine to seventeen drawn up by Paris Conference which were embodied in second portion of my 6573,2 except that wherever these articles mentioned duration of armistice, duration of war should be substituted. In addition terms proposed in my 65743 are suggested with slight modifications making them as follows:

     First, no enemy naval forces away from home bases at time of signing armistice to be permitted to return to such bases but to proceed to Allied ports for internment.

     Second, in addition to the sixty submarines which are to proceed to specified Allied ports, fifteen additional submarines are to proceed to such ports for internment during each month of the continuation of the armistice, excepting the first month of fraction of a month.

     As an additional proviso, abandonment of unrestricted submarine warfare for the duration of the war. Recommendations covering remainder of Department’s inquiry will be delayed for further study. 181916 7186.

SIMS.         

Source Note: Cy, DNA, RG 45, Entry 517B. The handwritten date at the top is confirmed by the time-date stamp at the end of the document. Identification number “J/K/1/2/3” appears in the top-right corner.

Footnote 1: See, William S. Benson to Sims, 15 October 1918, DNA, RG 45, Entry 517B.

Footnote 2: See, Sims to Benson, 9 October 1918, ibid.

Footnote 3: See, Sims to Benson, 9 October 1918, ibid.

Related Content