It's not that I'm defending it, McGrath. I think war is a very bad idea all around. What I am saying is that it is inevitable that when submarines are used in war, they WILL attack without warning, just as a sniper does.

And it doesn't matter diddly-squat whether someone made up a naval rule of some kind in 1908 or not...(a rule that was clearly written without giving any real thought at all to the future use of submarines.)

This has been borne out by the fact that ALL nations which have used submarines in and since WWI have engaged in attacking without warning with their subs as a standard procedure. Not just the Germans. ALL of them. The British included. The Allies did the same thing.

Why? Because it's the only sensible way to use a submarine in wartime, that's why. A submarine must (generally speaking) stalk its prey unseen and strike without warning in order to be effective.

It's also the only sensible way for a sniper to behave, and for much the same reasons. Surprise is pretty much essential if you wish to hit the target most of the time.

I think it's just downright silly to excoriate the Germans for doing exactly what everybody else does when they wage submarine warfare.