Obstacles and Challenges
Keeping the C.R.B. going was a full-time job and then some for Hoover and his associates. The Germans resented the presence of the foreigners in the country and were bitter about the British blockade, which they saw as the reason for Belgium needing foreign aid in the first place. Many influential British policymakers, notably Lord Kitchener and Winston Churchill, felt that Germany needed to either feed the Belgians themselves or deal with the resulting starvation riots right behind their lines, and that international help to relieve that pressure was helping the Germans and thereby lengthening the war. At several points both sides tried to shut down the relief, and throughout the war there was a constant issue with German submarines sinking relief ships, especially at times when tensions with the U.S. were highest.
In the end, the C.R.B. bought and shipped 11.4 billion pounds (5.7 million tons) of food to 9.5 million civilian victims of the war. The committee chartered ships to carry the food to Belgian ports under safe conduct terms arranged by Hoover in meetings with the British and German authorities.
Notwithstanding the special C.R.B. flags flown by ships and enormous banners covering them, there were losses: the Harpalyce returning from Rotterdam after delivering a shipment was torpedoed by the German submarine SM UB-4 in April 1915 with the loss of 15 lives.
Read more about this topic: Committee For Relief In Belgium
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