On 25 August 1915, the Allied forces officially declared a blockade of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean.

The declared area begins in the north at the intersection of the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean and ends in the south at the Egyptian frontier.

This measure was directed against the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the Central Powers.

It had a severe impact on the food supply and needs of the civilian population and prices "sky-rocketed".

[2] The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George justifies the use of the naval blockade as a tool of war: In a war of this order, sea power was the key to ultimate victory so long as either policy could manage just to hold their own on land.