27. The All Red Line created the ability to rule over the ever-growing British Empire with simple telegraphs.
In the 1860s, telegraph cables began to link the far flung British Empire, enabling the government in London to monitor situations around the globe and respond far more quickly than by dispatching ships to areas in crisis. By 1876, cables could be sent from London to Sydney, and thence to New Zealand. By 1911 – three years before the First World War broke out – the global telegraph system, known informally as the All Red Line, connected London with all but the most remote sections of the British Empire. The system remained in place and operated throughout the war, allowing the British superior command and control of their global assets throughout the conflict.