diff --git a/project/core/sourcecontrol/Git.cs b/project/core/sourcecontrol/Git.cs
index 0b672d035..15fc3a7e4 100644
--- a/project/core/sourcecontrol/Git.cs
+++ b/project/core/sourcecontrol/Git.cs
@@ -736,6 +736,7 @@ private void GitUpdateSubmodules(IIntegrationResult result)
             ProcessArgumentBuilder buffer = new ProcessArgumentBuilder();
             buffer.AddArgument("submodule");
             buffer.AddArgument("update");
+            buffer.AddArgument("--init");
 
             // initialize progress information
             var bpi = GetBuildProgressInformation(result);