diff --git a/g b/g
index 377890a33..4e08539db 100755
--- a/g
+++ b/g
@@ -324,7 +324,7 @@ do_init_modules()
         if [ -n "$REFERENCED_GIT" ] ; then
             git submodule update --reference "$REFERENCED_GIT/.git/modules/$module" --progress "$module" || return $?
         else
-            git submodule update --progress "$module" || return $?
+            git submodule update --progress --depth 1 "$module" || return $?
         fi
     done
     return 0