The Sinking of the Lusitania

On May 7, 1915, the RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine off the southern coast of Ireland. 1198 people lost their lives, including 128 Americans. The Cunard ship had been the world's largest passenger ship for a while, and she had made 202 trans-Atlantic crossings. The Lusitania had left New York Harbor on May 1, headed for Liverpool. The torpedoes hit as the ship drew nearer to its destination, and it took only 18 minutes for the vessel to sink.

Because of stepped-up war efforts and the fact that German sub activity had recently escalated, news reports both in the U.S. and Britain warned of the dangers of ocean travel. Yet, this attack on a luxurious, non-military vessel was viewed as unexpected and particularly cruel and calloused. It caused sentiment in the U.S. to swing strongly against Germany and factored into them declaring war two years later.

German spokesmen said they had the right to bring the ship down since it carried munitions for the war, but this didn't lessen the international public outcry. After this turn in public opinion, Germany decided to limit attacks to non-military vessels, which lasted for two years until they declared they would attack all enemy ships. But the sinking of the Lusitania had definitely caused many to view the war differently and to take a stand against Germany.

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