Lusitania outrage helped bring US into Great War
A century ago a German U-boat changed the course of World War I
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She was the world’s most luxurious ocean liner — but not destined to enjoy a long career. As the Lusitania made its way from New York to Liverpool, England, in May, 1915, lurking beneath the waters was a much less luxurious mode of transport. The German U-boat SM U-20 would send the Lusitania to the bottom of the ocean and give the ship a major place in the history of WWI.
When the Lusitania made its maiden voyage in 1907 it was the largest ship in the world, 240m long and more than 44,000 tonnes.
Shipping line Cunard had been loaned £2.6 million by the British government to build the vessel to challenge the German and American lead in ocean liners.
A newspaper report at the time said of the Lusitania that it was “more beautiful than Solomon’s Temple and big enough to hold all his wives”. A month after its maiden voyage it set a speed record for crossing the Atlantic. Although other ships would soon surpass her, the Lusitania remained impressively luxurious and fast.
Before the war the Germans had realised British naval power far exceeded theirs so they resorted to new unterseeboot or U-boat technology to gain an advantage.
After war broke out in August, 1914, German submarines began attacking military vessels but U-boat captains complained they were often unable to identify military vessels and were constrained by international laws restricting attacks on civilian ships.
As the British blockade began to bite the Germans considered ignoring international laws that allowed them to stop and search vessels suspected of carrying military equipment and to simply fire on suspect vessels. In November, 1914, German commander Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was quoted as saying: “England is endeavouring to starve us. We can do the same, cut off England and sink every vessel that attempts to break the blockade.”
The English continued to abide by the rules but by February the Germans were warning they would indiscriminately sink civilian vessels. While most other liners had been requisitioned for the war effort the Lusitania was the last great liner still daring to run the gauntlet.
The German embassy took out advertisements in newspapers warning people about travelling on the Lusitania but many people believed the Germans were bluffing and they wouldn’t dare fire on civilians, particularly Americans who regularly sailed aboard the ship.
Some also doubted the ability of the submarines to sink a ship as large, fast and well-equipped as the Lusitania.
When it set sail on May 1 the captain, William “Bowler Bill” Turner, ignored recommendations that he make irregular and sudden changes of course, zigzagging so German subs would find it difficult to target the ship. However news of the warnings of U-boat activity began to make he and his passengers nervous.
On May 7 the German sub SM U-20, commanded by Kapitanleutnant Walther Schwieger, fresh from several successful sinkings during five days of raiding, encountered the Lusitania off the coast of Ireland. At 2.10pm Schwieger gave the order to fire torpedoes.
The ship soon began to list, its electricity failed and passengers poured out on the deck heading for the lifeboats. The tilt of the ship made it impossible to safely launch most of the lifeboats on the port side.
Just 18 minutes after the torpedo struck the Lusitania had sunk below the waters, taking more than 1000 people to their death and leaving hundreds struggling to survive in the icy water.
The official death toll was 1198. Anti-German feeling, already running strong in Europe, was now whipped up in the US, which vowed to avenge the deaths of the 129 American citizens on-board.
On top of recent news of the Germans using gas on the Western Front it was seen as another example of “schrecklichkeit” (“frightfulness”), an act designed more to scare civilians rather than for any strategic gain.
The incident drew storms of protest against German’s tactics of attacking civilians, which would be compounded by Zeppelin attacks killing civilians. Used in propaganda it helped boost flagging recruitment and when the US finally did enter the war in 1917 it cited German submarine warfare as a major justification.
Originally published as Lusitania outrage helped bring US into Great War
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