German submarine sinks Lusitania – HISTORY

On May 7, 1915, less than a year after World War I (1914-18) broke out across Europe, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England.

Previous German attacks on merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland prompted the British admiralty to Lusitania to avoid the area or take simple evasive measures, such as zigzagging to confuse the U-boats tracking the course of the ship. The captain of the Lusitania ignored these recommendations, and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7, in the waters of the Celtic Sea, the 32,000-ton vessel was hit by an explosive torpedo on the starboard side. The explosion of a torpedo was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship’s boilers. the Lusitania sank within 20 minutes.

READ MORE: How the Sinking of Lusitania Changed the First World War

Germany justified the attack by rightly claiming that the Lusitania was an enemy ship and was carrying ammunition. It was mainly a passenger ship, and among the 1,201 that were drowned in the attack, there were many women and children, including 128 Americans. Colonel Edward House, close associate of US President Woodrow Wilson, was in London for a diplomatic visit when he learned of the LusitaniaThe disappearance of. America has arrived at the separation of paths, he writes in a telegram to Wilson, when it must determine whether it represents civilized or uncivilized war. We can no longer remain neutral spectators.

Wilson then sent the German government a heavily worded note – the first of three similar communications – asking it to end the submarine warfare against unarmed merchant ships. Actions of Wilson On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland.

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