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restored necessary historical information; we cannot judge Germany then by modern terrorist standards today
| pass=2,198 total <br>First-class: 552<br>Second-class: 460<br>Third-class: 1,186
| pass=2,198 total <br>First-class: 552<br>Second-class: 460<br>Third-class: 1,186
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[[Image:NYT01May1915.jpg|200px|right|thumb|German advertisement in ''New York Times'', May 1, 1915, warns passengers not to take the Lusitania.]]
[[Image:NYT01May1915.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Advertisement and shipping news page for the ''New York Times'', 01 May 1915, detailing the schedules of the various ocean liners and other ships due to sail. Below and to the right of the Cunard Line's notice of the departure dates for RMS ''Lusitania'' is the notice from the Imperial German Embassy in Washington, D.C. stating that all such vessels departing for Great Britain would enter a war zone at their own risk. Six days after this paper was printed, ''Lusitania'' was torpedoed and sunk off Ireland.]]
'''RMS ''Lusitania''''' was a British passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat (submarine) in [[World War I]] with heavy loss of life. The terrorist attack on unarmed civilians was a major atrocity that outraged Americans and ruined Germany's reputation as an honorable nation. The episode helped push the U.S. into war against Germany in 1917.
'''RMS ''Lusitania''''' was a British passenger liner sunk by a German U-boat (submarine) in [[World War I]] with heavy loss of life. The attack on unarmed civilians was a major atrocity that outraged Americans and ruined [[Germany]]'s reputation as an honorable nation, and helped push U.S. entry into war against Germany in 1917.
==History==
==History==
====Last voyage====
====Last voyage====
On April 30th, 1915, ''Lusitania'' was being loaded in New York with supplies. Over on the other side of the Atlantic in Germany, Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger was ordered to take his U-20 German submarine on patrol. ''Lusitania'' started its trip to Britain on May 1st, 1915, carrying 1257 passengers and 702 crew members under the command of Captain William Turner.
On April 30th, 1915, ''Lusitania'' was being loaded in New York with supplies, and was secretly being loaded with ammunition. Over on the other side of the Atlantic in Germany, Kapitänleutnant Walter Schwieger was ordered to take his U-20 German submarine on patrol. ''Lusitania'' started its trip to Great Britain on May 1st, 1915, carrying 1257 passengers and 702 crew members under the command of Captain William Turner. The same day she sailed, the ''New York Times'' ran its shipping shedules; business was normal as far as the neutral United States was concerned. On the same page below the Cunard advertisement for ''Lusitania'', the German embassy ran a printed add of its own:
:'''''NOTICE!'''''
:''TRAVELLERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.''
:'''''IMPERIAL GERMAN EMBASSY,''' Washington, D.C. April 22, 1915''
On May 7th, ''Lusitania'' and the German submarine both entered the Irish Channel.
On May 7th, ''Lusitania'' and the German submarine both entered the Irish Channel. Captain Turner had
Running low on fuel Kapitänleutnant Schwieger was onm his way back to Germany when he crossed paths with the ''Lusitania.'' He immediately recognized the huge ship as an unarmed passenger liner. He fired one torpedo. The torpedo was spotted, but nothing was able to be done about it. Right after it hit, it triggered a secondary, larger explosion within the ship. Due to the list of the ship, it was impossible to launch half of her lifeboats. A distress signal was sent out and picked up at Queenstown (now called [[Cobh]]), Ireland. The Lusitania sank 18 minutes after the torpedo hit.
Running low on fuel Kapitänleutnant Schwieger decided to turn back. On his way back he ran into several ships and sunk them. When he met up with ''Lusitania'', he submerged and fired one torpedo. The torpedo was noticed, but nothing was able to be done about it. Right after it hit, it triggered a secondary, larger explosion within the ship. Due to the list of the ship, it was impossible to launch half of her lifeboats. A distress signal was sent out and picked up at Queenstown (now called [[Cobh]]), Ireland. The Lusitania sank 18 minutes after the torpedo hit.
Queenstown sent out several boats to see what they could do. They arrived at the scene two hours after the sinking, and were able to rescue 761 people from the wreckage. The total number of deaths was 1,198.
Queenstown sent out several boats to see what they could do. They arrived at the scene two hours after the sinking, and were able to rescue 761 people from the wreckage. The total number of deaths was 1,198.
==Aftermath==
==Aftermath==
The sinking of ''Lusitania'' was a terrorist attack against a civilian target and a dramatic violation of the standards of civilized warfare, though the Germans celebrated their triumph. 128 Americans lost their lives. President [[Woodrow Wilson]], demanded promises that Germany would never again sink unarmed passenger liners.
The sinking of ''Lusitania'' was extensively used in British [[propaganda]] to promote recruitment for the armed forces in the war against Germany, and to promote anti-German sentiment in the still-neutral United States. 128 Americans lost their lives, and there was clamor to get America in the war. President [[Woodrow Wilson]], despite this, made every effort to steer the country towards a neutral course ("He kept us out of the war!" would be a campaign slogan in 1916). However, in the ensuing two years since ''Lusitania'' went down, it would take Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare combined with the shocking revelation of the [[Zimmermann Telegram]] that would ensure U.S. entry into the war.
One of the leading theories as to the secondary explosion was coal dust; ''Lusitania'' burned coal for fuel, and by the late stage of the voyage near Ireland her bunkers were nearly empty, the detonation of the torpedo stirring up this dust and simultaneously igniting it. This theory has found credence in several grain elevator explosions in the American midwest during the 1970s-1980s. But listed on the ship's manifest, and reported in the London ''Evening Post'' of May 8, 1915, which cannot be overlooked were:
*Casings, 10 pkgs
*Military goods, 189 pkgs
*Ammunition, 1,271 cases
*Bronze powder, 66 cases
*Cartridges and ammunition, 4,200 cases [http://www.titanicandco.com/lusitania.html]
That ''Lusitania'' transported military small arms material is clear; what was never clear was how much more, if indeed she covertly carried more, and where it was stored onboard. The ship currently lies in a severely-degraded condition on her starboard side, preventing any inspection of her holds and torpedo damage. [http://www.archaeology.org/0901/trenches/lusitania.html]
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
[[Image:Lusitania.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Poster about the ''Lusitania'']]
* Bailey, Thomas. "The Sinking of the Lusitania." ''American Historical Review,'' Vol. 41, No. 1 (Oct., 1935), pp. 54-73 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762%28193510%2941%3A1%3C54%3ATSOTL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K in JSTOR]
* Bailey, Thomas. "The Sinking of the Lusitania." ''American Historical Review,'' Vol. 41, No. 1 (Oct., 1935), pp. 54-73 [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762%28193510%2941%3A1%3C54%3ATSOTL%3E2.0.CO%3B2-K in JSTOR]
*[http://www.archaeology.org/0901/trenches/lusitania.html "Lusitania's Secret Cargo", by Erin Mullally; article in ''Archaeology'' Magazine, Jan/Feb issue, 2009 ]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:Ships]]