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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|German advertisement in ''New York Times'', May 1, 1915, warns passengers not to take the Lusitania.]]
'''RMS ''Lusitania''''' was a [[United Kingdom|British]] passenger liner notable for its sinking in [[World War I]] with heavy loss of life.
'''RMS ''Lusitania''''' was a British passenger liner sunk by a German uboat in [[World War I]] with heavy loss of life. The atrocity outraged Americans and ruined Germany's reputation aqs an honorable nation. The episode helped push the U.S. into war against Germany in 1917.
==History==
==History==
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.
[[Image:Lusitania.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Poster about the ''Lusitania'']]
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
[[Category:Ships]]
[[Category:Terrorism]]
[[Category:World War I]]