On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, a German submarine torpedoes and sinks the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania without any advanced warning in the Celtic Sea, just off the southern coast of Ireland. Although the United States denounced the attack, the Imperial German government defended it on the basis that it had issued warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the waters surrounding the British Isles. Regardless, the attack and resulting loss of American lives infuriated the American people, prompting calls for war. President Woodrow Wilson (in office 1913-1921) stood firm and opposed the notion, reaffirming America’s neutrality, at least for the moment. 

As the Lusitania approached British coastal waters, the British admiralty warned her captain and crew to proceed with extreme caution and take preventative actions to avoid possible submarine attacks. These warnings went ignored; and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7, a torpedo hit the 32,000-ton Lusitania and exploded on its starboard side. The blast caused a chain reaction of internal explosions within the ship, which went down below the waves within 20 minutes.

Soon after, information surfaced that the Lusitania was carrying roughly 173 tons of war munitions for Great Britain, which the Germans cited as further validation for the attack. Nevertheless, to ease tensions, the German government issued an apology to the United States and, pledged to stop unrestricted submarine warfare. However, the attacks continued, including the sinking of an Italian ocean liner late in 1915 that claimed an addition 28 Americans.  Ultimately, the sinking of the RMS Lusitania helped fuel the rising anti-German sentiment in America that eventually led the United States to officially declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917. America now entered World War I on the side of the Allies, which in a short time, would change the course of the war.

Eddie Carter