RMS Lusitania. Historic photograph from Wikimedia Commons.
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During the First World War, the Atlantic Ocean became a dangerous place for passenger and merchant ships. Germany used submarines, known as U-boats, to attack vessels connected with its enemies. One of the most famous losses was the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania. On 1 May 1915, the Lusitania left New York for Liverpool with nearly 2,000 passengers and crew on board. Germany had warned that ships sailing in waters around Britain could be attacked. On 7 May, as the liner approached the coast of Ireland, the German submarine U-20 fired a torpedo. It struck the ship, and a second explosion followed soon afterwards. The Lusitania sank in about eighteen minutes, leaving little time to launch lifeboats safely. Nearly 1,200 people died, including more than 120 Americans. The sinking caused outrage in Britain and the United States. Germany argued that the ship was carrying war materials as well as passengers, while critics condemned the attack on a civilian liner. The United States did not enter the war immediately; it joined the conflict almost two years later, in April 1917. However, the Lusitania disaster became an important part of changing American attitudes toward Germany. Today, historians study the event as an example of how modern warfare increasingly placed civilians at risk.
