1915 an American tanker called the Gulflight was attacked and damaged, and her captain died. (Terraine, p. 167) Six days later the Lusitania sank.The Lusitania was to make a voyage from New York to Liverpool, England. The Lusitania at that time was the biggest steamer in existence, weighing almost 32 thousand tons. (Stewart, p. 20) “The day before its scheduled departure form New York the owners of the Lusitania placed an ad in the New York Times informing the public of the date and time of departure. Underneath the ad the German embassy published a stern warning to travelers to stay out of the war zones.” (Terraine, p. 20) None of the more than 12 hundred people who signed up for the voyage canceled their reservations. (Stewart, p. 22) “The Lusitania was almost home safely when at 2:15 p.m. on May 7, 1915 Lieutenant-Commander Scheiwger in U-20 held his massive target in his sights. A single torpedo was enough, although some survivors spoke of a second explosion. The liner took on a sharp hit, and in twenty minutes was at the bottom with 1,198 of her passengers (many children) and crew, including 128 Americans. (Hugh, p. 175) Deep within the ships hold, tons of cases of weapons and ammunition were hidden, going to the Allies in Europe. (Stewart, p. 22) Germany disregarded American protests, stating that “full published” warnings had been given in New York and the liner was carrying arms, and when the U-boat captain had seen how many people were on board he stopped himself from firing another torpedo. (Hugh, p. 175)As incidents like ones similar to the Lusitania occurred President Woodrow Wilson increased the diplomatic pressure on Germany. The United States was now shifting its sympathies towards the Allies as United States citizens were killed, one of the earliest being on March 28, 1915 when the British liner Falaba was torpedoed and an American life lost. (Pimlott, p. 40) President Wilson se...
