What was the sinking of the Lusitania and how did it effect WW1?
The Lusitania was a passenger ship that was doing the Atlantic run between England and New York City. In 1915 the Germans had a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, making any British ship a target. Advertisements had been put in New York papers warning American citizens and others that sailing on the ship might be dangerous, as the ship was a legitimate target of war in German eyes. Most Americans ignored the warning. On May 7, Lusitania was approaching the Irish coast, where the German submarine U-20 was prowling. It spotted Lusitania, and fired a single torpedo. The torpedo struck Lusitania, and apparantly set off a secondary explosion. The ship sank within 18 minutes(even the Titanic had stayed afloat for almost 2 1/2 hours) over 1100 people died, over a hundred of whom were Americans. The sinking had two major effects. The first was the German decision to restrict submarine warfare and no longer target any and all Allied ships. This would not be official until September of 19
