Book Review of The Lusitania Sinking – Eyewitness Accounts from Survivors by Anthony Richards, Pen and Sword Publishing.
This book provides a detailed account of the tragedy that was the sinking of the Lusitania. A commercial civilian cruise liner sunk off the coast of southern Ireland en route to its home port Liverpool, from New York. An impressively researched book that highlights intelligence revealed decades after the incident took place. The sinking was a horrible tragedy and needless loss of life for UK and US citizens while World War I was raging in Europe. The book is stacked with eyewitness accounts from the passengers, crews, survivors, rescuers, as well as observations from the German U-Boat commander that brought her down. The book contains numerous maps and photos of personnel impacted by the tragedy.
On May 7, 1915, less than a year after World War I (1914-18) erupted across Europe, a German U-boat (U-20) torpedoed and sank the RMS Lusitania, a British ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool, England. Three hundred and fifty pounds of explosives detonated against the hull. Within the span of 20 minutes, the Lusitania was at the bottom of the ocean. The German U Boat, U- 20 remained submerged and had a perfect view of events as they unfolded through their periscope. The U-Boat Captain Schweiger commented in his log, “Seeing the water crowded with survivors, I submerged to 24m (meters) and cast off to open sea.” Of the 1,961 passengers and crew members on board, 1,198 perished, including 124 Americans. Nearly two years would pass before the US formally entered World War I, but the sinking of the Lusitania played a significant role in turning public opinion against Germany.
Since the beginning of the war, the Lusitania (as well as other high-speed British Ships) had been used to carry contraband munitions on behalf of the Admiralty Trade Department for the British. On her final voyage, she was carrying eighteen cases of fuses, highly explosive gun cotton, 1248 cases of shrapnel shells, fifty barrels and ninety-four cases of aluminum powder, fifty cases of bronze powder, and thousands of cases of rifle ammunition. Survivors of the sinking recalled hearing two explosions previously and wrongly attributed to two torpedo hits. The facts and intelligence revealed that the second explosion was not a torpedo hit but an internal explosion. Speculation points to the combustion of coal dust, munitions, and explosive cargo. Bear in mind this intelligence was not revealed until decades after the tragedy!
Reactions and Condemnation
The Lusitania sinking was plastered across the front pages of most of the world’s newspapers. Newspapers were the main medium for communicating with the masses early in the 20th Century. Most papers blamed the Germans. German newspapers blamed the UK.
UK: “There were riots in the streets and vandalism/retribution on German shops and their owners. Propaganda posters were printed that encouraged citizens to enlist and serve in the war.”
US: “The loss of 124 American souls greatly impacted public opinion of the Germans. They were seen as ruthless barbarians, without honor.”
Catalonia: “German artisans were fired from their jobs and sent home.”
Germany: “This was seen as a great maritime victory. They minted a coin commemorating the sinking.”
Impact on US entry into WWI
After the sinking of the Lusitania Americans exhibited widespread indignation towards Germany but still lacked any real appetite for war. The only official response was strongly worded diplomatic statements holding the Germany government accountable. Clearly, that was not enough given the weight of the tragedy. The German U Boat aggressive program of hunting and attacking any and all maritime traffic in and around the UK was still in full effect, without mercy. The tipping point for the US entering the war came after the exposure of the Zimmerman telegram. It was a secret message between Germany and Mexico. Intercepted and decoded it suggesting an alliance against the US government and “offering US territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause.” More information can be found here.
Although the book’s storyline follows a young British college-aged gentleman named Preston Richard and his family’s recollection, research, and the desperate search for his body. The family was able to correspond with a large number of his fellow passengers about his actions prior to and during the fateful voyage. The Sinking of the Lusitania was a perfect storm of tragedy, war mongering, mishaps at the lifeboats, and mishandling of the survivors and fallen. The fact that considerable interest and angst still remains regarding the tragedy, over a hundred years since the event, speaks volumes in remembrance of the passengers and crew that died that day, as well as those who survived, the survivors and fallen, will not be forgotten. Even though the Lusitania was carrying munitions for the war effort, the sinking of a civilian cruise liner, the Lusitania, was a horrible deed that has gone down in history as one of the most heinous atrocities in the 20th century.
This book is available on Amazon.com (US), and Amazon.co.uk (UK) and Pen and Sword.
