At the start of World War I, America’s goal was to remain neutral as the European powers fought one another. President at the time, Woodrow Wilson, stated, “Neutrality is a negative word. It does not express what America ought to feel. We are not trying to keep out of trouble; we are trying to preserve the foundations on which peace may be rebuilt.” (1)

However, try as he might, Wilson could not stop America from entering the war in 1917. The turning point of American attitudes toward the European matter was the sinking of the 1915 RMS Lusitania, where 128 Americans (many of them prominent citizens) lost their lives.

However, this was not just a random act of war by Germany on America, it appears that Churchill knew that if Americans kept hitching rides on British vessels, such an incident would occur and America would have to enter the war. It seems that Churchill used this knowledge to his advantage.

Prior to America’s entry into World War I, it was a common practice of the British to disguise naval vessels as passenger or merchant ships. It was even common for Britain to modify existing passenger and merchant ships with secret cargo holds and hidden guns. It is with these modifications that the Lusitania started her career in the Royal Navy.

Eugene Windchy, author of Twelve American Wars: Nine of Them Avoidable, states that the Lusitania’s modifications included, “refitted as a cargo ship with hidden compartments to hold shells and other munitions. By all accounts there were installed revolving gun mounts.” (2)

On top of these secret modifications,the Royal Navy instructed the crew of the Lusitania to not fly any flags in waters declared as a war zone. These instructions were in direct violation of the Cruiser Rules of the day.

Luring German Subs

Ships such as the Lusitania were used to lure the German submarines to the surface. During the start of the German implementation of the submarine, they would rise to the surface and warn ships of the impending attack. The reason was to conserve munitions.

However, this warning also gave time for crews to abandon ship. Therefore, Churchill’s plan was to use the Lusitania (and ships like her) to lure the Germans to the surface. Once surfaced, the disguise ships would reveal their guns and unleash a barrage on the submarines.

Knowing exactly what he was doing, Churchill quipped about the Lusitania, “just another 45,000 tons of live bait.” (2) Churchill knowingly put the Lusitania and her passengers in danger.

Churchill also preyed on the naivety of Wilson when it came to maritime warfare. Even though the American president was forewarned by German diplomats of the danger posed to Americans if they continued to travel on British vessels, he did nothing to deter it.

This danger was largely due to the fact that German submariners began torpedoing British ships on sight in response to Churchill’s exploitation of the German’s surfacing to sink ships. Yet, with all of this knowledge and forewarning, Wilson refused to issue a public statement warning Americans to stay off of the decks of British sailing vessels.

With no warning coming from the president, the Lusitania left the New York Harbor with a large number of American passengers who had no idea that beneath the deck, stashed in secret cargo holds, were also 173 tons of munitions. The American civilians shared the deck with a number of Canadian troops disguised as civilians, as well. Essentially, the Americans unwittingly boarded a British Royal Naval vessel during wartime that was fair game for the Germans to attack.