Posted on 09/02/2014 8:11:44 AM PDT by Kaslin
I happen to have 4”x4” section of the Lusitania hull plating with a rivet in the center. Obtained on a saturation dive we did in the 80’s looking for artwork etc. Always wondered what it would bring.
S/
When I was younger, a man in the neighborhood would tell his tale of being on that ship, once a year.
He was living in New York at the time, but had been born in Britain. And, the only reason he was on that ship was to go to Europe and fight for Britain. So right there I see some problems with the neutrality of this ship.
He also claimed that people saw the torpedo, or at least its wake...and several people were pointing at it, as it approached. At fire they thought it was marine life, but as it got closer, it was obviously man made.
I believe it was the Zimmerman telegram that pushed the US over the top and entered the war.
The sinking of the Lusitania is almost universally cited as the reason for US entry into WW1. Without having a position on that assertion, it should be noted that the Lusitania was sunk about 2 years before the US entered the war.
I once read something about the German [Kaiser's] Embassy getting anthrax samples from Johns-Hopkins or the like, and the considered using it on the US.
What Buchanan misses is that Germany all but declared war on the US before sinking the Lusitania.
In early February 1917, when Germany announced a return to unrestricted submarine warfare, the U.S. broke off diplomatic relations with the country. By the end of March, Germany had sunk several more passenger ships with Americans aboard and Wilson went before Congress to ask for a declaration of war on April 2, which was made four days later. The first American ships arrived in Europe within a week, marking a decisive end to U.S. neutrality.
Why did Germany do this? The war was stalling and it could not sustain it economically. It tried one more push which included to cut US supply lines. Germany knew this would draw the US into the war. Germany hoped however, that by the time the US was able to muster forces it could defeat the allies. When this failed after a year, Germany suddenly surrendered.
I agree with Pat the Wilson and others desperately wanted into the war and maintained risky policies to draw the US into to the war. Also Wilson 14 points convinced America this was a righteous war more than German U boats. When this turned out to be a lie- the war was for European boundaries, the US went isolationist and allow the European Allies to run over Germany in the treaty of Versailles.
I would imagine the first difficulty would be establishing the piece’s provenance. But assuming that could be done, I would think your potential market would be museums or the rare collector, which would limit the demand.
On the other hand, the supply is even more limited, so you might fetch a decent price.
Can anyone provide a date for this comment and a first-hand reference? Who is supposed to have heard Churchill say this, a reporter? Is there an contemporaneous news account?
Governments always need a plausible reason to start a conflict, be it a sinking, a shooting down or a land incursion any of which can be real or fabricated. Hitler’s excuses for attacking Poland come to mind as does the Gulf of Tonkin incident or remembering the Maine or the firing on Ft. Sumpter. What will be the next one? Who knows? Maybe when Obama misses a two foot birdie putt.
“What Buchanan misses is that Germany all but declared war on the US before sinking the Lusitania.”
Yes... and Wilson was dilly dallying like mad to keep the US out.
The Germans as well did NOT want the US involved and there was a lot of back and forth with the Kaiser and his admirals on specifics of torpedoing ships in open sea ... THEY wanted to and HE was trying to keep the US at bay... knowing that only outright and wanton targeting would move Wilson.
And we all would have enjoyed the delights of the Easter Bunny for ever after.
And then there is now ‘ISIS is on its way to conquer America’, screaming by today’s war mongers, ‘we have to do something’. They ‘have killed a captured American newsman with a knife’. So here comes ISIS on camels, discarded American military arms, improvised devices, stolen planes and suicide vests. Sorry mongers, I’m not impressed until they get a bunch of Messerschmitts, Stukas, Rockets, etc. We have nothing to fear except fear itself.
Lusitania had the 6 inch gun mounts installed in 1913.
The altered cargo manifest-——filed after the ship was at sea-—— includes the 6 million rounds of .303 ammo and 5,000 artillery rounds. The fuses for the three inchers were carried in separate boxes.
There would have been an Adolf Hitler, of course, since he was in uniform at the time. He would likely not have risen to power but even that isn’t certain. Had the Allies managed to break the German front without American help, the outcome might have been pretty much the same. It’s all speculation.
Should add that IIRC the rifle ammo was from the Eddystone plant.
Nope. This error puts the rest of the piece in doubt.
The Lusitania was sunk in 1915.
America joined WW1 in 1917: two years later. I dare say the sinking helped sway public opinion, but it wouldn’t seem to have been the proximate cause.
Saddam did have WMD’s. There were satellite photos at the time that showed miles long convoys of Russian trucks hauling WMD’s into Syria. ISIS has them now.
That seems reasonable - the cause being Germany’s return to unrestricted submarine warfare in an attempt to win the war by maritime siege.
In that case I can see how the two-years-previous sinking of the Lusitania would have had resonance.
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