How did the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 affect World War I?
1 Answer
The sinking of the Lusitania brought The United States actively into the war. Without the addition of American military units the French and British might have collapsed and Germany would have won.
Explanation:
America was shipping war material to England and France. Germany declared unrestricted submarine warfare, warning that any and all ships could be sunk. America refused to recognize the right of Germany to declare unrestricted submarine warfare and continued to ship war materials.
The Lusitania was a passenger ship and not a military transport. When the Germans sunk the Lusitania American civilians were killed in the "unprovoked" attack. The outrage over this atrocity provided the reason for America to enter the war.
Germany had perfected infantry techniques that were wearing down the French and British units. Before the American units came into the front lines the French and British lines were in danger of collapsing. The fresh American units turned the tides of war against Germany.
