This ship was made in Britain to compete with Germany’s record-breaking passenger liners. Chapter 1: “Lusitania: The Old Sailorman”Įrik Larson begins Dead Wake by discussing the history of the Lusitania. Eventually, America enters the war in April 1917 and joins Britain and France against Germany. Instead, President Wilson issues a statement that condemns German submarine warfare but does not cause America to enter the war yet. However, they still don’t want to enter World War I. Rescue ships arrive three hours later but many people have already died by then.Īfter the Lusitania incident, people are angry at Germany for sinking the ship and killing innocent passengers. Many die accidentally while attempting to board a boat, or from drowning in icy waters.
The ship tilts severely after the torpedo hits it, making it difficult to access lifeboats. The Lusitania’s crew and passengers are unprepared for the attack, as they struggle to escape. U-20 follows the Lusitania during this maneuver and fires a torpedo at it, sinking it. He is not sure what to do and orders a maneuver called four-point bearing in order to determine his exact location. They didn’t send out any battleships to protect or escort the Lusitania as it sailed through those waters either.Īs the Lusitania heads towards Liverpool, Captain Turner receives vague warnings about submarines from British Admiralty. As a result of this information, they were aware of the U-20’s journey around Ireland towards Britain but didn’t do anything about it.
The British Admiralty intercepted and decoded German naval communications.
However, many passengers were unconcerned because they believed that the ship was impervious to submarine attacks.Īt the same time that the Lusitania was setting sail for Liverpool, Germany’s U-20 submarine was also on its way to Liverpool. Many people interpreted this as a specific threat towards American passengers boarding the Lusitania because they believed it couldn’t be attacked by submarines. On May 1st of 1915, Germany published an advertisement warning that any ship-even merchant ships-are vulnerable to German attack. The Lusitania’s captain, William Turner, is experienced and was the fastest to complete a round-trip journey between New York and London. President Woodrow Wilson is trying to stay out of the conflict because he wants to avoid a war with Germany and its allies. They’ve also started attacking neutral merchant ships that carry civilians. In the past year, German submarines have been sinking British ships. It quickly set records for fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing, stealing away Germany’s coveted Blue Riband. It was owned by Cunard Steamship Company and first sailed in 1907. In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, Erik Larson describes the last journey of a British passenger ship called the Lusitania. 1-Page Summary of Dead Wake Overall Summary
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