True Cause of WWI

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The German submarine U-20 sank the merchant-ship Lusitania on May 7th, 1915, which was carrying about 2000 passengers. About 100 of these passengers were American citizens. The photograph portrays the Lusitania receiving fire from the U-20. The exact time is not given, but one could safely guess that the picture was recorded before it sank completely which was in the afternoon (Gilbert 157). "In Britain, the sinking of the Lusitania was, for the rest of the war, a powerful symbol of the conflict between right and wrong, the Kaiser being portrayed as the real murderer of Captain Schwieger's [Captain of U-20] victims," (Gilbert 158). However, "in Germany it was hailed as a great victory, and medals were struck to commemorate it," (Hayes 93). The sinking of this boat also symbolizes the entry of the USA, although this wasn't immediate, in the World War I. This may have been one of the most harmful acts Germany made "that were to prove fatal [to them] for the final outcome of the conflict," (Hughes 60) although Germany was not the only one to be blamed for it.

Historians describe Germany as one of the strongest powers in the World War I. To weaken this monster, the Allied Powers had to think of something. They decided to create a blockade for the trade routes that the German ships followed. "At the southern entrance to the North Sea, [Britain] carefully planted minefields in the Straits of Dover left only a narrow, easily controlled channel through which ships could pass..."(Hayes 92). The British searched every ship that passed by for contraband. "But on March 11, 1915, the British government announced that it considered anything at all bound for Germany contraband," (Hayes 92). Everyone in Germany would soon feel the result of this policy, because food,