The First World War began on July 28, 1914 between two sides; The Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente. It ended on November 11, 1918. Political differences were to blame, although the immediate cause of World War I was the assassination of the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, who was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro-Hungarian and Prince royal of Hungary and Bohemia. The war started mainly due to four aspects: militarism, alliances, imperialism and nationalism. This is because large armies become potential threats to other countries, other countries have started to force alliances to protect the land. Imperialism was caused because building an empire requires manpower such as an army and navy to conquer and maintain the land they colonized (Erik pg.3). The alliance system meant that a local conflict could easily turn into an intimidating global conflict. Nationalism was also a cause of World War I due to countries starting to get greedy and not negotiate. Nationalism shows that you are proud of your country and want it to be the best. Many causes are all tied to countries all wanting to be better than each other. Nationalist groups in Austria-Hungary and Serbia wanted independence (Erik pg.32). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On August 4, 1914, after the declaration of war, the Lusitania returned to dry dock. More cargo space was provided and the ship was now carried on Cunard's books as an auxiliary cruiser. Churchill visited the ship in dry dock and referred to the Lusitania. When the war began, German submarine captains, to save torpedoes, would surface and allow the crews of merchant ships to climb into lifeboats, then plant bombs or use firearms to sink the ships. Churchill's response was to equip merchant ships with hidden guns, order them to ram submarines, and disable "Q ships", disguised as merchant ships, which would not expose their weapons until the submarines surfaced . German naval commanders began ordering submarines to sink merchant ships on sight. First Sea Lord Sir John ("Jackie") Fisher said he would do the same. Churchill, seeing an opportunity to bring America into Britain's war. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan wanted to warn Americans not to travel aboard British ships. But President Woodrow Wilson, Winch writes, “said that American citizens had the right to travel on belligerent ships.” A challenge to common sense and an absurd interpretation of international law. On May 1, 1915, the Lusitania set sail from New York. “After the war, Churchill admitted that the Lusitania was carrying a small consignment of rifle ammunition and shrapnel weighing 173 tons. New York Customs Collector Dudley Malone told President Wilson that virtually all of his cargo was contraband of one kind or another. Future Secretary of State Robert Lansing knew that British passenger ships carried war materials (Erik pg. 7). German diplomats in New York warned American passengers that they were in danger on the Lusitania. And instead of sailing north from Ireland to Liverpool, the Lusitania sailed south, into waters known to be a hunting ground for German submarines. May 7, 1915. Leslie Morton, a lookout on the Lusitania, shouted, "Torpedoes incoming starboard side." Two explosions followed. In the space of 18 minutes the enormous ocean liner, once the largest ever built,sank to the bottom of the Celtic Sea. Of the 1,959 people on board, 1,195 died. Walther Schwinger, commander of the German submarine U-20, which had launched a single torpedo 750 meters away from the ship, later called the sight the most horrific sight he had ever seen. The Lusitania entered service between Liverpool and New York on 7 September 1907. Financed by the British Admiralty, the Lusitania, built by the Cunard Steamship Company, was also intended to serve as an auxiliary cruiser in the event of war. Wilson had publicly warned U.S. citizens to avoid sailing on warring nations' ships and to ban American-flagged merchant ships from carrying contraband to warring nations, America could have stayed out of the war, which could have ended in a truce, not with a German defeat. There may have been neither Adolf Hitler nor the Second World War (Erik page 5). This was a secret agreement between the Admiralty and Cunard. On 12 May 1913 she was dry docked to be double plated and hydraulically riveted, as well as modified for cannon application. War was declared on 4 August 1914 and the ship was again sent to dry dock. There she was armed with 12 six-inch guns (Erik pages 1-13). Britain wanted to ship war materials across the Atlantic, but there was an embargo on shipping munitions on passenger ships. America also tended to publish cargo manifests so that both the Allies and the Germans knew what was being shipped. Britain found a loophole in this. The new cargo added at the last minute was not on the original manifest, so an additional manifest would be submitted 4 or 5 days later. Additionally, due to the embargo, the ammunition was listed as "sporting cartridges" and marked "Not likely to explode in bulk" (Erik pg. 8). About a week before the trip, the German community in New York attempted to place an ad warning about the transatlantic trip. But the State Department duty officer didn't approve, so no ad was posted. Later George Veeck, in charge of publishing the advertisements, convinced William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State, that on all but one of the voyages the Lusitania was carrying war materials. Bryan placed an announcement on the morning of departure on May 1, 1915. British naval intelligence discovered the announcement and gave orders to watch out for U-boats, anticipating a trap. Turner, captain of the Lusitania, was told he would rendezvous with the cruiser Juno about 40 miles west of the southern tip of Ireland. German intelligence thought that the U-boat lookout order meant that the large ships would leave England (Erik pg. 43). The U-20s and U-30s were immediately sent to the English Channel and southern Irish waters (Erik pages 27-30). On May 5, Winston Churchill attended a meeting regarding the Lusitania and the U-20. They concluded that Juno would need an escort, so assistance would be provided, most likely the destroyer Flotilla. But this did not happen. For unknown reasons, Juno was recalled to Queenstown and no destroyers were sent (Erik pg. 49). On 5 and 6 May three ships were sunk by U-20, the last without warning. Alfred Booth, president of Cunard, learned of this and sent a message to Captain Turner diverting the Lusitania to Queenstown. Schwinger spotted the ship on May 7 at 1.20pm and guessed it was the Lusitania or Mauretania, which he knew was carrying weapons. At 1:35 am the ship turned directly towards U-20. Schwinger saw his opportunity and fired a single torpedo at 2:10. Two followed.176).