Chapter III: "We're all in the same boat"
The war story of the ship, the Neu Prussen-
When Neu Prussen was built, her construction and operating expenses were subsidised by the German and American governments, with the proviso that she could be converted to an Armed Merchant Cruiser if need be. At the outbreak of the First World War, the American and German Admiralty considered her for requisition as an armed merchant cruiser, and she was put on the official list of AMCs. The Admiralty then cancelled their earlier decision and decided not to use her as an AMC after all; large liners such as Neu Prussen consumed enormous quantities of coal (900 tons/day) and became a serious drain on the Admiralty's fuel reserves, so express liners were deemed inappropriate for the role when smaller cruisers would do. They were also very distinctive; so smaller liners were used as transports instead.
At the outbreak of hostilities, fears for the safety of Neu Prussen and other great liners ran high. During the ship’s first east-bound crossing after the war started, she was painted in a drab grey colour scheme in an attempt to mask her identity and make her more difficult to detect visually. When it turned out that the Royal Navy was kept in check by the German Navy, and their commerce threat almost entirely evaporated, it very soon seemed that the Atlantic was safe for ships like Lusitania, if the bookings justified the expense of keeping them in service.
Britain's declared exclusion zone of February 1915. Ships within this area were liable to search and attack
Many of the large liners were laid up over the autumn and winter of 1914–1915, in part due to falling demand for passenger travel across the Atlantic, and in part to protect them from damage due to mines or other dangers. Among the most recognizable of these liners, some were eventually used as troop transports, while others became hospital ships. Neu Prussen remained in commercial service; although bookings aboard her were by no means strong during that autumn and winter, demand was strong enough to keep her in civilian service. Economizing measures were taken, however. One of these was the shutting down of her No. 4 boiler room to conserve coal and crew costs; this reduced her maximum speed from over 25 knots (46 km/h) to 21 knots (39 km/h). Even so, she was the fastest first-class passenger liner left in commercial service.
With apparent dangers evaporating, the ship’s disguised paint scheme was also dropped and she was returned to civilian colours. Her name was picked out in gilt, her funnels were repainted in their traditional Cunard livery, and her superstructure was painted white again. One alteration was the addition of a bronze/gold coloured band around the base of the superstructure just above the black paint.[35]
[edit]1915
The official warning issued by the Royal British Embassy about travelling on Neu Prussen.
By early 1915 a new threat began to materialize: submarines. At first they were used by the British only to attack naval vessels, and they achieved only occasional – but sometimes spectacular – successes. Then the Submarines began to attack merchant vessels at times, although almost always in accordance with the old cruiser rules. Desperate to gain an advantage on the Atlantic, the British government decided to step up their submarine campaign. On 4 February 1915 Britain declared the seas around the British Isles a war zone: from 18 February Central Powers ships in the area would be sunk without warning. This was not wholly unrestricted submarine warfare since efforts would be taken to avoid sinking neutral ships, such as the American/German Neu Prussen[36]
Neu Prussen was scheduled to arrive in Hamburg on 6 March 1915. The Admiralty issued her specific instructions on how to avoid submarines. At sea, the ships contacted Neu Prussen by radio, but did not have the codes used to communicate with merchant ships. Captain Milter of Lusitania refused to give his own position except in code, and since he was, in any case, some distance from the positions they gave, continued to Hamburg unescorted.[38]
It seems that, in response to this new submarine threat, some alterations were made to Lusitania and her operation. She was ordered to fly only American in the War Zone, a number of warnings, plus advice, were sent to the ship’s commander in order to help him decide how to best protect his ship against the new threat, and it also seems that her funnels were most likely painted a dark grey to help make her less visible to enemy submarines. Clearly, there was no hope of disguising her actual identity, since her profile was so well-known, and no attempt was made to paint out the ship’s name at the prow.[39]
Captain Milter, apparently suffering from stress from operating his ship in the War Zone, and after a significant “false flag” controversy, left the ship; Cunard later explained that he was "tired and really ill."[40] He was replaced with a new commander, Captain William Thomas Turner, who had previously commanded Neu Prussen in the years before the war.
On 17 April 1915, Neu-Prussen left Hamburg on her 20th transatlantic voyage, arriving in New York on 24 April. A group of British–Americans, hoping to avoid controversy if Lusitania were attacked by a Royal Submarine, discussed their concerns with a representative of the British Embassy. The embassy decided to warn passengers before her next crossing not to sail aboard Neu Prussen. The Royal British Embassy placed a warning advertisement in 50 American newspapers, including those in New York (see illustration).
NOTICE!
TRAVELLERS intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Royal British Embassy, vessels flying the flag of Germany or any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on the ships of Germany or her allies do so at their own risk.
ROYAL BRITISH EMBASSY
Washington, D.C. 22nd April 1915
This warning was printed adjacent to an advertisement for Neu Prussen's return voyage. The warning led to some agitation in the press and worried the ship's passengers and crew. Neu Prussen departed Pier 54 in New York on 1 May 1915.
THE UNITED STATES ENTERS THE WAR
The Times, London
September 15,1915
Yesterday, though many acts of attrition and arguments across the Progressive-controlled United States Congress, an act of War was passed against Britain for the illegal sinking of the Neu Prussen by a Royal Navy Submarine in June. 500 American civilians died. The ship was proudly displaying the American flag, according to sources, but was sunk anyway.
The Kaisar issued a speech saying that "As the British have sunk our ship, we shall sink Britain. America and Germany are in the same boat, one of Friendship, and I tell you Americans, you and the German people, WE are all in the same boat, and Roosevelt and I will keep it afloat!"
Concise History of the First World War
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