On August 8th, 1938 the future RMS Laurentic slid down the ways and into Belfast Lough. The day after her launch, RMS Olympic, after languishing in Belfast for a year as a reserve in case of mechanical problems with either her sisters or Majestic, sailed for Jarrow, England to be broken up. However, fate had a different plan in store for her. Upon her arrival in Jarrow, the Royal Navy inspected her and determined that, for a 27 year old ship, she was actually in quite fine condition. So, on August 19th, 1938, the former White Star flagship was commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Olympic to serve as a training ship and troop transport in event of war.
Concurrent with the launch of Laurentic, Harland and Wolff laid down a new ship, their first ever liner built for Cunard. This new ship was to be 820' long with a beam of 105', have 11 decks and be 58,000 Gross Register Tons. In addition, she was to be powered by diesel engines instead of the traditional steam turbines. It was planned to equip her with quadruple screws giving her a top speed of 29 knots. She was to be christened RMS Mauritania in honor of Cunard's long serving flagship. It was planned that the new ship would be completed and in service by March or April, 1941 replacing the RMS Aquitania, finally granting Cunard's wish to replace their aging flagship.
By 1938, the western allies, the United Kingdom and France in particular, had grown increasingly wary of Russia's actions. Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Albania were now satellites of Moscow in all but name. Denmark, Norway and Sweden were also increasingly concerned as their two large neighbors, Imperial Germany and the Russian Republic, seemed increasingly likely to go to war, despite Germany's attempts to ease tensions diplomatically. France and the UK entered into treaties with the three countries agreeing to come to their aid if they were attacked. At the same time, they entered into secret negotiations with Germany. These negotiations resulted in the Pan European Defense Pact. Whereby all three nations, plus Italy and Austria, agreed to come to each others aid if they were attacked without provocation. Spain and Portugal, while not being signatories to the treaty, privately reassured Germany and Austria of their support as well. This treaty was kept quiet by all involved, as the political costs of the treaty in each of their home countries was deemed too high to publicly announce an alliance with their former enemy.
In May, 1939 RMS Laurentic was ready for her Maiden Voyage. In a display of showmanship, White Star carefully coordinated their schedules so that Britannic would depart New York to coincide with Majestic's arrival and arrive in Southampton as Laurentic was departing. An even more impressive display was arranged for Titanic. Upon Laurentic's arrival in New York, she was passed in the outbound channel by Titanic and her sister, Majestic. Titanic would make her final crossing in tandem with the larger ship. Majestic was escorting her home. The last of White Star's revolutionary Olympic-class liners was decommissioned on May 11th, 1939. She would join her younger sister in Belfast three days later in reserve until it was certain there would be no issues with the new Laurentic. When no issues developed, Titanic and Britannic were sent to Jarrow in April, 1940. Though their interior fittings were stripped and auctioned off quickly, it would be some time before the two liners would be scrapped as the ship breakers there were somewhat overwhelmed with turn of the century ships being broken up.
It was while Mauritania was fitting out in late 1940 that the fragile peace finally shattered. In the early morning of November 1st, 1940 explosions and gunfire erupted along the frontier between East Prussia and Russia as supposed German backed rebels attacked Russian troops and garrisons in the area. The stated aim was to restore the small slice of Prussia that Germany had lost to Russia in the Great War to German Control. It was only later that it was determined that these rebels were actually being supplied and instructed by Moscow, though the rank and file actually thought their supplies were coming from Berlin.
The initial German reaction was shock. While they privately did desire the return of their lost land, they were most certainly not prepared to go to war over it. Unfortunately, there seemed to be little choice.
By November 5th, the Russian Ambassador to Imperial Germany presented the Kaiser and his government with a list of demands that would have to be met in their entirety to maintain the peace. The irony of this was not lost on Germany, who encouraged Austria to issue just such a list in 1914. The demands were, to put it mildly, outrageous. Nearly all of Eastern Germany, including all of East Prussia and the port of Danzig was to be surrendered to Russia to serve as a border state between the two countries. All German residents of the area were to leave the area within 6 months. Germany was to immediately stand down its military and disband any forces above what the Treaty of Versailles allowed them to retain. Russian observers were to be permanently stationed with German Forces to ensure compliance with treaty commitments. Reparations were to be paid for the loss of life incurred during the "German supported" attack. Additionally, Germany was to cut off funding to all rebel groups in Russia and to furnish the Russian Government with the names of the leaders of all rebel groups. That this last requirement was impossible to meet was all the proof that Germany needed to confirm what they had suspected: the so called rebels were taking their orders from Moscow. A rejection of the demands was not long in coming. The Russian response followed shortly after. In the form of an artillery barrage.
In France, the UK, Italy and Austria the outbreak of war led to fierce internal debates as to whether the Russian attack on Germany was truly "unprovoked." Some argued strongly that the signing of the defense treaty with the Kaiser had just given him the excuse to launch a war of conquest while claiming to be the victim and to do so under the umbrella of the other Great Powers in Europe. Others argued just as strongly that the there was no way the Germans could be so stupid as to think that would work. While the debate in government raged, the military began preparing to deploy. In the case of the Royal Navy, it began looking for shipping suitable for use as troop transports. They already had HMS Olympic, but would need more. The first place they turned was to White Star.
White Star Line operated the largest fleet of liners in the world, with nearly 30 vessels between the White Star and Cunard fleets. Though White Star informed the admiralty that any of their ships could be converted, they were loathe to do so until it was certain they would be needed and would prefer if all other options were examined first. To that end, the Royal Navy made a very surprising discovery. The Titanic and Britannic had not yet been broken up. The breakers yard in Jarrow had been so overwhelmed with work that they had not gotten around to actually dismantling the ships. Upon inspection, it was found that, while overall the ships were sound, they would both require an extensive refit before they could be used, a result of their being laid up for just over a year. The Navy immediately agreed to purchase the two ships and had them towed to the Royal Dockyard, Plymouth to be refitted as troopships.
On November 20th, the Western Allies decided that yes, the attack on Germany had been unprovoked and agreed to honor their treaty commitments. Accordingly, The UK, France, Italy and Austria declared war on Russia. White Star was soon informed that, yes, their ships would be needed as troopships. Accordingly, White Star pulled the Majestic, Laurentic, Aquitania, Britannia, Caronia, and the first three Oceanic-class ships from service and sent them to Harland and Wolff to be converted and their fittings placed into storage. Additionally, White Star ordered work on Mauritania to be placed on hold pending future developments. All told, White Star, when including the three Olympic-class ships, provided the Royal Navy the ability to transport 80,000 men at a time. The British Empire would need every inch of that space.