How The Decision To Declare War Was Influenced

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Germany set up a submarine blockade to prevent supplies from getting to Great Britain. The U-boats destroyed many goods and supplies headed for Britain. On May 7, 1915, Germany fired on a passenger liner, the Lusitania. There were 1,198 passenger deaths, of which 128 were Americans. This prompted President Woodrow Wilson to push Germany to agree to naval warfare restrictions. By September, they agreed they would not attack passenger or non-threatening ships. In February, Germany returned to unrestricted submarine warfare. They knew this might prompt the United States to enter the war. They thought they could starve Britain into surrendering before the United States got involved. During most of the war, the ships that Britain and Germany had built stayed in home waters. The Battle of Jutland was the only major battle between the two navies. The British fleet had 150 warships while the German fleet had 99 warships. Both Germany and Britain claimed victory even though ...

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