So it was to be with the Lusitania, which carried 190 Americans, 123 of whom perished. This German strategy to use submarines to cut the transatlantic route bringing essential war supplies and food to Britain and France marked a sharp intensification of the conflict at sea, but it also came with the risk of alienating neutral opinion, especially that of the US should American ships or citizens suffer. In Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania Erik Larson deftly narrates the ill-fated voyage, noting how crew and passengers largely ignored the explicit warning issued by the German embassy in Washington DC (and published in the US press) that "vessels flying the flag of Great Britain" were "liable to destruction" in the waters around Ireland and Britain, which the Germans had declared a war zone from February 4th, 1915.
The deliberate sinking of such a famous passenger liner – the pride of the Cunard fleet – marked a new and terrible manifestation of "total war", by which technological advances enabled death and destruction to be applied far from the traditional battlefield and which brought civilians into the front line, almost as if they were uniformed soldiers. Really recommend if you want some insight into the terrible tragedy.The loss of RMS Lusitania, torpedoed by a German U-boat 18km off the Old Head of Kinsale on the afternoon of May 7th, 1915, with the loss of nearly 1,200 lives, was one of the most shocking tragedies of the first World War. I also appreciated how much the author stressed that she was a distant relative of Hichens which explained some of the bias in the story. I appreciate the time and effort that went into research and writing this book and I very much enjoyed reading it. This people survived something unfathomable and then had to resume their lives without any real psychological or financial support. It is not really something I have ever thought about. I enjoyed reading about what happened to Hichens after the sinking. That said, it doesn't mean his behaviour is the way Nilsson described it.
I think that he was a scared man who had the responsibility of several lives to take care of and I cannot blame him for not wanting to go back to the ship. I think that Hichens had a very difficult time after the sinking, however, I am not sure that I buy into Nilsson's proclamation that he was 100% a victim and that what was said about his behaviour in the lightboats was made up. This book was written by one of the dependents of Robert Hichens, and I think the bias can be felt in the book.
Really recommend if you want some insight into the terrible tragedy.Ĥ.5 stars It is the first (but not the last) piece of in-depth reading I have done on the Titanic and I wish I had have come to this book later in my reading.
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