The Lusitania

1 At the beginning of the twentieth century, Europe was composed of a complex system of alliances of different ideas, attitudes and fears. The flimsy stability of the European status quo shifted one way or the other with the slightest breath of wind. The cement holding this fragile structure together was the threat of the military power that armed each nation. The assination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, on June 28, 1914 was the …

…the Lusitania became the flashpoint to war from which there was no turning back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Bibliography Book Sources: Botting, Douglas The U-boats Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1979 Churchill, Winston The World Crisis England: Charles Scibner’s Sons, 1923 Julliard, Rene The First World War Paris: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1964 Maddocks, Melvin The Great Liners Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1982 Marshall, S. L. A. World War I Washington: Heritage Publishing, 1964 Internet Sources: Http://members.aol.com/LouAtBuff/Lusitania.html