Thrasher incident
On 4 February Germany declared a war zone around the British Isles, in which the Imperial German Navy's approximately 20 submarines would seek to starve out Britain by sinking merchant shipping.
A warship may stop and search an unresisting vessel, and capture or sink her only while assuring the safety of the crew and passengers.
Germany responded by issuing orders to spare neutral ships, but a number of such vessels were attacked anyway, and mines in the North Sea sank US steamships on 21 and 22 February.
[2][3] The UK Admiralty gave instructions to merchant ships on dealing with U-boats, including advice to attempt to make an escape.
[14] At 11:40 hrs on 28 March Falaba's Chief Officer, Walter Baxter, sighted U-28 in St George's Channel.
However, U-28 outran Falaba, and Davis sent a wireless telegraph message to that effect at 11:50, describing the submarine as falsely flying a British flag.
U-28 was reported to have fired its deck gun at Aguila, inflicting casualties, including as her passengers and crew were abandoning ship.
[19] Wilson thought U-28 had violated international law, the key point being the short amount of time given to evacuate the ship, but Bryan questioned "whether an American citizen can, by putting his business above his regard for his country, assume for his own advantage unnecessary risks and thus involve his country in international complications.
"[20] Wilson had Counselor Robert Lansing draft a diplomatic complaint to the Germans: The Government of the United States has received a report, confirmed by substantial evidence, that Leon C. Thrasher, a native born American citizen, came to his death by reason of the act of the German naval authorities in sinking the British passenger steamer Falaba on the high seas on the 28th of March, 1915, outward bound from Liverpool, and the failure of the commander of the German submarine U–28 to give ample time for the crew and passengers of the Falaba to leave the vessel before sinking her by means of torpedoes.
It is further reported that, at the time when the Falaba was torpedoed and sunk, she was lying to, making no attempt to escape and offering no resistance.
The note included a warning that the US would take "any necessary act in sustaining the rights of its citizens or in safeguarding the sacred duties of international law.
The passenger thus blamed Elder, Dempster, their Marine Superintendent and his brother-in-law Fred Davies for the loss of life.
[17][26] Journalist and Lusitania conspiracy theorist Colin Simpson claims the torpedo may have detonated the Falaba's cargo,[27] but the inquiry at the time did not believe this was an issue.
