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The Soon Coming Judgment Of God Upon America and How To Escape It 230
munitions. He further advised Bryan that when the Lusitania departed on May 1, 1915 she would
be carrying at least 6 million rounds of ammunition. Bryan immediately cleared the ad for
publication and promised to persuade President Wilson to warn the American public. Bryan
warned President Wilson but Wilson did nothing and on the morning of the sinking of the
Lusitania he conceded he had foreknowledge, which “had given him many sleepless hours.”
895
Wilson was also warned that the Lusitania was carrying guns in a letter from a woman
with political connections. This woman asked that her letter be kept confidential and in keeping
with her wishes her family asked that neither her name nor her letter be published. While in
London Lord Fisher had told her to be sure and travel on the Lusitania or the Olympic because
both of them contained concealed armament. On her return trip to America aboard the Olympic
she spoke to the steward and told him what Lord Fisher had told her. Being that she obviously
had political connections, the steward felt comfortable in showing her the concealed gun
mounting rings. He further explained that it would take approximately twenty-minutes to “wheel
the guns into position.”
896
The Lusitania’s Naval Escort Was Withdrawn
When the Lusitania set sale from New York it was scheduled to rendezvous with the
British destroyer Juno once it reached the coast of Ireland. On May 5th the German U-boats the
U-20 and U-30 were operating off the coast of Ireland. Admiral Oliver cautioned Churchill that
the Juno was inadequate to deal with submarines. He further recommended that more capable
ships from the destroyer flotilla at Milford Haven be sent to the Lusitania’s assistance. The Juno
was recalled but no other ships were dispatched and neither the captain nor the crews of the
Lusitania were notified. Presumably this occurred at the direction of Churchill but the Admiralty
War Diary fails to record who made the decision. After this Churchill left for Paris.
897
The next day the U-20, sunk two British ships, the Candidate and Centurion. These ships
were sunk in the vicinity were the Lusitania was originally to meet up with the Juno. No new
escort was dispatched nor was the Lusitania told she had no escort. The course heading given to
the Lusitania put it on a direct path with the U-20’s last known location. British Naval
Intelligence knew the location of every German U-Boat in the area of the English Channel
because British Intelligence had broken the German war code in December of 1914. German U-
boats used this code to communicate their location.
898
The Lusitania Was Sent Into A Trap
The Admiralty staff, presumably following Churchill’s orders, watched and monitored
the position of the Lusitania as it drew closer and closer to the known whereabouts of the U-20
until it was eventually sunk. Commander Joseph Kenworthy was present in the high-command
map room on May 5th when the Juno was withdrawn as the Lusitania’s escort and no other ship
was dispatched to her assistance. He left the meeting in disgust. Later, in 1927, he wrote The
Freedom of the Seas. Concerning the Lusitania he wrote: “The Lusitania was sent at
considerably reduced speed into an area where a U-boat (submarine) was known to be waiting
and with her escort withdrawn.”
899
The facts speak for themselves and the only reasonable
explanation of the actions of those involved is that they planned for the Lusitania to be torpedoed
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