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Option #1: (historical choice) British Fleet seizes neutral ships: – the US<br />
diplomatic level is shifted by 1 step towards the Central Powers.<br />
Notes: once successfully in play, the event is discarded and cannot occur<br />
again. A stratagem card corresponding to this mandatory event is present<br />
in the deck<br />
Torpedoing of the Lusitania<br />
Description: This event will greatly deteriorate the diplomatic relationships<br />
between the USA and Germany!<br />
Historical notes: Despite warnings in newspapers from the German<br />
embassy to Americans to avoid travelling on the Lusitania the ship set sail<br />
from New York on May 1st, 1915 with a schedule that included 139<br />
American passengers. On May 7th the German U-boat U-20 located the<br />
ship 8 miles off the Irish coast and hit her with a single torpedo under the<br />
bridge. The Lusitania sunk in 18 minutes taking with her the lives of 1,198<br />
people including 128 of the Americans aboard. The British felt the<br />
Americans had to declare war on Germany but President Wilson did not<br />
believe that the American people were ready to be involved in a European<br />
dispute. Instead he sent a formal protest to Germany. In September of that<br />
year the Kaiser called off unrestricted submarine warfare.<br />
Conditions: Great Britain must be at war and Germany have adopted the<br />
political action “Submarine Warfare”.<br />
Difficulty: die roll 3+.<br />
Modifiers: +3 if Germany has adopted the political action “Unrestricted<br />
Submarine Warfare”.<br />
Enter in play: Events phase, any turn.<br />
Option #1: (historical choice) Lusitania torpedoed – the US diplomatic level<br />
is shifted by 3 steps towards the Entente, a new “Torpedoing” event is<br />
generated and shuffled inside the deck.<br />
Notes: once successfully in play, the event is discarded and cannot occur<br />
again.<br />
Torpedoing<br />
Description: This event will deteriorate the diplomatic relationships between<br />
the USA and Germany!<br />
Historical notes: Throughout the period of American neutrality tensions<br />
were heightened by the destruction of US shipping at the hands of German<br />
U-boats. Although the Germans issued apologies the sinkings continued.<br />
On March 1st, 1917 the American press published the contents of an<br />
intercepted telegram dispatched by German Foreign Secretary Arthur<br />
Zimmermann, detailing plans for unrestricted submarine warfare and aid to<br />
Mexico in any future attempt to re-conquer lost territory in New Mexico,<br />
Texas, and Arizona. The resulting public outrage contributed to the United<br />
States’ declaration of war against Germany on April 6.<br />
Conditions: Great Britain must be at war.<br />
Difficulty: die roll 4+.<br />
Modifiers: +2 if Germany has adopted the political action “Submarine<br />
Warfare”, +4 if Germany has adopted the political action “Unrestricted<br />
Submarine Warfare”.<br />
Enter in play: Events phase, any turn.<br />
Option #1: (historical choice) A US ship torpedoed – the US diplomatic<br />
level is shifted by 1 step towards the Entente.<br />
Notes: once successfully in play, the event is discarded and cannot occur<br />
again.<br />
Brazil enters the War<br />
Description: This event will make Brazil declares war on Central Powers!<br />
Historical notes: As a major Atlantic trading nation, Brazil had found itself<br />
increasingly threatened by Germany’s declaration of unrestricted<br />
submarine warfare, culminating on 5 April 1917 with the sinking of the<br />
Brazilian ship Parana off the French coast. Following the U.S. decision to<br />
enter the war on 6 April 1917 the Brazilian government severed diplomatic<br />
relations with Germany on 10 April 1917 preparatory to a subsequent<br />
declaration of war.<br />
Conditions: Great Britain must be at war.<br />
Difficulty: die roll 5+.<br />
Modifiers: +3 if the USA are at war, +1 in 1918.<br />
Enter in play: Events phase, any turn.<br />
Option #1: (historical choice) Brazil declares war on Central Powers –<br />
Brazil joins the war on the side of the Entente, and Britain each receive an<br />
additional revenue of 5 Economic Points per Interphase, all Entente<br />
powers gain +1 NW point bonus, a new “Torpedoing” event is generated<br />
and shuffled inside the deck.<br />
Notes: once successfully in play, the event is discarded and cannot occur<br />
again.<br />
Serbian Typhus<br />
Description: This event will bring severe attrition losses in the Serbian<br />
sector of Eastern Front!<br />
Historical notes: During World War I typhus caused three million<br />
deaths in Russia and more in Poland and Romania. De-lousing stations<br />
were established for troops on the Western front but the disease<br />
ravaged the armies of the Eastern front, with over 150,000 dying in Serbia<br />
alone.<br />
World War One: La Grande Guerre 1914-1918 171
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