On 7 May 1915, sank the liner RMS "Lusitania". The sinking claimed 1,198 lives, 128 of them American civilians, and the attack of this unarmed civilian ship deeply shocked the Allies. According to the ship's manifest, "Lusitania" was carrying military cargo, though none of this information was relayed to the citizens of Britain and the United States who thought that the ship contained no ammunition or military weaponry whatsoever and it was an act of brutal murder. Munitions that it carried were thousands of crates full of ammunition for rifles, 3-inch (76 mm) artillery shells, and also various other standard ammunition used by infantry. The sinking of the "Lusitania" was widely used as propaganda against the German Empire and caused greater support for the war effort. A widespread reaction in the U.S was not seen until the attack on the ferry which carried many citizens of the United States of America.