The Zimmermann Telegram
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In 1917 specifically the 19th of January, German foreign secretary Alfred Zimmermann sent a telegram to Mexico that proposed the military alliance between German and Mexico. In case the United Stated were to go through the 1st world war against Germany, then it was a greater chance for Mexico to recover their states back. That is Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The British intercepted and decoded the telegram because they had a plan of tapping the line. British intelligence was left in a tricky situation because they did not know the reason behind it. This was the first mistake that the Germans and Americans made because the British government was able to get take over[1].
On 3rd March 1917, Arthur Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, publicly admitted that the telegram was genuine. This helped in generating support towards the United States declaring war to German in April 1917. The main aim of the British was to get the United States to agree to the war, but they were not able to go public about it. This is because they did not want the United States to know about their motive of tapping their diplomatic traffic. The Germanys would also find out that the British had cracked their code.
The British plotted a plan and sent an agent to bribe the telegraph office worker from Mexico to be able to get the telegram, and to their guess, he had the copy. The copy was later shown to the Americans who believed it was stolen from the German Embassy in Mexico. The Americans decided to put up a cover story showcasing about the stolen copy. According to the Germans’ high command, the Americans could not keep their information safe because it was possible to break their codes. This led the Americans to take extra caution with the information they were giving to the public.
Zimmermann continued with his motive and considering how things were taking place. The proposed alliance between Mexican and German was something hard to believe, especially to the US. Based on the Americans’ understanding, the British invented it so they could drag the US to the war. After the Zimmermann confessed that the telegram was genuine, which caught the US off-guard when the press was trying the information forgery. This then led the president Wilson to announce war against Germany on 2nd April 1917. Although many Americans choose to remain committed to isolationism because their president Wilson had just won the election and tried as much as possible to keep the US out of the war. The Germans’ aggressions and submarine attacks turned the US, which led to the announcement.
The US president Wilson decided to abandon his policy neutrality and broadcasted war against the Germans. He also cast out all the allies between the United States and the Germans four days later. This was not the first time for the Germans to incite Mexican against the United States. The US could not take it anymore since it was affecting their exports to other allies. The Germans had a tendency of funding, arming, and advising the Mexicans to incite the Americans to start the war. The Germans were also responsible for the explosion that happened in san Francisco. The failure to all their evil deeds is what lead Zimmermann to send the telegram.
[1] Patterson, Alexander. “The Zimmerman Telegram.” The Student Researcher: A Phi Alpha Theta Publication 3, no. 1 (2018): 3.