#zimmermann telegram

[charlesoberonn]

[facts-i-just-made-up]

What really happened to the Zimmermann telegram?

Nothing I heard of, they don't teach that here in Houston, Mexico.

[beardedmrbean]

[thisdayinwwi]

Mar 1 1917 in WWI

El Paso Herald., March 1 1917

Tonopah Daily Bonanza ., March 1 1917

The Tacoma Times., March 1 1917

Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany promises to return to Mexico parts Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona in return for declaring war on America

[piesandswords]

[interpretingtexas]

Original and Decoded Zimmermann telegram, National Archives [source]

The Zimmerman Telegram

In 1917, WWI had been raging for two and half years, but the US had so far stayed out of it. But that was about to change. In January of 1917, the Germans sent a coded telegram through the US Embassy in Berlin to Mexico. The telegram contained a proposal to Mexico that if the US failed to remain neutral, Mexico would enter WWI on the side of the Central Powers and reconquer the “lost” territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. The British intercepted and decoded this transmission almost immediately, but it would take almost a month for them to come up with a plan to get the telegram to the US without revealing their spying on US telegram lines or their ability to crack the German codes. Along with the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare, the Zimmerman Telegram is credited with being one of the chief reasons the US finally entered WWI.

For more information, check out this The Great War special on Mexico in WWI.

[today-in-wwi]

Zimmermann Admits to His Telegram

William Bayard Hale (1869-1924), the Hearst correspondent in Berlin at the time, and probable German agent.  Zimmermann admitted to the authenticity of the telegram in response to a question asked by Hale.

March 3 1917, Berlin--The revelation of the Zimmermann telegram in the American press on March 1 came as a shock to America.  However, it changed few minds instantly.  In fact, the fact that its aims were so far reaching (a German alliance with Mexico and Japan, and the Mexican re-annexation of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona) that many thought it was preposterous and had to be a hoax perpetrated by the British to get the United States to join the war.  Even Wilson’s statement that evening that the telegram was authentic would not satisfy everyone, even those in his own party.  And it would be difficult to convince any skeptics; some circumstantial evidence could be revealed from the State Department’s own files, but full proof would require disclosing publicly (and thus to the Germans) that their code had been broken.

However, on March 3, all these concerns were swept aside by Zimmermann himself.  In a press conference, Zimmermann was asked by William Hale, correspondent for the Hearst newspapers (and a paid German agent himself): “Of course your Excellency will deny this story.”  Zimmermann responded simply: “I cannot deny it. It is true.” 

Whether Zimmermann thought the Americans would soon release their own proof, or whether he had given up entirely on keeping the United States out of the war, is still unclear.

Today in 1916: Russians Take Bitlis With Blizzard Bayonet Charge  Today in 1915: Back and Forth Fighting in Northern Poland

Sources include: Barbara Tuchman, The Zimmermann Telegram.

[todaysdocument]

Telegram from Frank Polk to the American Embassy in Mexico City, 2/26/1917

File Unit: 862.20212 / 57 through 862.20212 / 311, 1910 - 1963. Series: Central Decimal Files, 1910 - 1963. Record Group 59: General Records of the Department of State, 1763 - 2002

Scope & Content:  This telegram informed the American Embassy in Mexico City of the Zimmermann Telegram. It instructs the recipient of the telegram to meet with Mexican President Venustiano Carranza and to inform him that the message will probably be made public and that it would be in Mexico's best interest to make a statement.