By: Daniel Nardini
It was one of the most stupid blunders that changed the fate of the world, and brought the United States into direct conflict with Germany. This error occurred 95 years ago on February 26, 1917. But before I talk about it, I should provide some background to why it was done. Since 1914, Germany had been locked in a life-and-death war with Great Britain, France and Russia (Germany successfully knocked Russia out of the war in 1917). Great Britain, France and Russia had Italy on their side and Germany had Austria-Hungary and Turkey on its side. Even so, the First World War (then called the Great War) had become a stalemate with no side able to win. The German government knew that then U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was pro-British and had been secretly sending arms and munitions to Great Britain in complete violation of America’s proclaimed neutrality during that time. The only way to stop this flow of American arms to Britain was for Germany to use its submarine fleet to sink American merchant vessels that had entered areas of conflict. But this got more tricky because the U.S. government was also sending weaponry to Britain on civilian luxury ships and civilian transports. So, if the German submarines sank these ships hundreds of innocent lives were lost, but if these ships were allowed to go to Britain then the British got the weaponry.
In a desperate attempt to make sure the United States did not enter the war against Germany, the German foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman sent a secret telegram to the German ambassador to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckart. Eckart was supposed to convey this telegram to then Mexican President Venustiano Carranza that if Mexico entered into a military alliance with Germany that Germany promised weaponry to Mexico to take back Texas, Arizona and New Mexico that Mexico had lost in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. Carranza knew that this was a very bad idea. Mexico was just emerging from a bloody revolution and was in no shape to take on the United States. Since the British blockaded all German sea ports, there was no way Germany could get sufficient weaponry to Mexico to fight the United States. Finally, the territory Mexico lost now had large numbers of English speaking settlers who were also heavily armed. Carranza completely turned down the German offer. What the Germans did not know was that the British had broken all German diplomatic cipher codes and they had read the Zimmerman Telegram.
The Zimmerman Telegram was a great victory for the British because it suggested that the highest levels of the German government was trying to foment trouble against the United States, and the British government felt that this alone might bring in the United States into the war against Germany. The British handed the Zimmerman Telegram to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who recognized its immediate value. The telegram was published in all major U.S. newspapers, and the reaction was swift anti-German sentiment among most Americans. The Zimmerman Telegram, along with Germany’s attacks on American shipping, were the reasons why the United States entered the war against Germany later in 1917. Because of America’s war material and hundreds of thousands of fresh troops, the Germans were decisively beaten and the First World War was ended. Had the Zimmerman Telegram never been sent, then chances are Germany might have won the war because it had successfully knocked Russia out of the war and was using its soldiers brought from the front against Russia that would have turned the tide of the war against Great Britain and France. It was one of history’s most colossal mistakes.
The Zimmerman Telegram
By: Daniel Nardini
In a desperate attempt to make sure the United States did not enter the war against Germany, the German foreign minister Arthur Zimmerman sent a secret telegram to the German ambassador to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckart. Eckart was supposed to convey this telegram to then Mexican President Venustiano Carranza that if Mexico entered into a military alliance with Germany that Germany promised weaponry to Mexico to take back Texas, Arizona and New Mexico that Mexico had lost in the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. Carranza knew that this was a very bad idea. Mexico was just emerging from a bloody revolution and was in no shape to take on the United States. Since the British blockaded all German sea ports, there was no way Germany could get sufficient weaponry to Mexico to fight the United States. Finally, the territory Mexico lost now had large numbers of English speaking settlers who were also heavily armed. Carranza completely turned down the German offer. What the Germans did not know was that the British had broken all German diplomatic cipher codes and they had read the Zimmerman Telegram.
The Zimmerman Telegram was a great victory for the British because it suggested that the highest levels of the German government was trying to foment trouble against the United States, and the British government felt that this alone might bring in the United States into the war against Germany. The British handed the Zimmerman Telegram to U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, who recognized its immediate value. The telegram was published in all major U.S. newspapers, and the reaction was swift anti-German sentiment among most Americans. The Zimmerman Telegram, along with Germany’s attacks on American shipping, were the reasons why the United States entered the war against Germany later in 1917. Because of America’s war material and hundreds of thousands of fresh troops, the Germans were decisively beaten and the First World War was ended. Had the Zimmerman Telegram never been sent, then chances are Germany might have won the war because it had successfully knocked Russia out of the war and was using its soldiers brought from the front against Russia that would have turned the tide of the war against Great Britain and France. It was one of history’s most colossal mistakes.