![]() The British gave the US the translation along with the encrypted text, so it was already known that the message was unimpeachable. The United States could track it's origins all the way back to Berlin were it was hand delivered to the US Embassy. So the United States already had the encrypted message directly from Germany. From London the messages would go to the United States across a translation cable operated by the United States and Sweeden who were both neutrals, before being wired from the US to Mexico. Probable also because it allowed the British to intercept and read everything Germany was saying to it's embassies. ![]() British had cut Germany's transatlantic cables at the onset of the war and permitted the United States servicing Germany's diplomatic correspondence as part of President Wilson's peace initiative. ![]() From the US Embassy they would go through a series of neutral countries before ending up in London to be transmitted across the ocean. The way the Germans conveyed diplomatic messages to Mexico back in 1917 was encoding them and then giving them to the United States Embassy in Germany for retransmission. The United States could already verify independently that the British provided message was genuine even without Zimmerman's admission. Why did Germany officially acknowledge the contents of the Zimmerman telegram? The German Foreign Secretary, Arthur Zimmermann, presumably hoped to minimise the damage that had already been done. were only to be carried out after the US declared war. The United States ambassador, Walter Hines Page, had these details (presumably from the head of Room 40, William Reginald Hall) and had included them with his report to President Wilson.īy claiming that his instructions (to the Mexican government) The German embassy in Washington would have had to send a telegram to Germany to inform them that the contents of what we now call "The Zimmermann Telegram" had been made public.Īt that point, Germany had little choice but to respond, and to respond quickly.ĭenial was never an option, since the cipher-text was still held in the telegraph company files in the United States and could be checked. T he press published the story the next day 1 March 1917 (and remember that Berlin is 6 hours ahead of Washington time). President Wilson revealed the existence of the telegram to the press on 28 February 1917. That was disastrous for Germany other not-so-great decisions by Zimmerman included helping to trigger the October Revolution in Russia. I don't know if this had his desired effect within Germany, but it certainly increased the chances that the USA would go to war. So he was claiming that his instructions to the German embassy in Mexico had been a contingency plan for use in case the US declared war, and was blaming President Wilson for a hasty and ill-considered breaking off of relations. In fact, he blamed President Wilson for breaking off relations with Germany "with extraordinary roughness" after the telegram was received, and that therefore the German ambassador "no longer had the opportunity to explain the German attitude, and that the US government had declined to negotiate". His instructions (to the Mexican government) were only to be carried out after the US declared war, and he believed his instructions to be "absolutely loyal as regards the US". despite the submarine offensive, he had hoped that the USA would remain neutral. Placing your personal interests ahead of those of your country when you're a government minister is rarely a good idea. Why would Germany publicly acknowledge the contents of the letter, though? Denial of the letter's contents or authenticity (possibly mixed with an accusation that the UK had forged it, in its own interests) may have created hesitation and confusion among America's military brass, which could've given Germany an advantage during the rest of the war.Īrthur Zimmerman appears to have been trying to avoid being blamed by the German press and politicians for bringing the USA into the war. ![]() After being intercepted and decoded by Britain's intelligence community, its contents were found to be an offer of monetary compensation, retaking of previously-held lands, and a strategic alliance between Germany and Mexico, in exchange for Mexico's military aid in the First World War should American involvement become inevitable.Īfter the contents of the letter became public and sparked outrage, German foreign secretary Arthur Zimmerman publicly confirmed the authenticity of the message, further sparking controversy, and ultimately cementing America's already fairly definitive alignment against Germany for the duration of the war. The Zimmerman telegram was a diplomatic message from officials in Germany to the Mexican president, sent in 1917.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |