Ravasio 1

Anthony Ravasio

Mr Palcsey

Honors English 10

April 24, 2018

The Zimmermann Note

On January 9th, 1917, the message was sent. This message, later becoming known as the

“Zimmermann Telegram”, or “Zimmermann Note”, was a note sent by the German Foreign

Minister Arthur Zimmermann. This note was directed towards the German Ambassador of

Mexico, and it was instructed to give to the Mexican president. It was an offer, made by

Germany, that could have drastically altered the course of events of WWI, if the note would have

gotten to Mexico and been accepted. The Zimmermann Note had the capability to alter the tides

of the course of history in many different ways, but in the end, Germany’s unnecessary

preparation, along with their ignorance and disregard of the Allies intelligence agencies, instead

helped the Allies secure victory and world power.

The telegram was not just a message. It was an invitation, if accepted, would then turn

into a backup plan of action. If America entered the war, Germany proposed that Mexico open a

second front against the US. (Herman, 5) Germany was, in return, “not only willing to finance an

adventure by the Mexican government to reclaim territory lost to the United States, it wanted

Mexico to intercede with Japan to get Japan to switch sides in the war (Japan played a limited

role against Germany in World War I)" (Bomboy 12). Mexico and the US weren't the best of

friends. If there was a country in the Western Hemisphere ready to ally with Germany against the
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U.S., it was Mexico (Herman, 5). After more investigation of Zimmermann’s office in 2007, it

was found that in the original draft, it indicated that “in addition to the re-acquisition of Texas,

Arizona, and New Mexico, ‘California should be reserved for Japan.’ But that text was not in the

telegram’s final copy.” (Bomboy, 12). The results that would have come if everything in the note

fell in place would be astonishing. The Zimmermann Note transformed the balance of world

power for the next century. (Herman, 6)

“Germany, heaping the air with their coded telegram messages, ignored the possibility of

their codes and ciphers ever being solved, because they considered the enemy unequal to such an

exercise.” (Tuchman, 3). This was exactly the case. The Germans were known for making up an

enciphered code that was changed in rotation every 24 hours, so it could not be deciphered. For

some odd reason, this encipherment was not used on the Zimmermann telegram. (Tuchman, 3)

The British were easily able to decipher the German code, because of years of studying and

linking German code to words. For example, the top group of numerals in the message caught

the eye of one of the decoders: 13042, a variation of 13040, the title number of German

diplomatic code. (Tuchman, 4) The decoders, after finding out it was Zimmermann, went back to

the beginning to find the addressee. Instead of finding the name first, the found the words "most

secret" and "for the excellency's personal information." Everything was routine until an

unexpected word appeared: "Mexico" (Tuchman, 4). The rest of the note would fall into place.

Britain found out Germany was trying to comply an alliance against a neutral state, and the US

eventually went into war.

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The Zimmermann Note was not the main plan of action to try to get the United States

into war. In 1914 Germany launched its U-Boat campaign, which involved using submarines to

sink ships without warning, including ships of neutral nations. As the war went on, the Germans

saw its sub warfare as its route to victory. This tactic ended up costing them the war instead.

(Herman, 7) "In May 1915 a German sub torpedoed a British civilian liner, the Lusitania, killing

128 Americans. Wilson threatened military action if it happened again, which forced Germany to

impose restriction on its U-Boats" (Herman, 8). On the cusp of war, the British Royal Navy

placed a blockade on Germany which starved much of Germany from essential goods for life. In

frustration of the British Naval Blockade, Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare.

(The Sussex Pledge) This led to the US breaking all diplomatic ties with Germany. (National

Archives, 2). Germany restarted the restricted submarine warfare to force the US to go into war.

Their backup plan to get them in was to send the note to Mexico. (National Archives, 4). It was a

last resort that was meant to be kept secret (National Archives, 4). Germans thought they could

win the war by sinking neutral ships and depriving the allies of food and sources. This would

involve bringing back the U-Boats, which would arouse the ire of Pres. Wilson. (Herman, 5) The

telegram, once released to the public, rallied patriotic nationalism that the country hadn't seen

since the burning of the White House during the War of 1812. If anything was set to turn public

opinion against neutrality, it was a secret plan to invade the US. (Herman, 6) President Wilson

didn’t want to go to war. But as Germany pushed his hand more and more and more, he had to

go all-in. “It is a fearful thing to lead this great peaceful people into war,” Wilson said in his

historic speech to Congress on April 2, but “America is privileged to spend her blood and her

might for the principles that gave her birth and happiness and the peace she has treasured.” He

also insisted on the purity of America’s motivation: “We have no selfish ends to serve. We desire
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no conquest, no dominion.” But to champion right against might, “we can dedicate our lives and

our fortunes, everything we are and everything we have.” (Herman, 6-7) In 1918 more than 4.5

million Americans donned uniforms and turned the tide in Europe. This helped to form one of

the world's strongest militaries, led by the Navy, second only to Britain's. Wilson imagined the

US safe by staying above the fray. Once the telegram was intercepted, he realized that America

had no choice but to act as a great power. (Herman, 8-9)

Another wy that the note could have drastically flipped the tides was because of this big

reason: The acquisition of the note itself by Britain was not a clean operation. The information

that was found by the British involved the spying on the United States, its own ally. (Corea, 1)

That’s right. The British intelligence agencies were receiving every telegram that was being sent

to America and through the country’s own telegram lines. They had been doing this since the

start of the war. The problem was telling the US how the message had been obtained. German

telegraph lines passing through the English Channel had been cut at the start of the war.

Germany often sent its messages in code via neutral countries. (Corea, 3) Germany had

convinced Pres. Wilson in the US that keeping the telegram channels open would help end the

war and ease tension. The US let them pass messages from Berlin to its embassy in Washington.

(Corea, 4) In essence, they Germans sent the note that could have been the demise of the United

States through the country’s own telegraph lines. British decoders cooperated and conspired with

Britain’s senior officials to try to figure out a plan. They knew they could manipulate public

opinion in America, which ended up working. 75% of Americans were pro-war during the time.

(Corea, 2) "The answer was obvious. Everyone knew that America entering World War One to

fight the Germans would help break the stalemate." (Corea, 2) Room 40 (British Intelligence
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HQ) asked one of its contacts to get hold of a copy of anything sent to the German embassy in

Mexico from the US. This provided another copy of the telegram. Britain could then plausibly

claim this was how it had got hold of the message and get around the problem of admitting it was

spying on its friends. (Corea, 7) This ended up working, though the US caught wind of the note

after a short time. "Eventually, the US obtained its own copy from the Western Union

telegraphic company, and De Grey then decoded it himself in front of a representative at the US

embassy in London. This meant technically all parties could claim that it had been decoded on

US territory." (Corea, 8) Credit of the findings were attached to the American Secret Service

rather than the British, to avoid awkward questions of British manipulation. Everything was

worked out in the end, and the countries allied and won the war. Today, the two allies have

GCHQ and the NSA - two vast intelligence agencies involved in interception and code-breaking.

They also have a pact which means that - on the whole - they are not supposed to spy on each

other. All of this was created because? Coalition of the Zimmermann Note. (Corea, 10)

The Zimmermann Note, though heavily debated, is the biggest undercover operation of

all time. The dynamics, secrets, results, and everything else involved in it is what makes the note

something that should be studied in heavy detail in every history class for the rest of time. Some

say the United States was destined for war, and that the note only helped push them into it. That

might be true, but one thing is for certain: The Zimmermann Telegram was undoubtedly the

turning point in WWI.

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Works Cited

Tuchman, Barbara. The Zimmermann Telegram. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014. pp.

4-17

Bomboy, Scott. “How One Telegram Helped to Lead America Toward War” Constitution Daily.

February 26, 2018. pp. 1-18

Chandler, Adam. “The Leak That Helped Push America Into World War I” The Atlantic.

March 1, 2017. pp. 5

Correa, Gordon. “Why Was the Zimmermann Telegram So Important?” BBC News. January

17, 2017. Pp. 1-45

Library of Congress. The Zimmermann Telegram. The United States Government, 1958. Pp. 1

Herman, Arthur. “Decoding the Zimmermann Telegram, 100 Years Later” The Hudson

Institute. Pp. 1-13

The National Archives The Zimmermann Telegram. The United States Government, 1958. Pp. 1