~
Germany sent a coded telegram written by Arthur Zimmermann to communicate
with Mexico describing a future communication between Germany, Japan, and
Mexico.
~ Mexico was encouraged to attack the United States from the South through
the communication.
~ Mexico refused to communicate with Germany stating the
fact that America would clearly join the war if attacked.
~ Britain intercepted the communication and decoded it.
~ Britain was trapped in an impasse since they had been secretly spying on
America's private telegraph. Informing
the Americans of the contents would create a sense of mistrust between the
Americans and British but it would also alert the Germans and would cause
them to change their codebooks.
~ Luckily the solution was found when British spies discovered a decrypted
copy at a Mexico public telegraph office.
~ When America was warned about the telegram, they believed it to be a
false communication and did not take any action against the
possible conspirators.
~ Through a speech, Arthur Zimmermann proved the authenticity of the
telegram.
~ In shock at the communication, America was finally pushed
over the edge and destroyed its neutrality by joining the war against
Germany.
~ A simple telegram changed the course of World War I. Without it, it
might have been quite possible for Germany to be victorious.