“[It] was clear as a knife in the back and near as next door. Everyone understood in a minute” (Barbara W. Tuchman, 1957). The Zimmermann Telegram played a big role in the United States entering the WWI. Arthur Zimmermann, the author of the Zimmermann Telegram, wanted to have an alliance with Mexico, and later on Japan, in case the United States declared war on Germany. Britain got a hold of the telegram and sent in to President Woodrow Wilson. This resulted in the US entering the war and siding with the Allies against the Central Powers. Germany wanted an alliance with Mexico in exchange for getting Mexico’s land back in the U.S. This caused the Zimmermann Telegram to be sent to Mexico, which had a lasting impact on WW1. Since Germany was …show more content…
In 1913, Gottlieb von Jagow became German Foreign Secretary in 1913. Jagow resigned in 1916 and on November 25, Zimmermann was appointed to replace him. Zimmermann was Germany’s Foreign Minister from 1916 to 1917. On January 16, 1917, Zimmermann proposed an alliance with Mexico against the US called the Zimmermann Telegram. It was later forwarded by Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, the German ambassador in D.C., to Heinrich von Eckardt, the German ambassador in Mexico. Arthur Zimmerman caused a worldwide …show more content…
Earlier in the war, German Navy Magdeburg cookbook was stolen, so Sir Alfred Ewing, with others, used the codebook against the intercepted transmissions of German Ships. Because they had the codebook, The Royal Navy knew where all German ships were at all times during the war. When the British were intercepting the telegram, they noticed some number codes that seemed important. 36477 translated to “Texas”, 17553 to “New”, 67893, to “Mexico”, 52262 to “Japan”, and 97556 to “Zimmermann”. Arizona was split into a few codes, 5454 (AR), 16102 (IZ), 15217 (ON), and 22801 (A). When the codebreakers saw the code 67893 (Mexico), they wondered why Germany was mentioning Mexico. This was the first hint the The Zimmermann Telegram contained important information. When codebreakers saw the code 12137 (“alliance”), they were even more curious as to what the telegram said. Sir Alfred Ewing created the British code breaking system and managed Room 40. Room 40 was a secret British organization created to intercept and decipher German wireless messages and telegrams. Room 40’s greatest accomplishment was deciphering the Zimmermann Telegram. Ewing resigned a year later because of an invitation to become Vice Chancellor of Edinburgh University before retiring in 1929. William Hall took his place. Prior to becoming head of Room 40, Ewing was the Director of Naval Education until