The telegram also proposed an alliance between Germany and Mexico should the United States decide to join the European Allies. The Zimmerman telegram stated that Germany planned to return to unrestricted submarine warfare and would sink all ships-including those carrying American passengers-located in the war zone. Then, in early 1917, Britain intelligence intercepted a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister to Mexico Henrich von Eckhardt. But President Wilson still wasn’t ready to take his country to war. The sinking of Lusitania was a public relations nightmare for Germany as public opinion in the United States turned against them. The Zimmerman Telegram Becomes the Final Straw Said Winston Churchill, First Lord of the Admiralty, “The poor babies who perished in the ocean struck a blow at German power more deadly than could have been achieved by the sacrifice of 100,000 men.”Īrthur Zimmermann, circa 1910. Throngs of vengeance-seeking Brits rushed to enlist, and anti-German riots broke out in London.
As they continued to divert blame, British propaganda against them snowballed. Germany defended its aggression, claiming Lusitania had carried weapons and war supplies and was therefore fair game. President Woodrow Wilson wanted to proceed with caution and remain neutral while former President Theodore Roosevelt demanded swift retaliation. American citizens were saddened and stunned but not ready to rush to war. Attack Triggers Anti-German Sentiment in AmericaĪs word spread about Lusitania’s tragic fate, so did the outrage. The front page of The New York Times after the sinking of the ocean liner Lusitania by a German submarine, along with a notice printed within from the German Embassy in the USA warning against trans-Atlantic travel. On May 7, 1915, six days after leaving New York for Liverpool, Lusitania took a direct hit from a German U-boat submarine-without any warning-and sank within 20 minutes. Since it was assumed Germany would still allow passengers to get into lifeboats prior to an attack, the cautions were largely ignored. They warned potential travelers that “vessels flying the flag of Great Britain or of any of her allies are liable to destruction” and should be avoided. placed ads in American newspapers reminding Americans that Britain and Germany were at war. Germany Attacks a Ship With Civilian Passengersĭays before Lusitania was scheduled to leave New York for Liverpool in early May 1915, the Imperial German Embassy in Washington D.C. This break from naval protocol angered and troubled the United States and the European Allies.
Signed, ZIMMERMANN How did Britain get the telegram?īritain had severed Germany's Atlantic cable ties with Washington on the outbreak of war.By February 1915, German naval commanders knew British merchants were arming their ships and that both merchant and passenger ships were transporting weapons and supplies from the United States to Europe.Īs a result, Germany declared the waters surrounding the British Isles a war zone and stopped following international naval “prize laws,” which warned ships of a submarine’s presence. Please call the President's attention to the fact that the ruthless employment of our submarines now offers the prospect of compelling England in a few months to make peace." You will inform the President of the above most secretly as soon as the outbreak of war with the United States of America is certain and add the suggestion that he should, on his own initiative, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time mediate between Japan and ourselves. In the event of this not succeeding, we make Mexico a proposal of alliance on the following basis: make war together, make peace together, generous financial support and an understanding on our part that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. We shall endeavor in spite of this to keep the United States of America neutral. We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare.
0 kommentar(er)
