The Zimmermann Telegram (or Zimmermann Note or Zimmerman Cable) was a secret diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the United States entered World War I against Germany. Mexico would recover Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. The telegram was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence.
Revelation of the contents enraged Americans, especially after German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann publicly admitted on March 3 that the telegram was genuine. It helped to generate support for the American declaration of war on Germany in April.The decryption was described as the most significant intelligence triumph for Britain during World War I, and one of the earliest occasions on which a piece of signal intelligence influenced world events.
1917Mar, 1
The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text.
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Events on 1917
- 22Jan
Woodrow Wilson
World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for "peace without victory" in Europe. - 15Mar
Nicholas II of Russia
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty. - 2Apr
Woodrow Wilson
World War I: United States President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. - 5Jun
Conscription
World War I: Conscription begins in the United States as "Army registration day". - 27Jul
Battle of Passchendaele
The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.