Tonight's Topic: "WWI Almanac #02 -- The Zimmermann Telegram"
Answers = T - I - T
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2014[46]A -- Ins-Net As for Nov 14, 2014_ "WWI Almanac #02 -- The Zimmermann Telegram" and other info about our Qs & As on KF7TBA+K7LWA's Friday Insomniac-Net BLOG (http://k7lwa-ins.blogspot.com/) |
For tonight's questions, we return to our recurring topic about the events that occurred nearly 100 years ago during the global conflict known as The Great War.
Of course, as we all know, this war is more commonly known as either "World War One (WWI)" or the "War to End All Wars".
The Zimmermann Telegram refers to a series of diplomatic efforts in early 1917 managed by the German Foreign Minister, Authur Zimmermann.
These efforts were aimed at keeping President Woodrow Wilson and the still neutral America from entering World War One on the side of the Allies and against Germany and its Central Powers partners.
Accordingly -- and at considerable risk of really, really boring you -- we ask you to give us your best answers to the 3 mulitple-choice questions listed below.
Please choose your answers from any of the 3 (reuseable) answers of "Z", "I", or "T" (if applicable!) for each question.
So, how much do you know about The Zimmermann Telegram?
From Telegram from Ambassador Walter Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 02/24/1917 (declassified Oct 28, 1958)
"... THE COPIES OF THIS AND OTHER TELEGRAMS WERE NOT OBTAINED IN WASHINGTON BUT WERE BOUGHT IN MEXICO.
... I SHALL SEND YOU BY MAIL A COPY OF THE CIPHER TEXT AND OF THE DE-CODE INTO GERMAN AND MEANWHILE I GIVE YOU THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION AS FOLLOWS: ------------
"WE INTEND TO BEGIN ON THE FIRST OF FEBRUARY UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE.
WE SHALL ENDEAVOR INSPITE OF THIS TO KEEP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NEUTRAL.
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 ANP AN UNDERSTANDING ON OUR PART THAT MEXICO IS TO RECONQUER THE LOST TERRITORY IN TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA.
THE SETTLEMENT IN DETAIL IS LEFT TO YOU.
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, WRITE INVITE JAPAN TO IMMEDIATE ADHERENCE AND AT THE SAMETIME MEDIATE BETWEEN JAPAN AND OURSELVES. 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."
SIGNED, ZIMMERMANN.
[SOURCE: Telegram from Ambassador Walter Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 02/24/1917]
"... THE COPIES OF THIS AND OTHER TELEGRAMS WERE NOT OBTAINED IN WASHINGTON BUT WERE BOUGHT IN MEXICO.
... I SHALL SEND YOU BY MAIL A COPY OF THE CIPHER TEXT AND OF THE DE-CODE INTO GERMAN AND MEANWHILE I GIVE YOU THE ENGLISH TRANSLATION AS FOLLOWS: ------------
"WE INTEND TO BEGIN ON THE FIRST OF FEBRUARY UNRESTRICTED SUBMARINE WARFARE.
WE SHALL ENDEAVOR INSPITE OF THIS TO KEEP THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NEUTRAL.
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 ANP AN UNDERSTANDING ON OUR PART THAT MEXICO IS TO RECONQUER THE LOST TERRITORY IN TEXAS, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA.
THE SETTLEMENT IN DETAIL IS LEFT TO YOU.
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, WRITE INVITE JAPAN TO IMMEDIATE ADHERENCE AND AT THE SAMETIME MEDIATE BETWEEN JAPAN AND OURSELVES. 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."
SIGNED, ZIMMERMANN.
[SOURCE: Telegram from Ambassador Walter Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 02/24/1917]
Question #1: In January of 1917, British Naval cryptographers (in "Room 40") deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt. How did the British get a copy of this "Zimmermann" Telegram?
Z. They bought it from a drunk Western Union clerk in London, or
I. They accidentally found a copy of the Telegram lying under a salsa-spashed Tex-Mex menu in the Juarez restaurant frequented by Pancho Villa.
T. They had a spy working for Western Union in Mexico City who bought it or stole it, and then passed it back to the gang in "Room 40"
Thomas Boghardt in The Zimmermann Telegram (2012) cites extensively about the code-breaking activites of Room 40 -- also known as 40 O.B. (Old Building) (latterly NID25) was the section in the Admiralty most identified with the British cryptoanalysis effort during the First World War. [SOURCE: Room 40 - Wikipedia]
From Telegram from Ambassador Walter Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 02/24/1917
"... THE COPIES OF THIS AND OTHER TELEGRAMS WERE NOT OBTAINED IN WASHINGTON BUT WERE BOUGHT IN MEXICO.
[SOURCE: Telegram from Ambassador Walter Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 02/24/1917]
"... THE COPIES OF THIS AND OTHER TELEGRAMS WERE NOT OBTAINED IN WASHINGTON BUT WERE BOUGHT IN MEXICO.
[SOURCE: Telegram from Ambassador Walter Page to Secretary of State Robert Lansing, 02/24/1917]
Question #2: When finally decoded by British Naval Intelligence, what shocking information did the Zimmermann Telegram contain?
Z. "Herr Papa, you are the Vater of a 14-Kilogram bouncing Prussian Junge!", or
I. A German proposal to Mexico of an alliance to make war and peace together, provide financial support, and to help Mexico to reconquer its lost territory in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, as well as starting unlimited submarine warfare, or
T. "Congratulations! You may have already won the 1917 Grand Prize from Publishers' Clearinghouse!"
The Zimmermann Telegram
Thomas Boghardt, author of The Zimmermann Telegram: Intelligence, Diplomacy, and America’s Entry into World War One, explained why Germany sent the telegram to Mexico; how it was intercepted by the British; and how its discovery influenced American public opinion. The coded telegram, dispatched by Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador in Mexico in anticipation of further unrestricted submarine warfare, instructed Ambassador Eckardt that if the U.S. appeared likely to enter the war, he was to approach the Mexican government with a proposal for a military alliance. Mexico was promised territories in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Eckardt was also instructed to urge Mexico to help broker an alliance between Germany and the Japanese Empire. News of the correspondence was made public after British intelligence intercepted the communication.
The National Archives in Washington DC hosted this event.
[SOURCE (Video): Zimmermann Telegram Video C-SPAN.org (http://www.c-span.org/video/?308861-1/zimmermann-telegram)]
Question #3: Since British Naval Intelligence was monitoring the trans-Atlantic cables from Europe to the U.S. -- including secret American messages -- what did the British government do before telling President Wilson about the Zimmermann Telegram?
Z. Waited several weeks before revealing anything about the document, so the US would not suspect that Britain was also spying on America's communications, or
I. Waited several weeks until Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare and resumed sinking American ships -- thus, gaining popular American support to enter the War on the Allies side, or
T. Both answers "Z" and "I" above are correct.
Between 1914 and the spring of 1917, the European nations engaged in a
conflict that became known as World War I. While armies moved across the
face of Europe, the United States remained neutral. In 1916 Woodrow
Wilson was elected President for a second term, largely because of the
slogan "He kept us out of war." Events in early 1917 would change that
hope. In frustration over the effective British naval blockade, in
February Germany broke its pledge to limit submarine warfare. In
response to the breaking of the Sussex pledge, the United States severed
diplomatic relations with Germany.
In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause...."
In an effort to protect their intelligence from detection and to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the United States, the British waited until February 24 to present the telegram to Woodrow Wilson. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies...."
[SOURCE (U.S. National Archives): Teaching With Documents: The Zimmermann Telegram (http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/zimmermann/#documents)]
[SOURCES: Thomas
Boghardt, The Zimmermann Telegram:
Intelligence, Diplomacy,
and America’s Entry into World War One (2012) ISBN/SKU:
9781612511481]In January of 1917, British cryptographers deciphered a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause...."
In an effort to protect their intelligence from detection and to capitalize on growing anti-German sentiment in the United States, the British waited until February 24 to present the telegram to Woodrow Wilson. The American press published news of the telegram on March 1. On April 6, 1917, the United States Congress formally declared war on Germany and its allies...."
[SOURCE (U.S. National Archives): Teaching With Documents: The Zimmermann Telegram (http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/zimmermann/#documents)]
[VIDEOS: Zimmermann Telegram Video C-SPAN.org; The Zimmermann Telegram - YouTube ]
[ZiT Documents: Zimmermann Telegram as Received by the German Ambassador to Mexico, 01/19/1917 ; Zimmermann Telegram - Decoded Message
(The coded telegram is from Decimal File 862.20212/82A (1910-1929), and the decoded telegram below is from Decimal File 862.20212/69 (1910-1929), General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59.) ]
=================
++ QUOTE OF THE DAY ++ -- from Intelligence and National Security (in reference to Boghardt's book):
"I give this book a high recommendation: FIVE CLOAKS, FIVE DAGGERS!"
[SOURCE: The Washington Times, 20 November 2012]
Posted 2014-11-15 20:45PT
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