At the end of World War I, with Germany being cornered by the Allies in France and the economy affected by the British naval blockade, German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm was regarding to make an important decision: to declare war at sea, allowing U-boats to sink all merchant ships within sight. This means that Germany will sink ships of neutral countries, including the US. In January 1917, German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann sent Heinrich von Eckardt – the country’s ambassador to Mexico – a telegram. In the letter Zimmermann “plots” to the Ambassador: “We will ally with Mexico on the following grounds: to declare war together, to make peace together, to be ready to support financially. Mexico can regain lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.” But in the end Mexico rejected the German offer.
Zimmermann’s telegram was decoded by Britain and sent to America. Along with the war at sea, the telegram became evidence of the US declaration of war on Germany in April 1917.
But what if Mexico declares war on the United States?
According to Friedrich Katz, author of “The Secret War in Mexico”, Mexican President Venustiano Carranza had in fact considered the German offer.
This is not surprising because in the eyes of Mexicans, the United States invaded one-third of the illegal territory during the Mexican-American War of 1847, including the states of California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. .
In 1916, the American conquest army entered Mexican territory to round up the famous revolutionary Pancho Villa and his soldiers, following this force raided the US and killed 30 civilians.
But when considering the offer, the Mexican official concluded that Germany would not be able to provide enough supplies and weapons (especially when the US was tightening the encirclement), and suggested that the merger of the three US states would lead to to permanent conflict between the two countries.
Not only that, but the Mexican government wondered if turning millions of Americans into Mexicans was “they merged into me or I merged with them”.
Historian Friedrich Katz said that Mexico did not want to rush to war with the US because of a German offer, but Carranza would “hold on” to Germany in case the US attacked Mexico’s oil fields.
In 1917, the Mexican army numbered between 65,000 and 100,000 soldiers. Meanwhile, since 1914, the US military has had 98,000 men. Four years later, this number increased to 4 million, of which 2 million soldiers were sent to France.
In addition, the US also has tanks and aircraft provided by Britain and France, along with a huge navy and a huge budget. American industry also grew to serve the war.
Without Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm’s army attacking New York and Baltimore, Mexico would have no way of encircling the American Southwest. The Second Mexican-American War, once it happened, would be unequal if the US asked its troops to stay behind to defend the country.
The focus of the global event was then France and Belgium, not Mexico or Texas. Russia, following experiencing the crisis caused by the Bolshevik revolution, withdrew from the war in 1918, leaving Germany to move 50 divisions from the Eastern Front to the West. In the spring of 1918, Germany launched a large-scale offensive in France and almost won the First World War.
It was the strong and large army from the United States that revived the weakened British and French armies. If Mexico attacks the US, this force will stay in the US, most likely World War I will end later.
Fortunately, none of the above actually happened. In the end, Zimmermann’s telegram accomplished only one thing – hastened the fall of the Germans.
