The Zimmermann Telegram was a telegram that was sent on January 16, 1917 by Arthur Zimmermann to the British code breakers. It was intended to be sent to Heinrich Von Eckardt, the German ambassador of Mexico. The telegram held a specific set of instructions that were: if the neutral United States went into war on the side of the Allies, Von Eckardt was to go to Mexico’s president with an offer to “forge” a secret war time alliance. This means that the Germans would provide financial and military support for a Mexican attack on the U.S. and in exchange, Mexico would be allowed to annex “lost territory in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona”.

This topic is important to understand in the scope of WW1 because the Zimmermann Telegram is what caused the U.S. to enter the war. This is because when the British received the telegram that was intended to be sent to Heinrich Von Eckardt, they showed the decoded version to the U.S., which was the main factor that persuaded the U.S. to enter the war. President Woodrow Wilson had only just won his reelection using the slogan, “He kept us out of war”. This meant he was against the United States getting involved. However, the Zimmermann telegram changed that. This is why this topic is important to understand in the scope of World War 1.