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The Zimmermann Telegram (or Zimmermann Note) was an internal diplomatic communication issued from the German Foreign Office in January, 1917 that proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico in the event of the United States entering World War I against Germany. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in April of the same year.〔Andrew, p. 42.〕 The message came in the form of a coded telegram dispatched by the Foreign Secretary of the German Empire, Arthur Zimmermann, on 11 January 1917. The message was sent to the German ambassador to Mexico, Heinrich von Eckardt. Zimmermann sent the telegram in anticipation of the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare by Germany on 1 February, an act the German government presumed would almost certainly lead to war with the United States. The telegram instructed Ambassador Eckardt that if the United States appeared certain to enter the war, he was to approach the Mexican Government with a proposal for military alliance with funding from Germany. The text of the telegram read as follows: :"We intend to begin on the first of February unrestricted submarine warfare. We shall endeavor in spite 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 and 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, invite Japan to immediate adherence and at the same time 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 ==Mexican response== The Zimmermann Telegram was part of an effort carried out by the Germans to postpone the transportation of supplies and other war materials from the United States to the Allies of World War I that were at war with Germany.〔Tuchman, pp. 63, 73–4〕 The main purpose of the telegram was to make the Mexican government declare war on the United States in hopes of tying down American forces and slowing the export of American arms.〔Katz, pp. 328–29.〕 The German High Command believed they would be able to defeat the British and French on the Western Front and strangle Britain with unrestricted submarine warfare before American forces could be trained and shipped to Europe in sufficient numbers to aid the Allies. The Germans were encouraged by their successes on the Eastern Front into believing that they would be able to divert large numbers of troops to the Western Front in support of their goals. Mexican President Venustiano Carranza assigned a military commission to assess the feasibility of the Mexican takeover of their former territories contemplated by Germany.〔Katz, p. 364〕 The general concluded that it would be neither possible nor even desirable to attempt such an enterprise for the following reasons: * The United States was far stronger militarily than Mexico was. No serious scenarios existed under which Mexico could win a war against the United States. * Germany's promises of "generous financial support" were very unreliable. The German government had already informed Carranza in June 1916 that they were unable to provide the necessary gold needed to stock a completely independent Mexican national bank.〔William Beezley, Michael Meyer (2010) (The Oxford History of Mexico ), p. 476, Oxford University Press, UK.〕 Even if Mexico received financial support, the arms, ammunition, and other needed war supplies would presumably have to be purchased from the ABC nations (Argentina, Brazil, and Chile), which would strain relations with them, as explained below. * Even if by some chance Mexico had the military means to win a conflict against the United States and reclaim the territories in question, Mexico would have severe difficulty accommodating a large English-speaking population that was better supplied with arms than most populations. * Other foreign relations were at stake. The ABC nations organized the Niagara Falls peace conference in 1914 to avoid a full-scale war between the United States and Mexico over the United States occupation of Veracruz. If Mexico were to enter war against the United States, it would strain relations with those nations. The Carranza government was recognized ''de jure'' by the United States on 31 August 1917 as a direct consequence of the Zimmermann telegram, since recognition was necessary to ensure Mexican Neutrality in World War I.〔Thomas Paterson, J. Garry Clifford, Robert Brigham, Michael Donoghue, Kenneth Hagan (2010) ''(American Foreign Relations, Volume 1: To 1920 )'', p. 265, Cengage Learning, USA.〕〔Thomas Paterson, John Garry Clifford, Kenneth J. Hagan (1999) ''(American Foreign Relations: A History since 1895 )'', p. 51, Houghton Mifflin College Division, USA.〕 After the military invasion of Veracruz in 1914, Mexico would not participate in any military excursions with the United States in World War I,〔Lee Stacy (2002) ''(Mexico and the United States, Volume 3 )'', p. 869, Marshall Cavendish, USA.〕 thus ensuring Mexican neutrality was the best outcome that the United States could hope for, even if Mexican neutrality would allow German companies to keep their operations in Mexico open.〔Jürgen Buchenau (2004) ''(Tools of Progress: A German Merchant Family in Mexico City, 1865-present )'', p. 82, UNM Press, USA.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Zimmermann Telegram」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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