Zimmerman Telegram Revisited
Primary Documents - Zimmermann Telegram, 19 January 1917Between 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 MinisterArthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. Zimmermann himself dispelled initial suspicions regarding the telegram's authenticity by giving a speech in which he confirmed its existence.
This message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history. The telegram had such an impact on American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, "No other single cryptanalysis has had such enormous consequences."
It is his opinion that "never before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a secret message." 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.
Click here to read a 1921 commentary upon the consequences of the Zimmermann Telegram. Click here to read the reaction of the Japanese government to news of the telegram.
To the German Minister to MexicoBerlin, January 19, 1917
On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavour to keep neutral the United States of America.
If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement...
You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States and suggest that the President of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate with Japan suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.
Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.
Zimmermann
(Secretary of State)
Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/zimmermann.htm
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 MinisterArthur Zimmermann to the German Minister to Mexico, von Eckhardt, offering United States territory to Mexico in return for joining the German cause. Zimmermann himself dispelled initial suspicions regarding the telegram's authenticity by giving a speech in which he confirmed its existence.
This message helped draw the United States into the war and thus changed the course of history. The telegram had such an impact on American opinion that, according to David Kahn, author of The Codebreakers, "No other single cryptanalysis has had such enormous consequences."
It is his opinion that "never before or since has so much turned upon the solution of a secret message." 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.
Click here to read a 1921 commentary upon the consequences of the Zimmermann Telegram. Click here to read the reaction of the Japanese government to news of the telegram.
To the German Minister to MexicoBerlin, January 19, 1917
On the first of February we intend to begin submarine warfare unrestricted. In spite of this, it is our intention to endeavour to keep neutral the United States of America.
If this attempt is not successful, we propose an alliance on the following basis with Mexico: That we shall make war together and together make peace. We shall give general financial support, and it is understood that Mexico is to reconquer the lost territory in New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. The details are left to you for settlement...
You are instructed to inform the President of Mexico of the above in the greatest confidence as soon as it is certain that there will be an outbreak of war with the United States and suggest that the President of Mexico, on his own initiative, should communicate with Japan suggesting adherence at once to this plan; at the same time, offer to mediate between Germany and Japan.
Please call to the attention of the President of Mexico that the employment of ruthless submarine warfare now promises to compel England to make peace in a few months.
Zimmermann
(Secretary of State)
Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923
http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/zimmermann.htm
Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) was born near Poznan on 9 April 1865.
Prince Max von Baden (1867-1929) served as Germany's last imperial Chancellor prior to the revolution and consequent creation of a German republic in November 1918.
Like Roosevelt before him, Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) regarded himself as the personal representative of the people. "No one but the President," he said, "seems to be expected... to look out for the general interests of the country."
Philipp Scheidemann (1865-1939), the German socialist politician, ensured his place in history by declaring the creation of a German republic from the Reichstag balcony on 9 November 1918.
Friedrich Ebert (1871-1925) served briefly as German Chancellor shortly before Germany's defeat in the First World War and as the country's first post-war President until his death in 1925.
Gustav Stresemann (1879-1929) was a National Liberal Party deputy in the Reichstag from 1907 and an enthusiastic supporter of ambitious German war aims.
Paul von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (1847-1934) was born in Poznan on 2 October 1847, the eldest of three sons, and was educated at cadet schools in Wahlstatt and Berlin.
Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was born on April 20, 1889, the fourth child of Alois Schickelgruber and Klara Hitler in the Austrian town of Braunau.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914) was born in Graz, Austria. As the heir to the Austro-Hungarian empire his assassination on 28 June 1914 sparked the First World War.
"What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous!"
Archduke Franz Ferdinand interrupting the Mayor's welcome speech at Sarajevo's city hall, 28 June 1914.
"What is the good of your speeches? I come to Sarajevo on a visit, and I get bombs thrown at me. It is outrageous!"
Archduke Franz Ferdinand interrupting the Mayor's welcome speech at Sarajevo's city hall, 28 June 1914.
Although Oskar Potiorek (1853-1933) served as a military commander in the Austro-Hungarian army, and was responsible for the first (unsuccessful) invasion of Serbia in 1914, he is chiefly remembered today as the man responsible for the safety of Archduke Franz Ferdinand the day the latter was assassinated in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
Gavrilo Princip (1894-1918) was born in June or July 1894, the son of a postman. One of nine children, six of whom died in infancy, Princip's health was poor from an early age: his eventual death was caused by tuberculosis. Princip was one of three men sent by. Dragutin Dimitrijevic, the chief of the Intelligence Department in the Serbian Army and head of the Black Hand, to assassinateArchduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, during his visit to Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. .
Dragutin Dimitrijevic founder member and leader of the Serbian Black Hand secret society, Dragutin Dimitrijevic (1877-1917), also known as 'Apis' (assigned to him as a youth on account of his energy: 'bee'), organised the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which took place in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914.
King Peter I Karadjordjevic (1844-1921), born in Belgrade, became Serbia's first constitutional monarch - elected by parliament - in the aftermath of the 1903 military coup that resulted in the overthrow of the Obrenovic dynasty, returning from exile to take his place as King. Nikola Pasic meanwhile served as his outstanding Prime Minister.
Nikola Pasic (1845-1926) dominated the Serbian political scene for the first two decades of the twentieth century, forming no fewer than 22 cabinets during his numerous periods served as his country's Prime Minister.
King Alexander I of Yugoslavia (1888-1934) lived a turbulent life as Crown Prince, Regent, Commander in Chief and finally King of Serbia and, latterly, Yugoslavia.
King Ferdinand I of Romania (1865-1927), having begun the war as a careful neutral, finally declared for the Allies in August 1916.
King Carol I (1839-1914) was Romania's strongly pro-German King when war broke out in August 1914; despite his sympathies to the German Kaiser he was unable to constitutionally bring Romania into the war.
Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941), Germany's last Kaiser, was born in Potsdam in 1859, the son of Frederick III and Victoria, daughter of Queen Victoria.
Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), born on April 1, 1815 at Schönhausen, is considered the founder of the German Empire. For nearly three decades he shaped the fortunes of Germany, from 1862 to 1873 as prime minister of Prussia and from 1871 to 1890 as Germany's first Chancellor.
Alfred von Tirpitz (1849-1930) was chiefly responsible, with the significant support of Kaiser Wilhelm II, for the build-up in strength of the German navy, including its submarine fleet, from 1897 until the years immediately prior to the First World War.
Encyclopedia - Fatherland PartyFormed towards the close of 1917 in clear and alarmed response to the high profile Reichstag Peace Resolution debated in July that year, the German Fatherland Party - Vaterlandspartei - represented a concerted effort by right-wing militarists to ensure continued support for the government's prosecution of the war.
Primary Documents - German Reichstag Peace Resolution, 19 July 1917With the effects of the war biting at home, and liberal members of the Reichstag uncomfortable with the Third Supreme Command's annexationist policies in eastern Europe, political sentiment geared towards a negotiated settlement gained in support.
Consequently on 19 July 1917 Matthias Erzberger introduced a peace resolution in the Reichstag, which was duly passed 212 votes to 126. The resolution, which was non-binding, infuriated the military high command (led byPaul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff) and served to hasten the downfall of the long-suffering Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, held responsible by the high command for allowing the resolution to pass.
Reproduced below is the text comprising Erzberger's peace resolution.
Text of the Peace ResolutionAs on August 1, 1914, so also now on the verge of a fourth year of war, the words of the speech from the throne still hold: "We are not impelled by the lust of conquest."
Germany took up arms in defence of her freedom, her independence, and the integrity of her soil. The Reichstag strives for a peace of understanding and a lasting reconciliation of peoples. Any violations of territory, and political, economic, and financial persecutions are incompatible with such a peace.
The Reichstag rejects any plan which proposes the imposition of economic barriers or the solidification of national hatreds after the war. The freedom of the seas must be maintained. Economic peace alone will lead to the friendly association of peoples. The Reichstag will promote actively the creation of international organizations of justice.
However, as long as the enemy governments refuse to agree to such a peace, as long as they threaten Germany and her allies with conquest and domination, so long will the German people stand united and unshaken, and they will fight until their right and that of their allies are made secure.
Thus united, the German people remain unconquerable. The Reichstag feels that in this sentiment it is united with the men who have fought with courage to protect the Fatherland. The undying gratitude of our people goes out to them.
Consequently on 19 July 1917 Matthias Erzberger introduced a peace resolution in the Reichstag, which was duly passed 212 votes to 126. The resolution, which was non-binding, infuriated the military high command (led byPaul von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff) and served to hasten the downfall of the long-suffering Chancellor, Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, held responsible by the high command for allowing the resolution to pass.
Reproduced below is the text comprising Erzberger's peace resolution.
Text of the Peace ResolutionAs on August 1, 1914, so also now on the verge of a fourth year of war, the words of the speech from the throne still hold: "We are not impelled by the lust of conquest."
Germany took up arms in defence of her freedom, her independence, and the integrity of her soil. The Reichstag strives for a peace of understanding and a lasting reconciliation of peoples. Any violations of territory, and political, economic, and financial persecutions are incompatible with such a peace.
The Reichstag rejects any plan which proposes the imposition of economic barriers or the solidification of national hatreds after the war. The freedom of the seas must be maintained. Economic peace alone will lead to the friendly association of peoples. The Reichstag will promote actively the creation of international organizations of justice.
However, as long as the enemy governments refuse to agree to such a peace, as long as they threaten Germany and her allies with conquest and domination, so long will the German people stand united and unshaken, and they will fight until their right and that of their allies are made secure.
Thus united, the German people remain unconquerable. The Reichstag feels that in this sentiment it is united with the men who have fought with courage to protect the Fatherland. The undying gratitude of our people goes out to them.
Who's Who - Matthias ErzbergerMatthias Erzberger (1875-1921) was a moderate German politician who led calls for a negotiated peace in the Reichstag in 1917 and served in the post-war cabinet as Minister of Finance.Remaining in the cabinet following the 1919 elections - as Minister of Finance - Erzberger worked hard to gain recognition of the widely reviled Treaty of Versailles. He was however obliged to resign in 1920 in the wake of financial allegations.
The following year, on 26 August 1921, Erzberger was murdered by a right-wing fanatic in Berlin.
The following year, on 26 August 1921, Erzberger was murdered by a right-wing fanatic in Berlin.
Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg (1856-1921) served as Chancellor of Germany from 1909-17, a period which included much of World War One, and during which he fought to maintain social and political coherency as the increasingly vocal liberal elite clashed with reactionary forces typified by the German military machine and monarchist state.
Sir Edward Grey, Viscount Grey of Fallodon (1862-1933), was born in 1862.
David Lloyd George (1863-1945), invariably considered the quintessential Welshman, was in fact born in Manchester on 17 January 1863, the son of a schoolmaster.
Sir William Robertson (1860-1933) holds the unusual distinction of being the only man to rise from Private to Field Marshal rank in the British army.
Sir Horace Lockwood Smith-Dorrien (1858-1930) was born at Haresfoot in in 1858.
Herbert Charles Onslow Plumer (1857-1932) was born in 1857 in Torquay. Educated at Eton, he entered the army in 1876 with a commission as a sub-lieutenant in the 65th Foot regiment.
Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) was French prime minister twice, in 1906-09 and from November 1917-20.
Paul Painleve (1863-1933), the celebrated mathematician and politician, was the shortest serving French Prime Minister of the war - at just two months - and easily its least experienced.
Joseph Jacques Cesaire Joffre (1852-1931) was born on 12 January 1852 in Rivesaltes in the Eastern Pyrenees.
Joffre, known as 'Papa Joffre', first saw service during the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, serving afterwards in the French colonies.
Joffre, known as 'Papa Joffre', first saw service during the siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71, serving afterwards in the French colonies.
Joseph Gallieni (1849-1916) was born at Saint-Beat on 24 April 1849. He trained at the military academy in Saint-Cyr before serving in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. He was subsequently posted to Africa in the mid-1870s.
After serving in Martinique Gallieni was made governor of French Sudan, during which time he successfully quelled rebellion by Sudanese rebels.
After serving in Martinique Gallieni was made governor of French Sudan, during which time he successfully quelled rebellion by Sudanese rebels.
Robert Nivelle (1856-1924), who was born in Tulle, France on 15 October 1856, began the war as a regimental colonel.
A chief assistant toPetain at Verdun, his success there in recapturing Douaumont led to him being given command of the Verdun sector in 1916.
A chief assistant toPetain at Verdun, his success there in recapturing Douaumont led to him being given command of the Verdun sector in 1916.
Aristide Briand (1862-1932) served six terms in all as French Prime Minister - 1909-11, 1913, 1915-17, 1921-22, 1925-26, 1929 - and was France's longest serving First World War premier, succeeding Rene Viviani in October 1915.
General Hubert Lyautey (1854-1934), a colonial administrator and Marshal of France, played a key role in bringing down Aristide Briand's wartime coalition government in 1917 over his disagreement with cabinet support for French Commander in Chief Robert Nivelle's doomed 'Nivelle Offensive'.
Henri-Philippe Petain (1856-1951) was a cautious but successful French army commander. At the start of the war Petain was respected as a theoretician who argued against the then-prevailing doctrine of 'offensive spirit', believing that modern weaponry favoured defence more than offence.
Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929) was born on 2 October 1851 in Tarbes, the son of a civil servant. He resolved to become a soldier early in life, joining the army in 1871 where he served in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-71.
Raymond Poincare (1860-1934) was born on 20 August 1860 at Bar-le-duc in Lorraine, the son of an engineer.
Poincare studied at the University of Paris, after which he became a lawyer.
Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1887, Poincare held various cabinet posts between 1893 and 1906, including the ministries of education and finance, entering the senate in 1903. At 33 he was the youngest person to hold a ministry in the history of the republic.
Poincare studied at the University of Paris, after which he became a lawyer.
Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1887, Poincare held various cabinet posts between 1893 and 1906, including the ministries of education and finance, entering the senate in 1903. At 33 he was the youngest person to hold a ministry in the history of the republic.
King George V (1865-1936) was born on 3 June 1865, the second son of Edward VII and Alexandra.
Following a cursory education at home George opted for a naval career in 1877, serving with his older brother Albert as naval cadets and until the latter left to study at Trinity College in 1882. George remained in the navy as a professional officer until Albert's death in 1892. From this point onwards George assumed the role of the heir-apparent.
In 1893 he married Princess Mary of Teck, a great-granddaughter of George III. The couple had six children - five sons and a daughter (of which one - John - suffered from epilepsy and (probably) autism, and was
Following a cursory education at home George opted for a naval career in 1877, serving with his older brother Albert as naval cadets and until the latter left to study at Trinity College in 1882. George remained in the navy as a professional officer until Albert's death in 1892. From this point onwards George assumed the role of the heir-apparent.
In 1893 he married Princess Mary of Teck, a great-granddaughter of George III. The couple had six children - five sons and a daughter (of which one - John - suffered from epilepsy and (probably) autism, and was
Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928) was born in Morley in Yorkshire on 12 September 1852. Of a middle-class family, Asquith attended Balliol College, Oxford and then became a barrister in 1876, in London.
He was elected to Parliament ten years later, in 1886, as a Liberal representing East Fife.
He was elected to Parliament ten years later, in 1886, as a Liberal representing East Fife.
Tsar Nicholas II (1868-1918) - Russia's last emperor - was born on 18 May 1868 in Tsarskoe Selo.
Nicholas succeeded his father's throne, Alexander III, when the later died from liver disease on 20 October 1894. Nicholas was 26.
That same year Nicholas marriedPrincess Alexandraof Hesse-Darmstadt, the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. Alexandra was instrumental in convincing Nicholas to resist ever-growing calls for increased democracy within Russia. Alexandra was a firm believer in the autocratic principle. Nicholas required little persuasion: as a nationalist he decried those who favoured western style democracy.
Nicholas succeeded his father's throne, Alexander III, when the later died from liver disease on 20 October 1894. Nicholas was 26.
That same year Nicholas marriedPrincess Alexandraof Hesse-Darmstadt, the grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. Alexandra was instrumental in convincing Nicholas to resist ever-growing calls for increased democracy within Russia. Alexandra was a firm believer in the autocratic principle. Nicholas required little persuasion: as a nationalist he decried those who favoured western style democracy.
Grigory Yefimovich Rasputin (1872-1916) was the infamous 'holy man' whose ability to heal the Tsar and Tsarina's son Alexis led to his being adopted as a supreme mystic at court. Growing in influence to the point where he effectively dictated policy he was eventually assassinated by a group of court conspirators in December 1916.
Born in 1872 at Pokrovskoye in Siberia to a peasant family, Rasputin's limited education left him without the ability to either read or write. Even at a young age he earned himself such a reputation for devoted debauchery that his actual name of Grigory Yefimovich Novykh was replaced with the surname 'Rasputin' - Russian for 'debauched one'.
Born in 1872 at Pokrovskoye in Siberia to a peasant family, Rasputin's limited education left him without the ability to either read or write. Even at a young age he earned himself such a reputation for devoted debauchery that his actual name of Grigory Yefimovich Novykh was replaced with the surname 'Rasputin' - Russian for 'debauched one'.
Felix Yusupov (1886-1967) was the Russian nobleman who arranged the murder in 1916 of the Tsar and Tsarina's close adviser, the 'holy man'Grigory Rasputin.
Tsarina Alexandra A tragic if not sympathetic figure, the Tsarina Alexandra (1872-1918) suffered a tragic life that ended with the murder of both her and her family at the hands of the Bolsheviks in July 1918.
Born on 6 June 1872 in Darmstadt, Germany, Alexandra was a granddaughter of Britain's Queen Victoria and the daughter of Louis IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Born on 6 June 1872 in Darmstadt, Germany, Alexandra was a granddaughter of Britain's Queen Victoria and the daughter of Louis IV, the Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Boris Vladimirovich Sturmer (1848-1917), a favourite of the TsarinaAlexandra, served as Russian Prime Minister, Minister of the Interior and Minister of Foreign Affairs during World War One.
Louis Malvy (1875-1949) experienced a turbulent political career which included spells in government, disgraced exile, and a later return to cabinet government
Alexandre Felix Joseph Ribot (1842-1923) served as French Prime Minister on four occasions, including a brief stint as premier during the First World War, from March-September 1917.
Rene Viviani (1862-1925) served, for a brief time, as premier of France when war broke out in 1914.
Jean Auguste Marie Joseph Jaures (1859-1914) was, until the immediate pre-war years, a popular as well as charismatic leader of the French Socialist Party.
Theophile Delcasse (1852-1923) was one of the principal architects of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale of 1904. As Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1898 Delcasse helped foster closer Anglo-French diplomacy until, in the wake of the Moroccan Crisis of 1905 he was forced to resign.
Joseph Caillaux (1863-1944) served as Prime Minister of France for a few months in the immediate pre-war years, but was jailed for a period at the close of the war for his radical pacifist stance.
Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859-1935) was Britain's best-known Admiral at the start of the war.
Sir George Astley Callaghan (1852-1920) served as Britain's Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet as war approached in 1914.
Admiral John Arbuthnot Fisher (1841-1920), often referred to as the greatest Royal Navy Admiral since Nelson, returned to office as First Sea Lord for a short period before his dramatic resignation over the conduct of the Gallipoli affair led to Winston Churchill's banishment to the political wilderness.
Prince Louis of Battenberg (1854-1921), of Polish-German descent, was born in Graz, Austria. He became a naturalised British citizen in 1868 and thereafter joined the Royal Navy, which he eventually rose to command as First Sea Lord in the immediate pre-war years from 1912-14.
Sir Winston Churchill Statesman, historian, and biographer (1874-1965), whose five years of war leadership (1940-45) secured him a central place in modern British history.
Prose & Poetry - Sir Herbert Edward Read (1893-1968), the poet and critic, was born in Yorkshire in 1893.Whilst out of office, Churchill began writing The World Crisis, which appeared in six volumes (1923-31). The work was attacked by the eminent poet and critic Herbert Read in English Prose Style (1928). He described Churchill prose as being high-sounding, redundant, falsely eloquent and declamatory, sharing his view with the younger post-war generation of writers who praised the virtues of simplicity
Sir Frederick Charles Doveton Sturdee (1859-1925) was one of the First World War's lucky naval commanders. Despite an early setback at the start of the war that might easily have brought an early end to his war career, he was afforded a second chance that, by great fortune, worked to his advantage
Sir David Beatty was born in Howbeck, Cheshire on 17 January 1871, and entered the Royal Navy at the age of 13, serving with distinction in Sudan from 1896-98 and in China during the Boxer Rising of 1900; even at this early stage Beatty marked himself out as a bold, aggressive officer, succeeding in becoming the youngest officer for a century to achieve flag rank at the age of 39, the last such being Lord Nelson.
Sir Christopher George Francis Maurice Cradock (1862-1914) fought and lost an unequal battle with German Admiral Graf von Spee on 1 November 1914 at Coronel (near Chile), losing his own life in the process and sowing seeds of doubt as to the ability of Britain's Royal Navy to rule the seas during the initial months of the war.
Admiral Sir Henry Bradwardine Jackson (1855-1929) served as British First Sea Lord from 1915-16 during World War One.
Sir John Denton Pinkstone French (1852-1925), Earl of Ypres, was born in 1852 in Ripple Vale, Kent. After joining the navy in 1866, French transferred to the army in 1874.
Sir Douglas Haig (1861-1928), the most controversial of the war generals, was born in Edinburgh on 19 June 1861.
Horatio Herbert Kitchener (1850-1916) was born on 24 June 1850 near Kerry in Ireland.
Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, later Alfred Lord Northcliffe (1865-1922) was a British newspaper pioneer who revolutionised magazine and newspaper publishing in Britain in the early years of the twentieth century, and who wielded significant political power through the medium of his popular dailies.
Arthur James Balfour (1848-1930) succeeded his uncle, Lord Salisbury, who had been his political mentor and champion. However, his initial interests were not political. He enjoyed music and poetry, and was first known as a renowned philosopher, publishing A Defence of Philosophic Doubt, The Foundations of Belief, and Theism and Humanism.
Kuno von Westarp (1864-1945) was a leading right-wing conservative politician during wartime Germany.
Max Hermann Bauer (1875-1929) established a reputation as a noted artillery expert in the German Army during the First World War, but also exerted a great degree of political influence.
Erich Georg Anton Sebastian von Falkenhayn (1861-1922) was born in Graudenz, in West Prussia, on 11 November 1861.
Read more details at:
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/zimmermann.htm
Arthur Zimmermann(October 5, 1864 – June 6, 1940) was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire from November 22, 1916, until his resignation on August 6, 1917. His name is associated with the Zimmermann Telegram duringWorld War I. However, he was also closely involved in plans to support an Irish rebellion, an Indian rebellion, and to help theCommunists undermine Tsarist Russia. He has been called "arguably the most destructive person of the twentieth century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Zimmermann
http://www.firstworldwar.com/features/zimmermann.htm
Arthur Zimmermann(October 5, 1864 – June 6, 1940) was State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the German Empire from November 22, 1916, until his resignation on August 6, 1917. His name is associated with the Zimmermann Telegram duringWorld War I. However, he was also closely involved in plans to support an Irish rebellion, an Indian rebellion, and to help theCommunists undermine Tsarist Russia. He has been called "arguably the most destructive person of the twentieth century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Zimmermann