In 1917, Germany was desperate to keep the United States out of World War I - even as they prepared to launch unrestricted submarine warfare on all shipping in the European theater. To that end, German officials sent a telegram to the Mexican government, proposing they declare war of the United States - tying up American resources. The only problem was the message was intercepted and the plot exposed - causing the plan to completely backfire.

Sources

"Documents that changed the way we live" by Joseph Janes

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zimmermann_telegram

Image: File:Zimmermann_Telegram_as_Received_by_the_German_Ambassador_to_Mexico_-_NARA_-_302025.jpg

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