I always thought that the Zimmerman Telegram was fabricated because there is no way Germany would think of something that stupid.
You were making a common mistake - grossly underestimating the power of human stupidity.
I always thought that the Zimmerman Telegram was fabricated because there is no way Germany would think of something that stupid.
Wilson's 14 Points only apply to people of European descent. Or so history tells us.
I always thought that the Zimmerman Telegram was fabricated because there is no way Germany would think of something that stupid.
For security errors just consider the case of Wilhelm Wassmuss, who made an enormous, nearly hysterical, fuss when his baggage was seized by the British in Persia.
Not only did his German superiors not order him to be silent but Admiral Hall, who had a remarkable sense for such things, instantly guessed that this was a matter of importance and inquired as to just where this baggage now was.
As it turned out it was by then a ten minute walk from Hall's office. He went to the warehouse, opened the baggage and found a lovely code book.
You were making a common mistake - grossly underestimating the power of human stupidity.
*ahem*And all this assumes you believe your codes are 100% secure. If some just got curious about the codes being broken, there are a lot of ways to test for a British response...Broadcast details of bombing runs in code, and see if the UK air defenses improve...
Some interesting ideas.
*ahem*
Coventry.
We are talking about WW1, where the UK was still learning how to use the information. And the critical point is that even basic security precautions, such as not being chatty on the radio, sending out fake signals, or using hand couriers for the most secret missions, would have would have both prevented the Zimmerman Telegram and reduced Room 40 effectiveness by 50%.
For example, faking extra U-boats heading out to sea could have been as simple as a fishing boat with a radio transmitting a series of letters. The boat would not even need to know what the code was, just transmit these 30 sets of 5 letters at noon. Or U-boat returning could have sent in a message with what it killed, and then two hours later, send out of fake message using another call sign and a different Morse code operator. An why did it take a single electronic message to have the high seas fleet sail? Was it too difficult to use flags, or to simply have the ship captains have a meeting with Scheer?
Even in WW2 with all the security precautions the UK too, a good German counter-intelligence analysis could have detected the codes were being broken. In fact, the submarine forces changed their enigma machine based on the belief of possible broken codes.
Never confuse Herr ReichGenius Goering inability to do something for it being impossible.
The breadth of the points you raise suggest something basic and systemic was at work, and thus in practice probably quite hard to change without someone beating them over the head with the fact that the codes had been broken. And the British in WWI were perfectly well aware of the need to avoid tipping their hand to the Germans, hence the elaborate efforts to disguise how they obtained the plain text of the Zimmerman telegram.
Wilson's 14 Points only apply to people of European descent. Or so history tells us.
Some interesting ideas.
*ahem*
Coventry.