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If Mexico had said "Agreed. If the US makes any move to go to war with you, Germany, then we will accept your offer and go to war with the United States."
With that out in the open, the US has two choices:
1. Not go to war with Germany
2. Declare war on Germany, but be unable to actually do anything beyond the declaration because now they're too busy fighting Mexico over Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
Either way, Germany wins, right?
I think Germany would have still been defeated and the USA would of had 81 states today. Mexico has never really been a force to recon with and tends to only just barely keep itself together as it is.
Exactly. It wasn't as it they were running an overbearing dictatorship. Germany throughout that period made immense contributions to science and the arts. The country was also well run, arguably possessing the world's most successful economy. In many ways it was the pinnacle of western civilization during that time, but Western Civilization isn't complete without a dose of Democracy. I like my Democracy, the illusion that I can make a difference keeps me happy.
One explanation that I heard somewhere on why many Jews stayed behind when the Soviet government and the Red Army were retreating, was that they remembered the exemplary behavior of Kaiser's army toward civilian population in the occupied Ukraine during WW1 / Russian revolution, and so thought the Soviet stories about German atrocities were pure propaganda.
Kaiserreich Germany was not a democratic country, but it was a well run country under the rule of law. Unfortunately for them and for the world, the Kaiser himself was a war monger. Had there been someone other than Wilhelm on the throne, and perhaps we wouldn't have WW1.
Kaiserreich Germany was not a democratic country, but it was a well run country under the rule of law. Unfortunately for them and for the world, the Kaiser himself was a war monger. Had there been someone other than Wilhelm on the throne, and perhaps we wouldn't have WWI.
I wouldn't blame the Kaiser entirely, his role has often been overstated, it was his generals who should take most of the blame. The Kaiser himself was insecure and perhaps unfit to rule such a powerful nation, generals behind the scenes used him as a puppet to manipulate events to their will.
The main problem Germany had as a nation was its geographic position, right in the center of Europe. Germany's worst nightmare was a war on two fronts, against France to the west, and Russia to the east. From the moment the nation was founded, its leader realized this.
Germany was alarmed by Russia's declaration that it was undergoing a process of modernization with its armed forces. This was in response to Russia's humiliating defeat by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Before then Russia's military was seen as outdated, and not capable of threatening Germany. But now the threat of a strong army being able to attack from the east made Germany's nightmare become a lot closer to reality. German Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg famously said of Russia: "It grows and grows and hangs over us ever more heavily like a nightmare".
In response to this, the German Field Marshal, Alfred von Schlieffen, formulated the Schileffen plan. The plan dictated that in the case of a two-front war, Germany would direct all its force towards France, quickly knocking it out of the war before turning all of its attention towards Russia. This plan involved Germany disregarding Belgium's neutrality by marching through the country on the way to France, this would obviously have huge unforeseen consequences further down the line. The reason why Germany could leave the eastern front lightly guarded for a period of time was due to the fact that Russia was an enormous country with poor transport infrastructure, therefore Germany knew that it would take a long time for it to mobilize its armies.
To give this the greatest chance of success, Germany needed to force a war quickly. Russia's modernization program created a time limit. Germany felt that its survival as a nation depended upon knocking out the Russian Bear once and for all. So when the opportunity arose to support Austro-Hungary in a war against Russia, Germany seized it.
Germany's generals, realizing that the time had come to put their strategies to use, convinced the Kaiser to offer Austro-Hungary the famous "Blank Check". What happens after this proves that Kaiser wasn't the arrogant warmonger that he is often made out to be. In the past he had proven that he was capable of acting like a Great Statesmen, but was incapable of actually being one. When the pressure was on during critical moments, he always lost his nerve. A great example of this came during the Morocco Crisis in 1905, after realizing that the British were not going to support his actions, he left Morocco with his tail between his legs. When pressure came to bear in the days before WWI, again, he lost his nerve. He was confident and enthusiastic about a war with Russia, but when it became apparent that France was probably going to support Russia and create a war on two fronts, he backed down. He wrote a letter to the Austrian Government saying that the deal was off, Germany was not going to support Austria's actions in Serbia. The Kaiser's generals saw the letter and deliberately delayed it, so by the time it actually arrived, Austria had already began shelling Serbia, and WWI was underway. There was no going back
Of course after this France and Russia declared war on Germany, the Schlieffen Plan was put to use, but then when Belgium's neutrality was compromised, Britain, to everyone's genuine surprise, declared war on Germany. This eliminated any possibility of a rapid German victory in the west and led to a stalemate and a apocalyptic war that would drag on for four long years.
I know that was pretty long. But I believe that when discussing a subject as complicated as WWI, context is essential. A short answer simply wouldn't have sufficed.
THIS
we would have seen it as a move to help Hitler and we would have bombed the hell out of them
there would be no mexico today
Just because you overwhelm a nation in a war, doesn't mean to say that nation would cease to exist. In al likelihood, It simply would have ended in a pace treaty favorable to the US.
If Mexico had said "Agreed. If the US makes any move to go to war with you, Germany, then we will accept your offer and go to war with the United States."
With that out in the open, the US has two choices:
1. Not go to war with Germany
2. Declare war on Germany, but be unable to actually do anything beyond the declaration because now they're too busy fighting Mexico over Texas, Arizona and New Mexico.
Either way, Germany wins, right?
Wrong.
Mexico was in no shape to try to fight the US in 1917 because they were still fighting among themselves in their own Revolution that lasted from 1910 - 1920 and drained their military resources. They were in no way a serious threat to the US.
Maybe you've heard of Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. If not it's never too late to learn.
Mexico's attacking the USA would have made no difference.
JP Morgan had already decided back in 1914 that the USA would enter the war on the side of the British. The only surprising part was how the American people were able to resist being manipulated for so long.
Mexico was in a civil war at this time period and in no state really to declare war on anybody. They also had not acted on the note, so no reason to go to war with them.
But some of you said Germany was losing. I thought Russia was out of it, and the trench warfare lines were deep into French territory by the time Germany surrendered. At least that is what I heard.
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