Treacherous Passage: Germany’s Secret Plot against the United States in Mexico during World War I by Bill Mills ISBN: 1612348548
Published by Potomac Books on January 1, 2017
Genres: History, Latin America, Mexico, Military, World War I, United States, 20th Century, Espionage, Sabotage
Pages: 256
The infamous Zimmerman telegram proposed a military alliance between Germany and Mexico if the USA entered the Great War. The secret diplomatic communication sent by the German Foreign Office was intercepted, deciphered, and revealed to the American public by British intelligence and caused a furor in 1917. What was not then publicly known was how extensive German clandestine operations were in Mexico. These included training an embryonic German-Mexican invasion force, dispatching saboteurs to the U.S., planning submarine bases on the western coast of Mexico, and an idea to launch sea raiders from the port of Mazatlán to attack merchant shipping in the Pacific.
Author Mills weaves a lively story of German Consul Fritz Unger, head of the powerful trading house Melchers Sucesores, and his efforts in Mexico that were thwarted by a top American spy who was a trusted member of the German secret service there. A cast of colorful characters provide drama and intrigue that reads more like a novel but is true history.
Reviewed by Dana Lombardy, publisher of WWOI
America in World War I: The Story and Photographs by 
Kitchener's War: British Strategy from 1914-1916 by 
Theodore Roosevelt and World Order: Police Power in International Relations by 
Duffy's War: Fr. Francis Duffy, Wild Bill Donovan, and the Irish Fighting 69th in World War I by 
Trial by Gas: The British Army at the Second Battle of Ypres by 
Harlem's Hell Fighters: The African-American 369th Infantry in World War I by 
The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud by 
Fruits of Victory: The Woman's Land Army of America in the Great War ISBN: 1597972738 
Tirpitz: Architect of the German High Seas Fleet by 
Petain: Verdun to Vichy by 
Tannenberg: Clash of Empires 1914 by 
