One of the greatest questions of World War I is, what if Mexico had been involved? The Zimmerman note was a telegram that was allegedly sent from Germany to Mexico, asking for Mexico to distract America from entering World War I. However, this video is not going to be about the Zimmerman note. The fact of the matter is, Mexico would never willingly declare war against the much more powerful US, unless their entire government had a screw loose or something. This video, instead, will center around a different event, where the United States almost declared war on Mexico. Pancho Vía was a man-made famous for his resistance to the Mexican government in the Mexican Revolution. To keep a very complex issue short, Pancho Vía was not very well liked by the American government. And so, when the United States decided to throw their backing behind Pancho Vía's rival, Fnustiano Carranza, this rubbed Vía the wrong way. So, in retribution, he launched a raid into the American mainland, attacking Columbus, New Mexico. This resulted in dozens of dead and many stolen weapons. Now, you can imagine the American government was not too keen on foreigners coming in and attacking their cities. So, they put together an expedition under the command of General John J. Pershing. Under Pershing, the US military essentially went on a several-month game of cat and mouse in early 1916, chasing Pancho Vía around Northern Mexico, but never actually capturing him. They very quickly outstated their welcome, however, and soon, even Carranza, the man that America had thrown their support behind, decided it was time for them to leave. Mexican forces were turned onto the American troops, and at the Battle of Carrizal on June 21, 1916, Carranza's forces attacked US forces, and though the Americans inflicted heavy damage, they were ultimately pushed back. Pershing was furious when he learned about this, requesting the authority to launch a counter-attack into Mexico, but President Woodrow Wilson refused. This also caused quite a few ruffled feathers in Washington, where there were plenty of congressmen calling for a declaration of war against Mexico, the retaliation for the attack on US forces. However, cooler heads prevailed, and it was ultimately decided that it was in America's best interest to avoid a war with Mexico in favor of focusing on a war with Germany. What if, however, the United States decided that this was an unforgivable act of aggression by their southern neighbors? What if America had declared war on the Mexican government? So, on June 21, 1916, the Battle of Carrizal plays out, and American troops are forced back out of Mexico. Work reaches General Pershing, who is infuriated by the attack on American troops, and asks Washington for approval to counter-attack into northern Mexico. Wilson declines his request, being naturally against aggressive acts by America, especially with the possibility of being dragged into World War I becoming a bigger deal. However, Congress feels differently. This wasn't just an attack on American soldiers, but an attack on American pride and dignity. Also, Mexico has quite a lot of that freedom juice. And so, on fall of 1916, Congress officially declares war on the Mexican government, to protect America's dignity and assets, as it became clear that Carrizal was most certainly going to become its new leader. The second Mexican-American war has begun. General Pershing leads the American expeditionary forces across the Rio Grande into Mexico, looking to make rapid headway. Meanwhile, the US Navy creates a tight blockade around Mexico's major ports on the Pacific and Atlantic, using the brand new Panama Canal to constrict and suffocate shipments to and from Mexico. Caranza, knowing all too well the danger that the American soldiers posed, puts an order in for them to retreat to defensive positions, and also burn any and all oil wells across the massive oil field to Mexico possessed, as was his actual plan in the case of American invasion. This is going to be important for later, so remember that. The United States meets heavy resistance as they make their way down the eastern coastal area of Mexico, but they do keep pushing on. As was shown by the naval invasion and occupation of Veracruz in 1914, where American forces took the large port city with relative ease, the American troops outmanned, outgunned, and outclassed Mexican army in almost every way, not to mention the use of revolution that had simply destroyed the country. Though the US troops did outmatch the Mexican troops, the invasion of an entire country is significantly different than of just one city, and so Pershing would face heavy resistance, not only from the government led troops, but the thousands of insurgents that suddenly had a new enemy to fight. Now the people of Mexico didn't care so much about their tight-fisted rule at home, but the swarm of occupiers that were moving from the north. America finally makes it down to Mexico City, but not without their progress being slowed by significant resistance and heavy losses. Karan's affleads the country, putting himself in exile, as the Americans roll into the capital of Mexico, effectively ending the second Mexican-American war. This war, though hard-fought, would ultimately have been relatively fast in the grand scheme of wars and full invasions. It also would not have been nearly as badly as the United States as it would have been for the Mexicans, who would now feel like there was nothing they could ever do to prevent themselves from being overrun by their norther neighbors. Keep in mind that it had been only 70 years prior that America had beaten Mexico in the first Mexican-American war, not to mention the successful invasion and occupation of Varicruz of 1914 I talked about not too long ago. What does this mean for North America? How are Mexican-American relations? Well, it's safe to say things aren't going to be exactly all peachy between the two of them for quite a while. Karan's was backed by the US in the Mexican Revolution, but now he's fled the country, probably in some other Latin-American country, avoiding violent retribution by either the American troops or his own people. America, under Wilson, wouldn't rightly place someone on the presidency with force, but if they left it up to a vote, what if they voted for someone that wasn't an American interest like Panchovia? What does this mean? Military occupation, at least temporarily. The US would stay in Mexico until order could be restored to a significant enough degree so that they could leave without the country blowing up again for at least 10 more years. Diplomatic relations aren't the only important factor here though. Mexico's infrastructure would be absolutely destroyed. From almost a decade's worth of revolution and then invasion, as well as a brutal blockade, the Mexican economy would be in the toilet to put it lightly. Whether or not the US stayed around after their military occupation ended to help rebuild the country makes a huge difference, because it could not only spell the difference between cordial or hostile relations, but the difference between having an economically battered southern neighbor or an absolutely demolished southern neighbor. North America is not the only area that would be affected by this, however. Keep in mind that there's a little thing going on in Europe, World War One. Your first thought is probably, well, if America's busy invading Mexico, they can't exactly fight against the Germans now can they? And you'd be right. American troops could be delayed from any possible entry, if it would even happen, by at least two years, if not more. Later American entry isn't the only significant problem though. Remember those oil wells, Caronza order that have destroyed and burned? Well, this is where we talk about that. It is estimated that upwards of 75% of all of Britain's oil used in their navy came from Mexico, the same navy that staved off any meaningful damage that could be done by the German U-boats. With three quarters of their oil supply gone, the British would be scrambling to find someone else they could trade with to get oil. Let's look at this table real quick. As you can see, America is pretty significantly on top, but two major factors are a play here. First, America was just at war, so they'll need much of their oil to fight and occupy Mexico. Second, the Americans were the ones that caused the British oil supply to be lost in the first place, and so Britain would likely say some nasty things to America, the Americans wouldn't take that too kindly, and they would find it hard to work together for a bit of time, until everyone's all cooled off. Russia is also pretty high on this chart, but it's currently exploding and trying to kill itself, so there are no go. Basically, the British would be in a very tough spot to put up as strong of a defense against the German navy as they did before. Eventually, as America would be dragged into the war against Germany, the UK and US would begin an oil trading relationship, but the fact that the British oil supply would have been temporarily corked up does make a huge difference. Ultimately, what this could mean is a much more powerful central powers in Europe, with Germany pushing farther and farther into France eventually taking Paris, declaring victory for the Kaiser. Now, if Germany were to win World War I, this could mean that... What do you think would have happened had Mexico and America duked it out in the early 1900s? Leave a comment down below saying what you think and what you want to see in future videos. Pretty soon, I'll be doing a sequel to this video talking about if Germany had won World War I. 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