The British were in a bloody quagmire in early 1917, and perilously close to losing World War I. Were it not for an intercepted communique, whereby British code expert, Naval Captain William “Blinker” Hall used a shortsighted telegram to Mexico from German official Arthur Zimmermann trying to recruit Mexico into the war on Germany’s side, in exchange for Arizona, Texas, and a handful of other states. Hall broke protocol and passed the message directly to the U.S. government. This was one of many events that brought the United States into the Great War, securing the Allies hard-fought victory.