The German government decided in the fall of 1914 to corner the U.S. arms and ammunition market to the detriment of England and France. In New York German Military Attache Franz von Papen and Naval Attache Karl Boy-Ed could not think of anyone more effective and with better connections than Felix A. Sommerfeld to sell off the weapons and ammunition to Mexico. A few months later, Sommerfeld received orders to create a border incident. Tensions along the U.S. - Mexican border suddenly increased in a wave of border raids under the Plan de San Diego. When Pancho Villa attacked the town of...

Felix A. Sommerfeld moved through the Mexican Revolution (1910 to 1920) like a wraith. Neither his contemporaries nor scholars throughout the past hundred years have been able to piece together a clandestine career that relegates the exploits of James Bond to mere child s play. Appearing on the scene in Mexico from obscurity, Sommerfeld became the personal confidante of Mexican President Francisco Madero in 1911. Unbeknownst to his peers, Sommerfeld had worked for the German secret service since 1908. German agents had maneuvered him close to the future president of Mexico. From that...

The Secret War Council describes the espionage cell which Germany sent to the United States at the outbreak of World War I. Its initial mission was to combat interests of the Entente powers in North America through attacks on Canada, blockade running, propaganda, and cornering supplies.