In Plain Sight: Felix A. Sommerfeld, Spymaster in Mexico, 1908 to 1914

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 position, Sommerfeld managed to climb to become the highest placed German asset in the Mexican government. While working for President Madero, and most likely with his tacit approval, Sommerfeld acted as the intelligence liaison for the German ambassador in Mexico, Rear Admiral Paul von Hintze, and provided him with valuable intelligence on Mexico, Europe, and the United States. His clout helped focus German foreign policy towards Madero and his successor Huerta. Sommerfeld s organizational skills and the help of his contacts at the highest levels of the American Government produced a notorious network of agents along the Mexican-American border. When Mexican army general Victoriano Huerta usurped the presidency in February of 1913 and killed Madero in a bloody coup d Ã©tat Sommerfeld re-activated his secret service organization along the U.S. - Mexican border to join the battle against the usurper president Huerta. With the help of his connections in Germany and the United States, Sommerfeld became the linchpin in the revolutionary supply chain. His organization along the border smuggled arms and ammunition to the troops in amounts never before thought possible, while his contacts in the highest echelons of the American and German governments shut off credit and supplies for Huerta. Surprising to most but not illogical, the U.S. government fully cooperated with Sommerfeld and turned a blind eye to the blatant violations of U.S. laws.

Biographies & Memoirs

Heribert Von Feilitzsch

Historical

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Felix A. Sommerfeld and the Mexican Front in the Great War (Secret War Council)

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 Attaché Franz von Papen and Naval Attaché 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 Columbus, NM, on March 9, 1916, virtually the entire regular U.S. Army descended upon Mexico or patrolled the border. War seemed inevitable. Federal agents could not prove it, but suspected German involvement. Felix A. Sommerfeld and fellow agents had forced the hand of the U.S. government through some of the most intricate clandestine operations in the history of World War I.

History

Americas

<p>he 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.</p>

The Secret War Council: The German Fight Against the Entente in America in 1914

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Books by Heribert Von Feilitzsch

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Heribert Von Feilitzsch. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

In Plain Sight: Felix A. Sommerfeld, Spymaster in Mexico, 1908 to 1914

Felix A. Sommerfeld and the Mexican Front in the Great War (Secret War Council)

The Secret War Council: The German Fight Against the Entente in America in 1914