Hello Allen
Some interesting comments.
Maybe we are thinking too much that the 12 million was used for just Huerta?12 million is a still a lot money today back then at it would of been absolute fortune. I am not sure if he got paid the entire amount or only part?
I suspect the Germans was playing both of the opposing Mexican sides? As you rightly suggested the Germans did not care who was in power as long as they kept America out of the war in Europe. The fortunes of the Mexican civil war swinging from side to side must of been a nightmare for Franz von Rintele. Especially when neither side had particular control over Mexico.
Mexican President Venustiano Carranza considered the offer assigned a military commission to assess the feasibility of a Mexican takeover of their former territories.[SUP][/SUP]The general concluded that it would not be possible or even desirable for the following reasons: The US was far stronger than Mexico, in the ability to make war. No serious scenarios existed under which Mexico could win. Authors Francis A. March and Richard J. Beamish claim in their book "The History of WW1" that the Germans by 1916
that they were unable to give the necessary gold in order to stock a completely independent national bank. Which may or may not be true? The simple fact I suspect for that statement was that Carranza asked for an imposable amount of money from the Germans as a polite way of saying no thanks. 12 million was not enough to commit political suicide trying to make war with the united states with.
Its is still possible that some of the money/ Gold I suspect was shipped by Franz von Rintelen in which his family had business interested through banking with Folsch h and CO Hamburg who owned several of vessels interned at Santa Rosalia Baja. Indeed I tend to agree that some of gold at least got into the grubby little hands of Villa via Huerta. For me I still suspect there was the main bulk of the gold still unaccounted for. The Germans realized it was Not enough to bribe Carranza with and a total waste on Huerta who by then was finished even with Villa help the money would of only been pilfered.
The gold brought to Mexico from Hamberg via cape Horn on the Walkure which went into internment. From there I suspect the main bulk of the gold was smuggled from Santa Rosalia to Guyamas to the German consul via a small schooner Alexander Agasszi below later captured in may 1918 by the United States Navy with 5 Germans on board. This vessel had been for months engaged in gun running and smuggling in the sea of Cortez. Gold payment could of been smuggled via the ship from the sailing ship Walkure to a port in north of Mexico of Huetra deal with villa. But the Main Bulk went to Guyamas.
The Germans below was not ordinary German merchant seamen these guys were acting as operatives along the coast of Mexico.
But please realize this not the ship was lost...
I got name of a vessel from letters of German seaman that was interned at Santa Rosalia.
To be continued..
crow