American Ambassador Davidson left the German Foreign Ministry with an angry expression. In his view, both conditions put forward by the Germans were exceedingly harsh. There was simply no way the US government could agree to such terms.
However, the lives of the tens of thousands of US soldiers deployed in the Azores were of great importance. If the US government refused the Germans' terms, anyone could see that the Germans would certainly kill all those tens of thousands of US soldiers. Not only would this deal a devastating blow to America's military strength, it would also cause enormous problems at home. After all, tens of thousands of soldiers meant tens of thousands of families, not to mention their relatives and friends. That was undoubtedly a tremendous force. If things went badly, the government itself could be left running around like a headless chicken. Still, none of that had anything to do with Davidson. He was merely a minor ambassador posted abroad; such major decisions were not his to make.
After returning to the embassy, Ambassador Davidson immediately reported Germany's conditions back home. As for whether the government would accept them, even he did not know.
Upon receiving the Telegram sent by Ambassador Davidson, US Secretary of State Bryan immediately went to the White House to report the matter to President Woodrow Wilson.
"Mr. President, the Germans' terms are too harsh. Whether it is demanding a public apology from us or demanding that we pay two hundred million Marks in damages, neither is something we can accept. But the tens of thousands of officers and men in the Azores are something we must consider carefully," Bryan said.
President Woodrow Wilson's expression was equally grave. He had not expected matters to end up like this. They had originally rushed to send