Franz von Papen, the son of a wealthy landowner, was born in Werl, Germany, on 29th October, 1879. He joined the German Army and was a general staff officer on the outbreak of the First World War.
In 1914 Papen was sent to Washington as a military attaché. While in the United States he helped to arrange for a company in Bridgeport to produce armaments for Germany. However, in 1915 he was forced to leave the country after being accused of attempting to sabotage American armaments production for the Allies.
On his return Papen was sent to Palestine where he served as chief of staff of the 4th Turkish Army. He continued to carry out undercover work and was involved in planning rebellions in Ireland and India and sabotage in the United States. As a result of papers found in Nazareth, a number of Papen's agents were arrested and either imprisoned or executed.
