Why was Hall concerned that the Germans would learn about the British reading their secret messages?
Read the excerpt from The Dark Game.
Arthur Zimmermann had no idea that "Blinker" Hall had
read his secret message. But now that Hall had read it,
what could he do with this information? On one hand,
he believed that President Wilson, faced with the
information in the telegram, would declare war on
Germany. On the other hand, to share the telegram
with Wilson would surely alert Berlin that the British had
been reading their secret messages. As he walked
back to his office, Hall considered ways that he could
share the intelligence in the Zimmermann telegram and
establish its authenticity without letting Berlin know that
Room 40 had intercepted and read hundreds of their
secret messages.
O The Germans would begin reading British secret
messages to get revenge.
Reading an enemy's secret messages is against the
codes of war.
The Germans would then find a different way of
transmitting their messages.
This knowledge would make the Americans
sympathize with the Germans.