to a larger workspace in the Old Admiralty Building—Room 40
(which became the undercover designation of the naval codebreak-
ing unit). Within four months after the outbreak of hostilities, the
British were thus privy to the most confidential information of the
German navy.MAINZER INFORMATIONSBÜRO (MIB). The main source of
foreign intelligence for the Habsburg monarchy prior to the revolu-
tions of 1848, the Mainzer Informationsbüro (Mainz Information
Office) was established in 1833 by Austrian chancellor Klemens von
Metternich. The city of Mainz, on the left bank of the Rhine River
opposite the influx of the Main River, was selected for its central
location and proximity to France, where the July Revolution had
erupted three years earlier. Metternich’s initial plan was to engage
representatives from four major states—Austria, Prussia, Bavaria,
and Württemberg—to form a network covering all of Germany
(“true strength,” he commented, “lies in centralization”). In the end,
however, the MIB became a purely Austrian creation, especially after
France also declined to participate. Metternich further insisted that
this system of surveillance could only function properly when kept
hidden from public view.
Under the initial direction of Karl Gustav Noé, a former high
commissioner of the Viennese police, the MIB sought primarily to
uncover any nascent plans for revolutionary insurrection in Germany.
Information gathered was evaluated and then sent by courier, usually
in one- to two-week intervals, directly to Metternich in Vienna. MIB
agents usually offered their services for monetary gain, a reduced
penal sentence, return to their homeland, or the prospect of further
state service. Most preferred were reliable and well-educated people
who had direct contact with revolutionary circles. Soon the MIB’s
network became the most extensive in Europe—stretching from
Edinburgh and Königsberg (now Kaliningrad, Russia) to Barcelona
and Malta. Its relatively high cost of maintenance underscored the
importance it held for the Austrian chancellor.
The MIB never uncovered any far-reaching conspiracies, but it
closely monitored the rising tide of revolutionary sentiment, espe-
cially in the German press. The names of prominent writers such
as Heinrich Heine, Ludwig Börne, Georg Herwegh, Karl Gutzkow,
MAINZER INFORMATIONSBÜRO • 281