What the wily old warlord didn’t mention was foresight. By the time the Nazis realised their unbreakable decipher, ‘Enigma’ had been broken, the damage was irreparable. British Intelligence had been reading their messages, and passing them onto the War Cabinet. Churchill’s nickname for Hitler was Herr Schickelgruber: Churchill despised and hated the madman with a vengeance. But Churchill never made the mistake of underestimating his enemy.
In order to gain the most value from Enigma, it remained vital that Hitler's High Command continued to believe in its invincibility, and continued to use it for top secret messages. If the Allied Armies acted on every single piece of information received via Enigma, it would become obvious that Britain was receiving inside information. Churchill wanted his golden goose active for as long as possible. Consequently, Churchill and his Cabinet made unthinkable choices. Choices not to warn of impending attacks. Choices to sacrifice some, in order to save others.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, the lessons of the past are there for all to see; it’s a blessing in disguise that most of us don’t have foresight.
In "A Ripple in Time" Wren’s choice is stark: Ensure the Titanic meets her destiny and so restore history to its correct time line, or warn of the impending iceberg, knowing that the resulting ripple in time will create a tsunami for future generations?