World War II was a radical war in many ways, but one of the most significant novelties was that of increased use of the radio. Communicating by means of wireless radio became imperative to military forces and their ability to in contact. The need to stay in contact and be able to receive directions was vital to the military. However, there was a significant problem with the use of these radio messages. This problem was that the messages could easily be intercepted and thus important information would often fall into the wrong hands. This important information could include such intelligence as secret plans and instructions. To combat the interception of information by enemies, information was often communicated through using secret codes. Each of the major world powers had their own code machines that would turn any normal text into code. They each had machines that could decrypt their adversaries’ codes also. The ability to decrypt enemy codes became an extremely important and momentous development in World War II. Cryptology was more significant during World War II than during any other war prior to it or after. Developments in radio caused large amounts of communications to be conveyed across the airwaves, but this also meant that these communications could be intercepted by others that were not supposed to receive them. Radios had been around for a while. However, they were not applicable to land campaigns during World War I because they were such bulky machines. Yet, that had changed by the time World War II came around. The Germans were especially exposed because their policy of Blitzkrieg relied on directions and orders being sent. Their communication of so many orders caused them to be particularly susceptible to interc... ... middle of paper ... ...reme Court Lewis F. Powell, Jr., ed. Diane T. Putney (Washington D.C.: Office of Air Force History, 1987), 11. Loyd E. Lee, World War II: Crucible of the Contemporary World: Commentary and Readings (New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1991), 209. Tentative List of Enigma and Other Machine Usages, ed. Tony Sale (2001), 10. Alan Axelrod, Encyclopedia of World War II, 1:532. James Leslie Gilbert and John Patrick Finnegan, U.S. Army Signals Intelligence, 4. Robert E. Button, Enigma in Many Keys: The Life and Letters of a WWII Intelligence Officer (New York: iUniverse, 2004), 58. Ibid., 57-58. ULTRA and the Army Air Forces in World War II, XIV, 50. Thomas R. Johnson, American Cryptology during the Cold War , 1945-1989 (National Security Agency:1995), 212. ULTRA and the Army Air Forces in World War II, 82. Thomas R. Johnson, American Cryptology, 212.
Since World War I and World War II the military technology with regards to communication has increasingly improved. Years ago, if a message was conveyed it was likely to be delivered on foot or horseback. Communications using modern equipment began once the US Army Signal Corps was established. World War I took place before the modern radio. When dispatch riders were not being used to deliver messages, morse code with the use of the telegraph was the more advanced form of communication during that time. The main problem with
Barnett, Correlli. World War II: Persuading the People. Orbis Publishing Limited, 1972. Pgs. 76 -- 102.
Over the year and a half between Pearl Harbor and Midway the United States made headway with various technological and military advantages. One of the most important of which was the code breaking efforts of Commander Joseph J. Rochefort Jr. “Most of the U.S’s information [on Japan] came from Rochefort. R...
In May of 1919, the first civilian intelligence agency in the United States was created, called the Cipher Bureau. The Cipher Bureau was headed by the former Chief of the Army cryptographic section of Military Intelligence (MI-8), Herbert O. Yardley. The primary mission of the Cipher Bureau was the decryption of foreign diplomatic communications. Although the Cipher Bureau had many undocumented successes, their most famous success came during the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922 (NSA, 2012). The Cipher Bureau was able to decrypt the communications of the Japanese delegation to the conference. This information gave the United States a tangible advantage at the negotiation table against the Japanese, regarding naval limitations. Unfortunately, in 1929 the Cipher Bureau would be decommissioned as the new Secretary of State did not agree with the practice of Communication Intelligence (COMINT) during peacetime. This new Secretary of State, Henry Stimson, would go on to publicly rationalize his decision to close down the Cipher Bureau by saying, "Gentlemen do not read other gentlemen's mail (NSA, 2012)....
The factors and themes of trench warfare during the twentieth century led to a mass communication failure. During the time of technical development of steel and communication, which had extended the Western Front stalemate of 1914-1918----. As the situation began to exacerbate, miscommunication based on trench warfare paved the way as a form of rite of passage which led to battlefield failures in all degrees. Although new methods of communication expanded exponential growth during the war years, the recognition of communication holistically failed to reach full potential. Especially on the Western Front as it only achieved interminable stalemate of causalities.
By 1945, they created more than Three-Hundred Bomb Machines. Which they set up on both sides of Atlantic Ocean to defeat Hitler’s Nazi Army. Day by day they Nazis were getting beaten in air, land and sea. By intercepting and decrypting the Nazi Enigma Coded messages, allied forces changed the out come of many events of
D’Este, Carlo. “A Will To Win.” World War II Magazine, Vol. 26 Issue 5, Feb 2012: 38-45.
In the early 1930s, the Japanese Navy purchased a commercial version of the German Enigma and proceeded to modify it by adding features which enhanced its security (Kahn 6). The system that evolved was one of the most secure cryptographic machines in the world. The machine was codenamed "Red" by the US government and was used to encrypt the highest level ...
“The ability to send and receive codes without the risk of the enemy deciphering the transmission was the most desirable end result of military secrecy.” (Jevec, Adam; Potter, Lee Ann) In political campaigns and debates, propaganda and posters may conceal information to the benefit of the requested party, but is not imperative to success. Conversely, military confidentiality is vital to victory. This immutable requirement for success is mutual between opposing forces where techniques and processes are introduced and discarded in a strenuous need to out-perform the combatant. Those who unveil the enemy’s plan know the enemy, and that one-way resonance is of extreme detriment to whoever it is inflicted upon; this will likely lead to a temporary loss or even the eventual failure of an army. There is no wonder that coders spent hours upon hours decrypting messag...
World War II was a time of intense paranoia where no one knew who to trust. Soldiers and citizens alike kept their guard up, certain that a spy was lurking just around the corner. For the sake of national security and ultimate victory, information was kept on a strict need-to-know basis, even after the war ended. This absolute secrecy has lead to large omissions from history books and holes in the public’s knowledge. By doing their duty to protect, serve, and keep quiet, thousands of brave men and women remain unknown and unrecognized for their courageous deeds. As time passes and the war’s need for silence lessened, some of these formerly silent heros have been able to be recognised, including the codebreakers of Bletchley Park. These great
The ever evolving method of cryptography, or sending messages through code, can be traced throughout the history of the world. Early Egyptians communicated through mysterious hieroglyphics. Ancient Greeks concealed secret messages beneath wax on tables or with tattoos on a slave’s head. During the Renaissance in Europe, citizens would use a substitution cipher to carry messages about political and religious revolutions. During World War I and previous battles, most countries used codes to contact their navy or army branches abroad, in case of enemy interception. Which subsequently brings us to World War II, and the major role that codebreaking played in the results of the war. Some of the main codebreaking events during World War II, the breaking
Lengel, Edward G. “Spymaster in Chief”. Military History, Jun/July 2009, Vol. 78. 26 Issue 2, p. 26-35. Langguth, A. J. & Co., Ltd. Patriots.
The National Security Agency, better known as the NSA, has always been a vital asset for the United States. Ever since its inception in 1962 by then-President, Harry S. Truman, for the sake of deciphering messages sent between Germany and Japan, the role of the NSA has been to gather information on the United State's adversaries as well as protect information of its citizens such as credit information from theft. However, the NSA also has a third role which makes it a pivotal asset during wartime: carrying the tasks of the operation code-named Network Warfare. Over the past six decades, the NSA has created a reputable reputation for itself from deciphering messages during World War II to finding acts of terrorism beforehand via the Internet.
Lyons, Michael J. World War II - A Short History. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education,
World War II was the largest and most violent armed disagreement in the history of the world. However, the 50 year that now separates us from that war has exacted its toll on our unified knowledge. While World War II continues to consume the interest of military scholars and historians, as well as its veterans, a generation of Americans has grown to maturity largely unaware of the political, social, and military implications of a war that, more than any other, united us as a people with a common intention.