Spies and Intelligence of WW2

Code Breaking

 The Germans used a code system using the Enigma Machine. It began in the 1920s when the machine was developed for the market. “The Enigma machine enabled its operator to type a message, then 'scramble' it using a letter substitution system, generated by variable rotors and an electric circuit. To decode the message, the recipient needed to know the exact settings of the wheels.” (History.co.uk) 

An Enigma Machine

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    In 1933 to 1938, the Polish Cipher Bureau reconstructed the Enigma machine and read all of the German messages. Eventually, in 1939, with talks of a German invasion, Poland shared the information with Britain, who soon established the Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire. 

The female code-breakers of WW2

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    The manual also explained methods of disguise. Everything from women’s clothes, makeup, use of spray tans, tattoo removal, and in dire situations, even plastic surgery were included (Warhistoryonline.com). 

The “Ghost Army”

   Another method of deception used by the Allies against the Nazis was fooling them using elaborate ruses. A top-secret troop of around 1,100 American artists, designers, and sound engineers saved thousands of soldiers and earned one of the country’s highest civilian honors. “Employing inflatable decoys, fake radio chatter and loudspeakers that blared sound effects, the Ghost Army could simulate a force 30 times its size as it operated as close as a quarter mile from the front lines. (History.com)”

Fake, inflatable tank

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Submarine Warfare in WW2