Battle of wits : the complete story of codebreaking in World War II

A million pages of new World War II codebreaking records have been released by the U.S. Army and Navy and the British government over the last five years. Now, Battle of Wits presents the history of the war that these documents reveal. From the Battle of Midway until the last German code was broken in January 1945, this is an astonishing epic of a war that was won not simply by brute strength but also by reading the enemy's intentions. The revelations of Stephen Budiansky's dramatic history include how Britain tried to manipulate the American codebreakers and monopolize German Enigma code communications; the first detailed published explanations of how the Japanese codes were broken; and how the American codebreaking machines worked to crack the Japanese, the German, and even the Russian diplomatic codes. This is the story of the Allied codebreakers puzzling through the most difficult codebreaking problems that ever existed. At the same time, the compelling narrative shows the crucial effect codebreaking had on the battlefields by explaining the urgency of stopping the wolf pack U-boat attacks in the North Atlantic, the burning desire in the United States to turn the tide of the war after Pearl Harbor, the importance of halting Rommel's tanks in North Africa, and the necessity of ensuring that the Germans believed the Allies' audacious deception and cover plans for D-Day. Budiansky brings to life the unsung codebreaking heroes of this secret war: Joseph J. Rochefort, an intense and driven naval officer who ran the codebreaking operation in "The Dungeon," a dank basement at Pearl Harbor, that effectively won the Battle of Midway; Alan Turing, the eccentric father of the computer age, whose brilliant electromechanical calculators broke the German Enigma machine; and Ian Fleming, whose daredevil espionage schemes to recover codebooks resembled the plots of the 007 novels he later wrote. Among the villains, we meet the Nazi Admiral Donitz, who led the submarine wolf packs against Allied shipping in the North Atlantic with horrific casualty rates?until the codebreakers stopped him. Budiansky, a Harvard -- trained mathematician, demonstrates the mathematical insight and creativity of the cryptographers by showing step-by-step precisely how the codes were broken. This technology -- the flow of information, its encryption, and the computational methods of recovering it from the enemy -- had never before been so important to the outcome of a war. Informative diagrams, maps, appendices, and photographs show exactly how, why, and where the secret war was won. Unveiled for the first time, the complete story of codebreaking in World War II has now been told. Battle Of Wits Presents The History Of The War That These Documents Reveal. From The Battle Of Midway Until The Last German Code Was Broken In January 1945, This Is An Astonishing Epic Of A War That Was Won Not Simply By Brute Strength But Also By Reading The Enemy's Intentions. This Is The Story Of The Allied Codebreakers Puzzling Through The Most Difficult Codebreaking Problems That Ever Existed. At The Same Time, The Compelling Narrative Shows The Crucial Effect Codebreaking Had On The Battlefields By Explaining The Urgency Of Stopping The Wolf Pack U-boat Attacks In The North Atlantic, The Burning Desire In The United States To Turn The Tide Of The War After Pearl Harbor, The Importance Of Halting Rommel's Tanks In North Africa, And The Necessity Of Ensuring That The Germans Believed The Allies' Audacious Deception And Cover Plans For D-day.--jacket. Prologue : Midway -- No Good, Not Even For Intelligence: The End Of The Black Chamber ; William F. Friedman Picks Up The Pieces ; I Had The Good Sense To Get Out Of It! ; Room 40 ; Winston Churchill, An Early Convert ; The Foreign Office, A Late Convert ; The Soviet Intercepts ; A Strategic Failure For Intelligence -- Nature Of The Beast: The Birth Of Codebreaking ; Machine Ciphers, Poland, And The Enigma ; Depth Reading ; The Distinct Limitations Of Thievery ; Solving The Red Machine -- Il Y A Du Nouveau: 1939, A Dark New Year ; Meeting At Pyry Forest ; Marian Rejewski's Mathematical Feat ; Recovering The Daily Enigma Keys ; Alan Turing And Other Men Of The Professor Type ; Bletchley Park ; The Poles' Flight -- Fighting Back: British Mathematicians Vs. The Enigma ; The Bombe Takes Shape ; A Pile Of Dull, Disjointed, And Enigmatic Scraps ; Cryptanalytic Talent ; Norway And Yellow ; France And Red ; Hms Glorious --^ Impossible Problems: The Sinking Of U-33 ; Naval Enigma And The Bombe ; Operation Ruthless And Other Straws ; American Isolationism ; Purple ; The British Charm Offensive ; A Mission To Bletchley, Bearing Gifts -- Success Breeds Success: The Blitz ; Cape Matapan ; Boniface, Barbarossa, And Bismarck ; Naval Enigma, U-110, And The Trawler Pinches ; The Eastern Front And German Atrocities ; Trafalgar Day ; Cribs And Continuity -- The Machines: The British Make Polite Noises ; Ibm Machines And Jn-25 ; The Machine Attack On Floradora ; Washington At War ; Military Vs. Civilians ; An American Ultimatum ; Better Bombes ; High-speed Analyzers -- Paranoia Is Our Profession: Dönitz's Suspicions ; The Evacuation Of Corregidor ; The Midway Leak ; Some Bungled Operations ; Do Not Talk At Meals ; Suspicions Among Friends --^ The Shadow War: Calling The Shots In The Mediterranean ; Torch And Deception ; The Flight From Vichy ; Atlantic Convoys ; U-559 And The Breaking Of Shark ; The Hunt For Leaks ; The American Invasion ; Pressures And Diversions ; Women In Uniform -- Command Of The Ether: Russian Espionage And Project Venona ; Gee And Fish ; Masters Of Deception ; Yamamoto ; The Water Transport Code ; Failure In The Ardennes ; Signaling The End -- Epilogue : Legacy. Stephen Budiansky. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 363-417) And Index. Drawing from newly declassified documents, the author chronicles the story of codebreaking during the last world war, from cat-and-mouse games with Nazi U-boats to the invasion of Normandy.