Codes, Ciphers and Spies : Tales of Military Intelligence in World War I

When The United States Declared War On Germany In April 1917, It Was Woefully Unprepared To Wage A Modern War. Whereas Their European Counterparts Already Had Three Years Of Experience In Using Code And Cipher Systems In The War, American Cryptologists Had To Help In The Building Of A Military Intelligence Unit From Scratch. This Book Relates The Personal Experiences Of One Such Character, Providing A Uniquely American Perspective On The Great War. It Is A Story Of Spies, Coded Letters, Plots To Blow Up Ships And Munitions Plants, Secret Inks, Arms Smuggling, Treason, And Desperate Battlefield Messages. Yet It All Begins With A College English Professor And Chaucer Scholar Named John Mathews Manly. In 1927, John Manly Wrote A Series Of Articles On His Service In The Code And Cipher Section (mi-8) Of The U.s. Army's Military Intelligence Division (mid) During World War I.^ Published Here For The First Time, Enhanced With References And Annotations For Additional Context, These Articles Form The Basis Of An Exciting Exploration Of American Military Intelligence And Counter-espionage In 1917-1918. Illustrating The Thoughts Of Prisoners Of War, Draftees, German Spies, And Ordinary Americans With Secrets To Hide, The Messages Deciphered By Manly Provide A Fascinating Insight Into The State Of Mind Of A Nation At War. John F. Dooley Is The William And Marilyn Ingersoll Professor Of Computer Science At Knox College In Galesburg, Illinois. Before Returning To Teaching In 2001, He Spent More Than 15 Years In The Software Industry As A Developer, Designer, And Manager Working For Companies Such As Bell Telephone Laboratories, Mcdonnell Douglas, Ibm, And Motorola. Since 2004 His Main Research Interest Has Been In The History Of American Cryptology, Particularly During The Inter-war Period.^ His Previous Publications Include The Springer Titles A Brief History Of Cryptology And Cryptographic Algorithms And Software Development And Professional Practice. -- Provided By Publisher. An Introduction And A Few Words On Codes And Ciphers -- Part I: The Aef -- The Americans Embark: Getting To France 1917 -- 1918 -- Introduction To Communications, Codes, And Ciphers In The Aef -- The Aef And Colonel Moorman -- Cryptology At The Front -- The Aef: Breaking Codes And Ciphers -- The Aef: German Codes And Ciphers -- The Aef Fights: 1918 -- Part Ii: Mi-8 And The Home Front -- Mi-8 And Civilian Messages -- Civilian Correspondence: Foreign Letters And Hoaxes -- Civilian Correspondence: Prisoners And Spies -- Civilian Correspondence: Families And Love Letters -- Part Iii: German Spies In America, 1914 -- 1918 -- Spies Among Us: The New York Cell, 1914 -- 1915 -- Spies Among Us: Baltimore, Germs, Black Tom, And Kingsland, 1916 -- 1917 -- The Waberski Cipher: A Spy Is Condemned -- Madame Victorica Arrives In New York -- Madame Victorica And German Agents In The U.s. -- More German Spies -- Madame Victorica And Invisible Inks -- Madame Victorica -- Captured! -- Part Iv: Epilogue -- Epilogue. John F. Dooley. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 271-276) And Index. Preface 10 Acknowledgments 12 Photo Credits 14 Contents 16 Chapter 1: Introduction 19 1.1 John Matthews Manly: Early Life 19 1.2 Manly and Chaucer 20 1.3 Manly and Cryptology 21 1.4 Manly in MI-8 22 1.5 Manly After the War 24 1.6 The Collier’s Articles 25 1.7 A Few Words on Codes and Ciphers 28 1.8 Codes 29 1.9 Ciphers 31 1.10 Substitution Ciphers 31 1.11 Transposition Ciphers 32 References 34 Part I: The AEF 35 Chapter 2: The Americans Embark 36 2.1 America Stumbles into War 36 2.2 The Americans Arrive 39 2.3 American Military Intelligence Awakens 42 2.4 Herbert Yardley and MI-8 43 References 46 Chapter 3: Overview of Cryptology and the Army 47 References 52 Chapter 4: The AEF and Colonel Moorman 53 4.1 Ciphers 57 4.2 Codes 59 References 61 Chapter 5: Cryptology at the Front and at Home 62 5.1 Allied Codes and Ciphers in France 64 5.2 Cryptanalyzing a Playfair Cipher 70 5.3 American Codes and Ciphers in France 71 5.4 German Codes and Ciphers in France 76 References 84 Chapter 6: American Codes and Ciphers in France 85 References 95 Chapter 7: Painvin Breaks a Cipher 96 References 106 Chapter 8: The AEF Fights 108 8.1 Germany’s Final Offensives 108 8.2 Cantigny 109 8.3 Belleau Wood 110 8.4 Chateau Thierry and the Marne 113 8.5 Aisne-Marne 115 8.6 St. Mihiel 117 8.7 Meuse-Argonne 120 References 127 Part II: MI-8 and the Home Front 128 Chapter 9: MI-8 and Civilian Messages 129 References 139 Chapter 10: Civilian Correspondence: Foreign Letters and Hoaxes 140 Reference 149 Chapter 11: Civilian Correspondence: Families and Love Letters 150 Chapter 12: Civilian Correspondence: Prisoners and Spies 154 References 166 Part III: German Spies in America, 1914–1918 167 Chapter 13: Spies Among Us: The New York Cell, 1914–1915 168 13.1 Bernstorff Builds a Spy Network 169 13.2 von Papen Tries – and Fails 172 13.3 The Dark Invader Arrives 176 13.4 The Minister without Portfolio 181 13.5 Failure and Recall 183 References 185 Chapter 14: Spies Among Us: Baltimore, Germs, Black Tom, and Kingsland (1916–1917) 186 14.1 Baltimore Heats Up 186 14.2 Germs 189 14.3 Herrmann and Hinsch Divide the Work 191 14.4 Black Tom Explodes 193 14.5 Kingsland Burns 197 References 201 Chapter 15: John Manly and the Waberski Cipher Solution 202 References 215 Chapter 16: Madame Victorica Arrives in New York 216 References 226 Chapter 17: Madame Victorica and German Agents in the United States 227 References 238 Chapter 18: More German Spies 239 18.1 The Journalist 239 18.2 The Turkish Beauty 242 18.3 Fraülein Doktor 245 References 247 Chapter 19: Madame Victorica and Invisible Inks 249 References 257 Chapter 20: Madame Victorica: Captured! 258 References 268 Part IV: Epilogue 269 Chapter 21: Epilogue 270 References 274 Bibliography and Further Reading 275 Index 281 Front Matter....Pages i-xvii Introduction....Pages 1-16 Front Matter....Pages 17-17 The Americans Embark....Pages 19-29 Overview of Cryptology and the Army....Pages 31-36 The AEF and Colonel Moorman....Pages 37-45 Cryptology at the Front and at Home....Pages 47-69 American Codes and Ciphers in France....Pages 71-81 Painvin Breaks a Cipher....Pages 83-94 The AEF Fights....Pages 95-114 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 MI-8 and Civilian Messages....Pages 117-127 Civilian Correspondence: Foreign Letters and Hoaxes....Pages 129-138 Civilian Correspondence: Families and Love Letters....Pages 139-142 Civilian Correspondence: Prisoners and Spies....Pages 143-155 Front Matter....Pages 157-157 Spies Among Us: The New York Cell, 1914–1915....Pages 159-176 Spies Among Us: Baltimore, Germs, Black Tom, and Kingsland (1916–1917)....Pages 177-192 John Manly and the Waberski Cipher Solution....Pages 193-206 Madame Victorica Arrives in New York....Pages 207-217 Madame Victorica and German Agents in the United States....Pages 219-230 More German Spies....Pages 231-240 Madame Victorica and Invisible Inks....Pages 241-249 Madame Victorica: Captured!....Pages 251-261 Front Matter....Pages 263-263 Epilogue....Pages 265-269 Back Matter....Pages 271-280