Code Wars: How 'Ultra' and 'Magic' led to Allied Victory - Softcover

Jackson, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1526774917 ISBN 13: 9781526774910

Publisher: Pen & Sword Military, 2020

Synopsis

When the top secret codebreaking activities at Bletchley Park were revealed in the 1970s, much of the history of the Second World War had to be rewritten. Code Wars examines the role of ULTRA (the intelligence derived from breaking secret enemy signals) on major events of the Second World War. It examines how it influenced the outcome of key battles such as D-Day, El Alamein, Crete, key naval battles, the controversy surrounding Churchill and Coventry, the shadowing of Hitler's V1 pilotless aircraft and the V2 rocket. The book also examines the pioneering work in breaking Enigma by the Polish cryptographers, and the building of Colossus, the world's first digital, programmable computer, which helped unravel the secret orders of Hitler and the German High Command. It also tells the story of the American successes in breaking Japanese signals, known as Magic. It also stresses the vital role of the intercept stations which took down the enemy messages, providing the raw material for the cryptographers to break. The book shows how the codebreakers were able to shorten the war by as much as two years and bring Signals Intelligence, in the post-war years, into a new era of military intelligence gathering.

About this title

About the Author

John Jackson is a journalist and writer who has specialised in Second World War Signals Intelligence. He has written The Secret War of Hut 3 and Ultra's Arctic War and has edited the declassified Official History of British Sigint1914-1945 and Naval Enigma: The History of Hut 8 1939-1943. He is a volunteer at Bletchley Park.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1526774917
• ISBN 13: 9781526774910
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224