Enigma

Synopsis

The complete story of how the German Enigma codes were broken. Perfect for fans of THE IMITATION GAME, the new film on Alan Turing's Enigma code, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

Breaking the German Enigma codes was not only about brilliant mathematicians and professors at Bletchley Park. There is another aspect of the story which it is only now possible to tell. It takes in the exploits of spies, naval officers and ordinary British seamen who risked, and in some cases lost, their lives snatching the vital Enigma codebooks from under the noses of Nazi officials and from sinking German ships and submarines.

This book tells the whole Enigma story: its original invention and use by German forces and how it was the Poles who first cracked - and passed on to the British - the key to the German airforce Enigma. The more complicated German Navy Enigma appeared to them to be unbreakable.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Enigma Machine

* Introduction to the German Enigma enciphering machine, used to encrypt military messages during World War II.
* Description of Enigma's complex mechanism, consisting of rotors, a reflector, and a plugboard.
* Real example: A German naval message encrypted using Enigma, with the following settings: Rotor positions: I, III, V; Reflector: B; Plugboard: AB, CD, EF.

Chapter 2: Bletchley Park

* Establishment of Bletchley Park, the British codebreaking center, dedicated to cracking Enigma messages.
* Introduction to the key personnel at Bletchley Park, including Alan Turing, Gordon Welchman, and Max Newman.
* Real example: The daily Enigma traffic intercepted by Bletchley Park, totaling over 1,000 messages per day.

Chapter 3: Cracking the Code

* Description of the systematic approaches used by Bletchley Park to analyze Enigma messages and determine its settings.
* Introduction to the Bombe, an electromechanical device designed by Turing to accelerate Enigma decryption.
* Real example: The successful decryption of a German naval message using the Bombe, providing valuable intelligence on U-boat movements.

Chapter 4: The Poles' Contribution

* Recognition of the Polish mathematicians who made early breakthroughs in breaking Enigma before the war.
* Detailed account of the Polish "Bomba device," a precursor to Turing's Bombe.
* Real example: The Polish intelligence report on Enigma, leaked to the British in 1939, providing crucial knowledge.

Chapter 5: Turning the Tide

* The impact of Enigma decryption on the Allied war effort, particularly in the Battle of the Atlantic.
* Description of the Ultra network, used to disseminate decrypted Enigma messages to Allied commanders.
* Real example: The sinking of the German battleship Bismarck, due in part to information obtained through Ultra.

Chapter 6: Post-War Legacy

* The secrecy surrounding the Enigma project and its role in the Allied victory.
* Recognition of the codebreakers' contributions and the significance of Enigma decryption.
* Real example: The continued use of encryption and decryption techniques in modern cryptography.