Codebreaking and Signals Intelligence

This book explores the history of signals intelligence, including the successes of British and American codebreakers during the Second World War, and the governmental secrecy that still surrounds it. It provides new insights into how Tsarist codebreakers penetrated British code and cypher systems, how German military codebreaking advanced our understanding of cryptanalysis during the Weimar Republic, and the achievements of British cryptanalysis between the wars. The articles also highlight the valuable work on hand cyphers and surveillance under the Vichy regime.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 15 October 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Despite the public attention given to the achievements of British and American codebreakers during the Second World War, the study of signals intelligence remains complex due to governmental secrecy surrounding even the most ancient peacetime sigint. This book, originally published in 1986, lifts the veil on some of these historical secrets. Christopher Andrew and Keith Neilson shed new light on how Tsarist codebreakers penetrated British code and cypher systems. John Chapman's comprehensive study of German military codebreaking represents a significant advancement in our understanding of cryptanalysis during the Weimar Republic. The history of the Government Code and Cypher School, precursor to today's GCHQ, by its operational head, the late A.G. Denniston, provides both a general assessment of British cryptanalysis between the wars and a tantalizing glimpse of what historians may one day uncover in GCHQ's forbidden archives. The distinguished cryptanalyst of Bletchley Park, the late Gordon Welchman, details how the Ultra program defeated the German Enigma machine, while another Bletchley Park cryptographer, Christopher Morris, reminds us in his account of the valuable work on hand cyphers that wartime sigint consisted of much more than Ultra. Roger Austin's study of surveillance under the Vichy regime underscores the enduring significance of older and simpler methods of message interception, such as letter-opening. Taken together, the articles establish sigint as an essential field of study for both modern historians and political scientists.

Weight: 270g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367708795