Cryptography is an ever evolving field, and this held especially true around the time of World War II. Up until this point, most cryptanalysis had been performed by linguists and people trained in language. However, as cryptography evolved and became increasingly mathematical and technological, the personnel involved in cryptanalysis needed to evolve as well. One of the primary reasons the Allies had success over the German cryptographers was the Allies use of cryptanalysists from across many disciplines.
As discussed in class, there are many factors which go into solving a code. To break the German code required some each of creativity, logic and luck. One of the best ways to solve an abstract problem, such as breaking an enciphered message, is to think about it from many different angles and have different people each with their own different way of thinking attempting to solve the problem. As Singh noted, there were a great variety of cryptanalysists working on the German codes from mathematicians and linguists to artists and chess players. Having such varied ways of thinking ensured that if one person couldn’t come up with an idea, someone else down the line would most likely be able to. Also, British cryptanalysits were specialized into various “huts” on the lawn of Bletchley park. Each of these huts had a specific directive, from working on the German Naval enigma to intelligence gathering and translation. With many different types of thinkers working on them simultaneously, each of the various tasks were able to be completed with the utmost efficiency, saving lives and ultimately helping the Allies gain a pivotal upper hand in the war.
“Hut 6, Army/Airforce Enigma codebreaking” Photo by Matt Crypto-Licensed under Public Domain by Wikimedia Commons
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