Introduction
Because it was so important to Britain's victory in World War 11, Bletchley Park is an important historical and cultural landmark.
The Significance of Bletchley Park
At Bletchley Park, which served as a base for contemporary information and technology, British codebreakers worked during the Second World War. The information obtained from Bletchley Park operations served as the cornerstone for Britain's victory in the war. The small village of Bletchley, which would house the Government Code and Cypher School, is located 45 miles from the City of London. The location was chosen by the government due to its important location. It had a direct railroad link to the central city, making it easier for people to travel to and fro. Bletchley Park hosted code breakers, mathematicians and other personnel with meticulous organizational skills. The scientists were people like Gordon Welchman, Allan Turing and Dilly Knox. A person like Dilly Knox had prior experience in code breaking, having worked as a code breaker during the World War I.
The Battle of Britain
In 1940, German defeated the France army, forcing it to quit the war by signing the armistice treaty. Britain was now left alone to face a strong German army that had swept its way to several victories across Europe in a spell of just two months. Hitler's army had defeated France, Belgium and Netherlands, making Britain the only army left standing on the side of the allied forces. Adolf Hitler was initially wary of attacking Britain because of its protection by the English Channel and its military prowess. His hope was that Britain would decide to surrender. The British Prime Minister, however, remained adamant and refused to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, the leader of German. He refused to give audience to politicians who urged him to negotiate with German. Prime Minister Winston Churchill tough stance on the issue was justified. Britain owned a very efficient air defense system, competent air fighting pilots and uncompromising military leaders like Hugh Dowding. Sufficient intelligence gathering at Bletchley Park backed their operations. On the other hand, German had poor intelligence gathering techniques. The conquest of Norway had also left the German navy unprepared to face another major military operation. After wasting a lot of time waiting for Britain to surrender with no success, German finally decided attack Britain. The German army first began by hitting Britain’s Radar and then finally turned into striking RAF air bases. The German army soon again changed tactics and started air strikes in the city of London. The army was initially successful in its attacks on London, but soon succumbed to defeat when the British military showed up in large numbers and launched comprehensive attacks. Britain’s military constituted of many foreigners, mainly from Commonwealth nations. The events forced Adolf Hitler to postpone the Battle of Britain. Germans defeat in the Battle of Britain is attributed to several factors. First, German had poor intelligence gathering techniques, and second, they failed to capitalize on the weakness of Britain.
Secrecy and Intelligence at Bletchley Park
The then British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill emphasized the importance of utilizing intelligence obtained at Bletchley Park using the code breaking machines. He introduced a new level of secrecy called the called Top Secret Ultra and required any information gathered and its sources to remain a highly guarded secret.
Code Breaking Challenges and Breakthroughs
During the initial stages of the conflict, code breakers at Bletchley Park were able to decipher the meaning of radio messages coming from the German Air Force. However, they had trouble decoding the Naval messages because they required a more complicated procedure. The German Naval army used a machine with three more rotors. The wiring for the additional rotors was unknown to the code breakers. The German navy never shared the extra rotors with any other arm of the German army. Luckily in 1941, Allan Turing made a breakthrough by discovering the wiring to the additional rotors and the procedure for naval message indicator, finally making his way through the Naval Enigma and decrypting a significant part of the Naval traffic. However, in 1942 Bletchley Park code breakers were caught by surprise when the German Army suddenly introduced a fresh enigma machine. The new machine had an additional wheel found between the reflectors and the left wheel. They also introduced fresh code books and made some modifications to the indicator system. The new machine also referred to as Enigma M4 was only accessed by the U-Boot section of the German Navy. The change presented trouble for Britain for the next about six months. Luckily though, things changed in October of the same year when they managed to sink a U-boat capturing the new code books. Using the code books, Allan Turing managed to figure out the new naval procedure and the wiring for the extra wheel.
The Importance of Code Breaking in World War I
The World I had underlined the importance of code breaking for generating intelligence during conflicts. Major global powers like Britain, Germany, the United States, and Italy were utilizing code breaking as early as 1914. Code breaking at Bletchley Park provided sufficient intelligence for the British. All military operations launched by the army were almost entirely dependent on intelligence at Bletchley Park. The park formed the foundation for modern-day intelligence gathering and information technology. It is credited for its role in Britain’s success during the standalone period of World War II. To date, it still maintains its historical significance and is a major tourist attraction.
Bibliography
Bletchely Park. “Google Arts and Culture.” Cultural institute, n.d. https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/partner/bletchley-park
Gilbert, Martin. The Routledge Atlas of the Second World War. Routledge, 2009.
Guerlac, Henry, and Marie Boas. "The Radar War Against the U-Boat." Military Affairs 14, no. 2 (1950): 99-111.
History of the Enigma. The rotor-based cipher machines. Cyrtpo Museum, n.d. http://cryptomuseum.com/crypto/enigma/hist.htm
Kahn, David. "Codebreaking in World Wars I and II: the major successes and failures, their causes and their effects." The Historical Journal 23, no. 3 (1980): 617-639.
Murray, Williamson, and Allan Reed Millett. A War to Be Won: Fighting the Second World War. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2000. .
Guerlac, Henry, and Marie Boas. "The Radar War Against the U-Boat." Military Affairs 14, no. 2 (1950): 99-111.
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