Espionage In Wwii Essay Example For Students

Espionage In Wwii Essay Many of us can remember playing childhood games when we were younger. One of my personal favorites was hide and seek. My favorite part of the game was when I was hiding and tried to watch where the seeker looked while he or she searched. Of course I could have been caught, but it wasnt a big deal at the time. What would happen though if the seeker didnt know who he was looking for, but knew someone was hiding? How would he go about finding the person? Further more how much more could the person accomplish if they were hiding right in front of them, but the seeker did not know? Well it may sound a little off, but that was basically the game of espionage. Spies would try to conceal themselves by gathering information at the same time. During times of war it was critical to keep your movements, plans, and technology secret so that enemies could not be prepared or be one-step ahead. Therefore spies would be a very influential on outcomes of wars. One of the wars that the USA needed espio nage help was in WWII. Not only did they need to get information but have counter intelligence to keep secrets away from Germany and their allies. Espionage helped the US during WWII in the defeat of Germany and their allies. Spies during WWII were intended to provide the basis for an accurate assessment of other nations intentions and military capabilities. Richelson, 103 In such a war a successful surprise attack could leave a victim staggered and ready for a knockout blow. 103 That meant it was critical for the USA to stop espionage from telling their moves and having their spies tell them about the planned attacks of the Axis Powers. This would help the USA to pull off critical assaults on Germany such as D-Day. But before the beginning of the end of the war came many other obstacles to be overcome by the US. At the beginning of the war all the major combatants had a place in code breaking establishments, all of which would experience explosive growth during the war. 173 These agencies would then go on to provide critical information during the war to provide information needed to combat the Axis. One of the most important needs for espionage was in the deciphering of the ENIGMA. 176 This was used to code and decode German messages sent and received between commanders and such. 176 It was very hard to decipher the ENIGMA because of the way it was set up. 176 What made it so difficult to decipher was the process by which a letter in an original message was transformed into a different one for the transmitted message. 176 The process involved, among other things, three motors in each machine that were chosen from a set of five. 176 Each of them had twenty-six settings, and a plugboard, which connected the keyboard letters to the lampboard letters. 176 For example the first time the L key was pressed a B might light up, but because the rotors turned further entries of L on the board would not produce another B but rather other letters. 176 US intelligence along with help from other countries was eventually able to make a duplicate machine that would help them in decoding messages . 177 Without help from espionage in this instance the US and their allies would be susceptible to unknown attacks and movements of armies without having a chance to prepare for it. Here to the use of American Espionage was evident in the fight against its oppressors. Without proper deciphering of messages the battles could have been altered for the side of the Axis. One particular instance in which the US used intelligence to gain an advantage when going to be attacked was the battle of Midway. The US intercepted an encrypted message from a Japanese Admiral and revealed the date in which the attacks were scheduled. O’Toole, 388 Therefore the US was able to have a task force waiting for the Japanese when they arrived. 389 It was said that Midway marked the turning point of the war for the pacific. 389 Again the use of Espionage provided huge results for American’s throughout the war with the Axis. Another importance of espionage in the war was that the Axis powers didn’t know that the Allies intercepted their communications. 392 Also, the British intercepted many messages that were given to the US as well. 392 The agreement they came upon to share intelligence was called the BRUSA. 392 This actually helped join the espionage together to use personnel along with technology of each other together with providing security for the operations. 392 Again the intelligence agencies of the USA helped them in winning the war by combining efforts with their allies. The Sequel to The Great Gatsby EssayThroughout many different other battles the US had information on various military movements of the Axis because of the share of there information with the British. O’Toole, 392 British intelligence had some information the US did not have against the Axis which proved very useful against their enemies. 393 British intelligence became of much use to the US throughout the world war and they intern continue to give there espionage information to them as well. This boded for a greater advancement in espionage because each of the countries best combined for great possibilities in that field. 395 Again, when USA intelligence ran into some trouble they continue to help with their efforts in winning the war by sharing and receiving information from the British. Perhaps the greatest contributions of the espionage in the USA were when the assault on D-Day took place. A plan finally arose after many days of scheming. Richelson, 154 It was called JEDBURGH. 154 The plan basically took many three manned teams that would infiltrate the area once the invasion began and started to gather intelligence, while others linked up with the masquisards. 154 They then continued to tell of German military movements, decipher intercepted messages and told airplanes where to drop the weapons that were needed to upend the German defense plans. 154 Additional sabotage operations forced Germans to communicate by radio and they became easier to intercept and decipher. 155 Espionage was needed to make this monumental assault a success for the Allies. During the war, the spies continued there hiding, while the Germans began to seek them. Americans came out with the upper end in the war. Espionage helped prepare defenses, win battles, and warn other allied powers of attacks of the Axis. On all accounts it seems that the USA could not have won the war without the help of their Espionage. Whether it be deciphering messages, recording military movements, or finding other spies, American espionage played a major role in the defeat of Germany and their allies during World War II. American Espionage stood up to the dangers that a soldier faced in battle and did not back down when their country needed them, even if it meant dying to keep a secret. BibliographyBIBLIOGRAPHYRichelson, Jeffrey. A Century of Spies Intelligence in the Twentieth Century. Oxford University Press, 1995. O’Toole, G. J. A. Honorable Treachery A History of U.S. Intelligence, Espionage, and Covert Action From the American Revolution to the CIA. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1991. Volkman, Ernest. Espionage The greatest Spy Operations of the 20th Century. John Wiley; Sons, Inc., 1995. Johnson, Loch K. Secret Agencies. Yale University, 1996. History Essays