German Naval Code Breakers

by Jak P. Mallmann Showell

Although the story of the German naval code breakers in World War 2 is less well known than that of the British code breakers at Bletchley Park, their role was undoubtedly significant in the course of the conflict. In German Naval Code Breakers, noted naval historian Jak P. Mallmann Showell, one of Britain's foremost experts on the subject of the U-boat campaign during World War 2, has delved into the archives to produce an account of the wartime German naval code breakers. The book looks in detail at how German code-breaking developed after the traumas of defeat in 1918, the variety of codes used by the British and Allied navies during World War 2, and how the German naval code-breaking department was organised as one of a number of departments involved in the gathering of naval intelligence. In particular, the book gives an account of some of the successes and failures of German code-breaking activities and how these impacted upon naval operations in European waters. Amongst topics examined are the role of the code breakers on the major engagements of the war, such as D-Day and the Battle of the Atlantic.
More than 50 years after the end of World War 2, it is time that due credit is given to the important role played by the German naval code breakers in that conflict. Whilst unable, ultimately, to prevent the defeat of Nazi Germany, the role of the German naval code breakers casts a significant new light on many of the events during the course of the war at sea, as examined in this new work from Jak Mallmann Showell. All those who want to know more about this crucial era in naval warfare will find that German Naval Code Breakers provides an interesting new perspective to this aspect of the history of World War 2.

172 pages, Hardcover

First published May 31, 2003

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have come to know quite a lot about the achievements of the code breakers of Bletchley Park, so it has been interesting to read this overview of the work, achievements and mistakes of 'the other side'.

Failure of different units to coordinate and cooperate effectively seems to have been quite widespread at times in the German military during WW2. There are numerous instances of this mentioned. Combined with a degree of complacency about German cyphers, a tendency for High Command sometimes to ignore intelligence coming from the rather low-status codebreakers, and a frequent 'not invented here' attitude were weaknesses. Nevertheless, they did have significant successes.

The great number of illustrations are interesting. Mostly from the U-Boot-Archiv they are unlikely to have appeared extensively in English-language publications.

The abbreviations for the different ranks in the German Navy are sometimes a difficulty. Most of them are defined in full when first mentioned in the text: eg: KptzS is the abbreviation of Kapitän-zur-See, roughly equivalent to a '4-ring' Captain. I could find no definition of ObltzS. It would have been useful to have a brief appendix with the abbreviations, their full definitions, and the approximate equivalent rank or rating in the Allied navies.

[Charles Mccain · Rating 5 out of 5]

When in doubt, you can never go wrong buying a book by Jak Mallmann Showell whom I consider the foremost authority on U-Boats in the world. Although he is English, he was born in Germany in 1943 and his natural father was killed in action that same year aboard a Uboat. This is an excellent book on many levels but first and foremost it reminds us that while the Germans did not have a code-breaking success anywhere close to Ultra, they were damned good code breakers and broke almost all Allied maritime ciphers except for the very top ones.