Australian Code Breakers: Our top-secret war with the Kaiser's Reich

by James Phelps

The extraordinary story of a headmaster turned cryptographer, and our top-secret war with the Kaiser's Reich.

On 11 August 1914, just days after war had been declared, Australian Captain J.T. Richardson boarded a German merchant vessel fleeing Melbourne's Port Phillip and audaciously seized a top-secret naval codebook. The fledgling Australian Navy had an opportunity to immediately change the course of the war. But what exactly had they found? Enter the Australian code breakers ...

Recruited by savvy top brass, maths whizz and German speaker Frederick Wheatley worked night and day to fathom the basic principles of the code and start tracking the German Navy's powerful East Asia Squadron, led by the brilliant Maximilian von Spee. Soon Melbourne was a hub of international Allied intelligence.

This is the untold story of how a former Australian headmaster and his mostly female team cracked one of Germany's most complex codes, paving the way for the greatest Allied naval victory of World War I.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, War, Historical, Australia, World War I

342 pages, Paperback

Published February 24, 2020

About the author

James Phelps is an award-winning senior reporter for the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph in Sydney.

He began as on overnight police rounds reporter before moving into sport, where he became one of Australia's best news-breaking rugby league reporters.

James became News Corp Australia's Chief National Motorsports Writer and travelled the world, chasing F1 stories as well as becoming Australia's number one V8 Supercar reporter. James is also a senior feature writer for the Sunday Telegraph.

Following the bestselling Dick Johnson: The Autobiography of a True-Blue Aussie Sporting Legend, James returned to his roots to delve into the criminal underworld with a series of crime books: Australia's Hardest Prison: Inside the Walls of Long Bay Jail; Australia's Most Murderous Prison; and Australia's Toughest Prisons: Inmates. James is a twice V8 Supercar media award winner and a former News Awards 'Young Journalist of the Year' and 'Sport Reporter of the Year'.

Reviews

[Smitchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my type of War book - not really about the battles and gore (although there are a few battles and significant loss of life) - but about the behind the scenes: the organisation, co-ordination, and brain power it takes to crack the codes. Its also about Australia's relationship to Britain in a time when Australia was still very much considered a backward colony by the "Mother Country", nothing more than a loyal apendage to supply cannon fodder and keep this side of the world reminded that Britain was a superpower no matter how far away she was.

This is a view of WWI that you don't normally see, after all most of the action was happening on the other side of the world. However, a quick thinking captain, a mathematician turned school teacher, and a captured codebook, changed the balance of the war and could have changed it further if the English Admiralty took their work seriously. It is a very Australian perspective, which I enjoyed.

Fast paced and full of just enough detail to keep readers informed but never overwhelmed, Australian Code Breakers kept me gripped. The edition I read was an ARC / proof so I hope the final edition has a map for readers to follow the action through the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as several times I had to pull out an atlas. There were also a few typos but I trust they will be fixed before printing.

I would've liked a bit more detail about the women who worked with Wheatley and what their level of involvement was in the process of codebreaking for Section E; were they just typists? Or did they also work on the decryption process? A couple of comments in the book made me think they did more than make tea and type Wheatley's memos.

Overall, a great view of the early months of the war, the attitudes of the time, and the conditions on board ship. Wheatley was clearly a man who deserved more recognition from the Admiralty.

[Martin Dunn · Rating 2 out of 5]

The events described in this book are fascinating and well deserving of a popular retelling. For most Australians, the First World War starts with the Gallipoli campaign and ends in the trenches of Flanders. The war at sea is largely unknown.

At the start of the First World War the German East Asia Squadron found itself far from home, communications links cut and surrounded by enemies. Admiral Graf von Spee, detached one cruiser as a commerce raider (the SMSEmden) and took the rest of his fleet across the Pacific with the aim of rounding Cape Horn and heading back to Germany. On the way he defeated a British fleet at the Battle of Coronel and in turn was defeated at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Meanwhile, after sinking a great deal of shipping, the Emden was cornered by HMAS Sydney at Cocos Islands and defeated.

While these events have been recounted before, Phelps takes a perspective based on the Australian naval commanders and Australia’s nascent efforts at signals intelligence. At the start of the war, Royal Australian Navy (RAN) detained German merchant ships in Australian ports and with them captured some code books. With these, RAN College instructor F.W. Wheatley was able to read some of the German messages, and when the Germans later made crude changes to their key, he was able break these and continue to read coded messages. While code books were specifically intended for the German navy to communicate with merchant ships, this was the era where vessels were powered by coal and the movement of colliers revealed where the warships were likely to go.

Phelps picks up the argument that had the Admiralty paid more attention to Australian intelligence they might have intercepted the Germans earlier or avoided the disaster at Coronel. Perhaps. The Pacific Ocean is immense and tactical surveillance at the time was limited to what a man could see from up a mast. A fleet sent to find von Spee might miss him entirely. And Coronel had more to do with British misunderstandings and miscommunication than the weight given to Australian intelligence.

In the epilogue, the editor about to publish Wheatley’s account is quoted as saying “Thanks for being patient, but I had to dot my I’s and cross my T’s. This is one hell of a story and I had to be sure”. And this is where Phelps falls down. As a history book it is not sufficiently reliable.

Phelps does not explain what inspired him to write this book, as a sports journalist who had previously written “true crime books”. He merely thanks his publisher for providing a “non-fiction mandate” and allowing him to “move across genres”. He has not mentioned any interest in the Navy, espionage or military history. Nevertheless, I congratulate him on diving into the archive to find material for this book.

Phelps showed a bad habit of frequently referring to warships as “battleships”. This is not just a matter for naval nerds. The war was proceeded by an arms race which was marked by the construction of more and more powerful ships, at the pinnacle of which was the battleship. But apart from a handful of Japanese battleships, there were no battleships in the Pacific. Now while I could tolerate the odd reference to a battle cruiser as a battleship, calling the tiny French gunboat Zelee a battleship is particularly confusing.

In the authors preface, Phelps states that the dialogue has “often taken directly from letters, texts and reports, has occasionally been adapted to help this adventure flow”. On the contrary, it seems that most of the dialogue is invented. The bibliography lists few primary sources beyond official reports - and none are German or British. We can be pretty sure that the words attributed to von Spee and the crew of the Scharnhorst immediately before it was lost with all hands are sourced solely from Phelps’ imagination.

Factual errors litter the book, and while even the best historian occasionally makes errors, I can’t help feeling these were inserted to “improve”the story. Phelps reports that Admiral Fischer was recalled as First Sea Lord after the Battle of Coronel - it was before. HMAS Australia damaged a rudder transiting Magellan’s Strait - it was a propeller. HMAS Australia found a lifebuoy from the Scharnhorst on 1 January 1915 in “a sea of debris” - it was on 2 January and there was no sea of debris. Wheatley was awarded a CBE after his code breaking revelations in 1934 - actually it was in the 1932 Birthday Honours list

But the item that pushes this down to two stars is a slur directed at the captains and crews of Royal Navy cruisers at the Battle of the Falkland Islands. Phelps says that after the Nuremberg sank “HMS Kent opened fire with machine guns and shells. They slaughtered the survivors. All of them.” On the next page, Phelps accuses HM Ships Glasgow and Cornwall of firing on the helpless crew of the Leipzig. An allegation of a war crime is serious, but when I looked at other sources I found a different story. One where, in difficult conditions, the British ships went to great lengths to rescue the German sailors.

Two stars for Mr Phelps, which he can share with Harper-Collins. And if he publishes a new edition, it should be with corrections and an apology.

[Sharon Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an interesting telling of an historical event - almost a blow by blow account. The way the author used the source documents to tell the story whilst fleshing out the human interactions and conversations was very clever.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read with an unsatisfying conclusion, as you might expect for something based on a true story. Feels shorter than it actually is, a function of it's laser focus, with the caveat that it tries to expand things beyond that.

[Myf Schenk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history, and hearing how Australia had impacts on WWI sounded very intriguing. It has been written, for me, incredibly well and tastefully done so as well in reference to both the Australian and German men, their actions, their lives, and some of their deaths.

However, it is a story with some liberties taken and not a pure history. The author draws attention to this and it is obvious as well because for example we cannot know 'last words' when there are no survivors. I always feel a sense of caution here, because it is difficult to know what truths may have been stretched.

Would still highly recommend, with just some time spent in reading historical sources afterwards.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating audiobook of a little known part of Australia in WWI.

[Louisa L G K · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

Interesting but I was not in love with the style. Why try and fictionalise history in order to educate? If you’re clever non-fiction is a perfectly acceptable medium. It passed.

2.5/5

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of WWI history I didn’t know,
But sadly more examples of the arrogance of the UK admiralty towards ‘the colonies’.
Loved reflecting on the various national values that came out through the diaries and history.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australian code breakers tells the story of the efforts of a team of Naval officers in Melbourne to crack German naval codes during World War One, and the impact this had on the hunt for Von Spee’s East Asiatic Squadron during the opening months of that war. It’s fast-paced, well-written and not overly technical, with lots of interesting characters and events.

The book is a popular history, and very open and clear about it, with the author alerting readers before the start that some of the dialogue has been modified or reimagined to ”help this adventure flow”. Similarly, we’re advised that the author has “simplified the codes and the code-cracking process where the technicalities stopped the story”. The story, we’re told, is not modified, however, and while one should take the authenticity of the conversations and atmosphere at times with a pinch of salt, it is clear the author has researched the events and people carefully, although their lack of depth in the subject matter can be evident at times.

The writing is very clear and easy to read, with the print of a good size and well-spaced, with pace, colour, energy and character in the writing, making it quite the page-turner. The language is generally sound, although there is the usual non-naval specialist author’s occasional misuse of terms and confusion with rank (although the book is better here than most). While there are occasional factual slips, these are impressively rare, although sometimes jarring when they occur, particularly given how much the author gets right – for example references to pre-dreadnought destroyers (when they mean battleships) or the Invincible battlecruisers having the thickest armour ever worn at sea. Most baffling (given Wheatley has clearly been well-researched, and the fact is well-documented) is Wheatley’s CBE noted in the book as being awarded in 1934, instead of the actual year of 1932.

This being said, it is generally very well researched, as reflected in the selected bibliography provided, which includes numerous primary sources – some of which are even reproduced in an appendix. There is no index. In terms of images, there is a plates section in the middle of the book with images of key people and ships from the story, but nothing that needs high resolution to appreciate, and the book wouldn’t lose anything being read as an ebook.

While it tells a generally factual story, and well, it is a bit limited in its context and perspective, and is prone to being somewhat “over dramatic” at times. It sometimes feels that no opportunity is lost to criticise British decisions or interference – some of this, of course, was quite justified, but there’s not even the slightest attempt to explain why certain decisions may have been made the way they were, and there’s no question that it panders to what seems to be an innate need amongst some Australians to have a dig at the Brits (including the baffling and very much incorrect assertion that Kent machine-gunned Nurnberg’s survivors in the water, to the last man). Of the three nations covered in the story, the Australian and German sides are told from far greater detail (and with some creativity), while the British are very much as far off to one side as is possible, given their involvement in events. This being said, there are plenty of far more academic works that suffer from far greater bias (or similar levels of “over dramaticness”), and it’s no reason not to give it a read.

All up, it’s a great, accessible book on a relatively obscure (outside of naval history circles) but interesting and exciting sequence of events at the start of World War One within which Australia’s role was central. The general story is good, and while (as is always the case) one is best not to pay too much attention to the dialogue in a popular history, it’d be a great read for anyone interested in this kind of thing and a good introduction to the events covered, and wouldn’t require any specialist background or context to enjoy fully.

[Rhondda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most Australians seem to know about Gallipoli and Western Front battles of World War 1. I know something of the Forts at Queenscliff and Point Nepean and the pilot oat service, having many holidays in Queenscliff as I was growing up. There would be many who do not know much about the imminent dangers of a German fleet of warships so close to home. It is a view of WWI that you don't normally read about with most of the action was happening on the other side of the world. James Phelps has written a book that explains just how real the dangers of a German fleet of warships was in the early days of WWI.
This book narrates the remarkable story of an Australian Naval Academy teacher, Frederick William Wheatley, who broke the German codes at the very start of WWI and other Officers in the fledgling Australian navy who backed him.
In 1914 just after war had been declared, Australian Captain J.T. Richardson boarded a German merchant vessel fleeing Melbourne's Port Phillip. A quick-thinking officer, he used his wiles to audaciously discover and seize a top-secret German naval code-book. However, they needed to locate the right person to de-code it, if they were to make use of their find. They found the right man in Frederick Wheatley, who was recruited by shrewd Australian Naval Officers who understood his value. He was a maths expert and a German speaker. Wheatley worked night and day to comprehend the basic principles of the code and his discoveries allowed the Australians to track the movements of the German Navy's powerful East Asia Fleet, led by the experienced Maximilian von Spee. Although the Australians took his information seriously, it took much longer for the English Admiralty to listen and make use of the information. The information he discovered should have avoided the British Navies losses at Coronel from the attack by the German Pacific fleet but the English Admiralty didn't respond to the warnings they were given. However, this former Australian teacher, and his mostly female team, kept on cracking Germany's codes as they were made more complex. The methods he used to break the codes eventually paved the way for the greatest Allied naval victory of World War I.
Australian Code Breakers was a great WWI story, told from an Australian perspective, about a resourceful captain, a mathematician/ teacher, and a captured code-book. It was fast paced and with just enough detail to inform readers about code-breaking without overwhelming them with maths and algorithms.
There were some great Black and white photographic reproductions that added "colour" to the story and characters but one other thing I would have liked to have been included in the book was a map so that readers can more easily follow the action especially through the Pacific Islands.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I "read" this excellent account via audiobook.
This is an event with which I was unfamiliar. Most Australians only seem to know about Gallipoli and Fromelle battles of World War 1. I, and I'm sure many others, did not know about the imminent dangers of a German fleet of warships so close to home.
James Phelps brings these encounters to life by using names of real participants and references to personal stories - e.g. The German commander's 2 sons were on different vessels in the fleet.
It was interesting to include the follow up several years after the war ended that revealed the true code breaker and the way the British ignored Australian warnings which resulted in the unnecessary loss of many lives.
An absorbing read that I would recommend to anyone keen to find the details of Australia's role in the naval battles of the Pacific region and know more about our naval history.

The extraordinary story of a headmaster turned cryptographer, and our top-secret war with the Kaiser's Reich. On 11 August 1914, just days after war had been declared, Australian Captain J.T. Richardson boarded a German merchant vessel fleeing Melbourne's Port Phillip and audaciously seized a top-secret naval codebook. The fledgling Australian Navy had an opportunity to immediately change the course of the war. But what exactly had they found? Enter the Australian code breakers ... Recruited by savvy top brass, maths whizz and German speaker Frederick Wheatley worked night and day to fathom the basic principles of the code and start tracking the German Navy's powerful East Asia Squadron, led by the brilliant Maximilian von Spee. Soon Melbourne was a hub of international Allied intelligence. This is the untold story of how a former Australian headmaster and his mostly female team cracked one of Germany's most complex codes, paving the way for the greatest Allied naval victory of World War I.

[Jaipal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this as an audiobook. I recommend reading the book instead of listening to the book so the code breaking segments would be easier to follow. I hope there was a map tracing the route of the German and British / Australian Navy ships in the book.

This book is interesting and provides detail to the events that is talked about at tours of Point Nepean in Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. It starts with Royal Australian Navy (RAN) detaining a German merchant ship leaving Melbourne at the start of World War 1. There are a lot of interesting facts in this book, like how the RAN decided to start the engagement before official word war was declared. This very step enabled the allies to capture a German Navy code book which played an important role in the Allies deciphering German naval communication.

A mathematician turned instructor, F.W. Wheatley was called in decode the German code books. The book details the work he did to successfully decipher the code. I felt this was done well, making it both interesting and not overly complicated for the average reader.

The allies used this code to track and defeat the German Navy's East Asia Squadron, led by Maximilian von Spee. The naval battles are brief and to the point.

All in all, this is an interesting book about something I did not know about. It is an easy read/listen. Some other reviewers mentioned there are factual errors so please do a bit more reading from other sources to collaborate what is mentioned in tis book.

[Sensei Sarhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Given that war history usually holds little interest to me, I'm surprised how much I enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

James and the narrator brought this amended historical account of WW1 maritime fighting afresh to a generation far removed.

The author's research into the main players' back stories and family life meant that compassion could be felt for both sides of this war story.

What struck me the most is the insight into how Australia was likely perceived by the British at this period of time.

I was fascinated by this story, and my war history, mad husband, was delighted by my most usual willingness to discuss all that I learnt at length.

Who knew that the first fire for WW1 was released in Australian waters (close to Melbourne). I certainly didn't! The story behind it was so very interesting.

Locations that have only been distant in their familiarity, like the battel at Coronel, are now imprinted in my mind. If only the British Admiralty listened to the Australian Code Breakers.

Highly recommend the audiobook!

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as fiction goes I enjoyed this book. Maybe it was the codes, war or the fact the author wasn't in the book. It was an interesting enough read for a non fiction book so I'm going to rate it pretty highly. It was strange how it was only the first year of the great war. And it wasn't all of Germany but 3 or 4 ships in the ocean. Not super impressive. It was strange how it set up all these characters in the book who you thought would sink the evil German ship. But the English swooped in at the last second and blew them out of the water.
It would be better if we saw their perspective and continued with other code breaking stories from the war.

[Patrick Schymitzek · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gripping story and mostly true. If you come across war time crimes in your reading,I’d suggest you cross reference that with other sources.

However, at the centre of this book is the amazing efforts of cracking German codes which assisted greatly in the war effort. This piqued my interest and it was a great read, how the author centred the war around the intellectual pursuit of code cracking.

I read this much faster than my usual rate which is an accurate reflection of how much I enjoyed it.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book as a present and was really looking forward to reading it. I was not familiar with James Phelps' work. Sadly, I was disappointed very quickly. Other reviewers have commented on factual errors. That aside, it just feels wrong. A history like this should be thoroughly researched and written as history. The anachronistic language is distracting. Phelps writes: ' ... a few present-day words and phrases have been introduced to give the story a modern spin'. Err, why??

The best I can say is that this work will introduce new readers to maritime history.

[Lee Belbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable story surrounding an Australian naval academy teacher Frederick William Wheatley who broke the German codes at the very start of WW1. The information he discovered should have avoided over 1660 British killed on second rate British ships from the attack by the German Pacific fleet at Coronel, but the British didn't listen. Surprise: It wasn't made public until 1934.

[Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating story of Australia's WW1 history that i had never heard of before. Very well told by James Phelps, making it very easy to follow, gripping and very personal to the key protagonists. I felt he told the story with no bias and equal care for people on both sides of the conflict. James Saunders did a great job reading it for audio and his accents were appreciated.

[Stephen Tubbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, and a pleasing amount of space was devoted to the German players in this under featured WW1 episode. I thought the narrative describing the Falklands battle through the Germans' eyes was a bit melodramatic, but the code breaking segments, which could have been boring, were excellently told.

[Dan Mowbray · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. This to me is written in a style similar to Peter Fitzsimons. James writes the history of the Australian Code Breakers of WWI. A history I didn't actually know about and how much the Australians were at the forefront of breaking the German Code. Enjoyable read.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story which showed what the Australians did in World War I and how the geezers at the top tried to hide it because it showed top their incompetence.
A story that should be told and shared and read by all Aussies.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah nah this was not for me. Should’ve trusted my gut when it told me I do not like history books (Chernobyl was an outlier).
Code should not be read in an audiobook.
Scenes were both too long and too short.
I ended up listening on double speed. Ah well, I tried.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s interesting to know the untold story of how Australians were involved in World War I. Frederick Wheatley and the team solved one of Germany’s most complex codes, paving the way for the victory of World War I.

[Dave B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Disappointing. This story deserves better. Verbose, with silly conversations & a few inaccuracies.
I read it after reading 'Colditz, Prisoners of the Castle', by Ben Macintyre. What contrast! Ben Macintyre writes a great story. It also has a decent Index, something missing from Phelps' book.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written, fascinating look at Australia's role in the early part of World War 1's naval history.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another nobody bringing his support to the concept of "you should die so I could feel proud".

[Steve White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful insight into Australian Naval history.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and engrossing account.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant history of Australia's cryptography work early in WWI. Highly recommended reading.

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed. Although sometimes the writing felt really whimsical and fictional instead of factual. But code breaking components are good.