Verified Document

20th Century Intelligence Operations Book Review

Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is an integral part of military strategy. Referring to the interception and decoding of enemy communications, SIGINT is the topic of Peter Matthew's 2013 publication, SIGINT: The Secret History of Signals Intelligence 1914-1945. Matthew focuses on the history of SIGINT until the Cold War. What makes SIGINT: The Secret History of Signals Intelligence unique is that the author presents the Axis point-of-view on SIGINT. As Matthew (2013) puts it, the author's aim is "to tell the other side of the Bletchley Park story," (p. 16). A brief introduction describes what SIGINT is and how it evolved through technological and strategic changes. SIGINT is related to cryptography, because it encompasses the decoding of encrypted messages. The author points out that the book will be emphasizing Bletchley Park and Ultra, which were instrumental in bringing about the Allied Victory in the Second World War. Moreover, the author is interested in discussing SIGINT from the enemy's perspective: including Enigma and Lorenz (both Germany), Hagelin (Italy) and Purple (Japan). These were enemy coding machines, which Bletchley Park infiltrated.

The author also shows how SIGINT transformed the nature of espionage throughout the First and Second World Wars, in addition to being instrumental in determining the outcomes. Furthermore, the author uses the introduction to show how SIGINT is unique because cryptographers remain unsung heroes often for years after a war...

The first chapter is entitled "From Cables to Codes" and describes the technology of SIGINT from the original cable-based communications, then wireless telegraphy and more sophisticated radio versions. Existing cable-based communications networks had become integral to commerce, and military capitalized on the infrastructure during the war. Although cable technology was more prevalent during the First World War, Matthew points out that cable technology proved to be more vulnerable to interception, and wireless radio started to become a more salient feature of military intelligence. The second chapter, "Intelligent Warfare," discusses more about the interface between intelligence and technology, and shows how politicians leverage military intelligence.
Chapter Three, "The Pre-War Intelligence Scene" sets the scene for the main discussion of the book. Here, Matthew lays the foundation for showing how the Axis and Allies would have an intelligence showdown, outlining the specific projects of each side. This section of the book is relatively brief, but prepares the reader for the meat of the book to follow.

Chapter Four is "Europe's War," and here, Matthew veers slightly off-topic to discuss context and history of World War One. The author mentions oft-forgotten segments of the Austro-Hungarian Empire like Galicia, in the attempt to…

Sources used in this document:
References

Matthews, P. (2013). SIGINT. Gloucestershire: The History Press.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

20th Century and Germany
Words: 742 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Change Through Rapprochement Egon Bahr's concept of "change through rapprochement" never really had prospects for success as the subsequent years showed and as hindsight, which always sees 20/20, indicates. The Communist case for "demarcation" for instance, reiterated in 1971, and the petition for an exit visa, written by the actor Manfred Krug in 1977, both showed that East and West Germany were moving in two diametrically opposed directions. Neither was willing

Intelligence in Older Adulthood
Words: 1353 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Intelligence in Older Adulthood Psychologists describe two basic types of intelligence: Fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. The idea that intelligence is static -- that it is a fundamental personal attribute that is immutable long ago fell out of disfavor with scientists. Current research suggests that fluid intelligence does begin to lessen in the over the life span, with adolescence being the watershed years. Crystallized intelligence, however, can continue to increase throughout

Intelligence Reform Following the Terrorist
Words: 4027 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

Instead, by transferring budgetary control to the Director of National Intelligence, IRTPA forced the various intelligence agencies to unite under a single, coherent leadership, if only to ensure the continued flow of funds towards their respective projects. As with any government endeavor, the inertia of the Intelligence Community is maintained only so long as ample funds are continually available, so by tethering intelligence agencies' funding to inter-agency cooperation coordination,

Intelligence Testing
Words: 2383 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

Intelligence Testing It is often essential to measure the human intelligence so as to provide special attention to the deficient ones. Being an abstract concept it is absurd to think of expressing its magnitude in numbers. However, expressing in terms of imaginary units psychologists could visualize to accord ranks and quantify the intelligence. The intention of measuring intelligence originated ever since the era of Chinese emperors during 2200 BC when it

Recurring Strategic Themes in the History of U.S. Intelligence
Words: 1450 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

U.S. Intelligence Strategy History The United States has always been a country that prided itself on the excellence of its military excellenc and precision. The defense and national forces have been at the heart of military intelligence throughout the years starting with 2001, in September. Many government agencies, for example, have joined forces with more traditional military forces to help combat both minor crime forces with those of a more sophisticated

21st Century Skills and Competencies
Words: 4983 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

21st Century Leadership What does leadership mean today? The 21st Century environment presents totally different challenges and needs from the previous centuries with regards to leadership. Studies have shown that emotional and social intelligence are two big areas that pertain to 21st century leadership, as they relate to how well leaders can effectively establish positive relationships with followers (Boyatzis, 2008; Den, Deanne, Belschak, 2012; Higgs, 2013; Schyns, Schilling, 2013). There are,

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now