Page 337 - 4096-BOOK2

World War II officially ends in Europe on May 8th, 1945
Cracking the Enigma machine and gathering intelligence through decryption
played a vital role in the war effort, and men on the ground, in the air, and
at sea used the information as part of their fight to defeat the Axis powers. For
example, the successful deception of the Wehrmacht leadership during Operation
Bodyguard prior to the D-Day landings was confirmed in deciphered Enigma
messages. During Operation Overlord, intercepted and decrypted intelligence also
provided key information for the planning of the landings at Normandy, including
the placement of German defenses along the beaches.
The intelligence operations meant that Allied commanders knew what they
were up against, and preliminary operations were able to damage some of the
enemy defenses in advance. However, knowing about the locations of the German
divisions did not change the fact that on June 6, 1944, thousands of men had to
storm the beaches under fire and thousands were killed. Ultimately, the Allies
were able to secure the beachheads and begin the grueling fight towards Berlin.
As Allied troops pressed in on Germany, many of the Enigma machines were
destroyed by the German troops under instructions to keep them from
falling into enemy hands, bombs and gunfire destroying German positions, and
by Allied soldiers under orders to destroy enemy equipment. Thus, though tens of
thousands of Enigma machines were produced and used by the German military
during the war, experts estimate that fewer than 350 remain today in museum
and private collections, many of these incomplete. Each of these devices is an
incredible historic artifact connected directly to high level intelligence operations
during World War II and to the history of encryption.
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