Can anyone tell me why code and encryption was important during world war one?

Question

and what impact code and encryption had on world war one.
if you could answer these questions that'd be great. also if you could give me the sites you found the information on. thank you.

Answer 1

Same reason it is important now. Being able to communicate without your enemy knowing what you are saying. The reverse is also true. Being able to decode messages the enemy believe are secure is quite useful.

Answer 2

In any war, some form of code and encryption have played a key role. Before modern media, messengers, plain old human beings, carried them messages, often in memory. Their loyalty was depended upon, up to the point where they would willingly swallow poison before revealing troop movements and other military plans.

But with the advent of modern media: radio, telegraphs and such, the role of encryption became central. Messages could be transmitted between the planners and the executers of strategy, but unfortunately they could be intercepted by determined sweeping of the frequencies. Much of the encryption used during WW I was very rudimentary, and human messengers were still widely used.

But by WW II most of the information was broadcast. To this end the Germans developed the famous enigma engine, which was a mechanical code sorter. The Americans used all kinds of complex codes, including the famous windtalkers of the Pacific theater.

Researching this online you will find most information begins with WWII. Little gets said about the rudimentary efforts to encode transmissions during the first war.

Answer 3

Military and diplomatic messages were sent encrypted during wartime, and especially in World War One, in wireless (radio), and in telegraph wires and written messages.) This is, of course to protect the information from being read by the enemy.

The British had a group of cryptographers in the Admiralty (the famous "Room 40" )that devoted its total time to cracking the German codes and cyphers, so that they could know the intentions of the enemy and troop movements, diplomatic messages to other countries and their own embassies, etc.

Here is a great description of their work, and the importance of the breaking of German codes: Cut-and-Paste this URL into your computer's website search, and it will give you more info than you will need. (Part 4.0 deals with the First World War.)

http://www.vectorsite.net/ttcode_04.html.

Answer 4

Radio is all about frequencies, so it was very easy to tune in on the enemy like any radio station on your radio today. So, they had to encrypt what they were saying and give weird names to things so that the chances were heavily decreased that the enemy knew what their foes were talking about. I just know this from history classes.

Answer 5

Below

Answer 6

tsktsk...its easy to find the answers on the net...

your online, why dont u use the chance?
anyways.. heres a help..

www.answers.com/topic/technology-during-world-war-ii

members.aol.com/ethk/encryption.

Answer 7

It was so that the enemy wouldn't know what you were saying. If they had the information you were talking about it would jeopardize the troops and any present and future missions.

Answer 8

Next time don't wait until Sunday night to do your homework.

Here is a little help, but you have to read it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography

Answer 9

Do your own homework!.....It was important then as it is now.They had field phones and telegraph to trans their info.