Randy Suits

The Polish Bombe that Shortened World War II

     Marion Rejewski

My sweetheart Ewa,

Your nation was the first to successfully break and interpret Enigma codes of the German military.  Enigma was thought impregnable as an enciphering machine by post World War 1 cryptographers. Cryptography ( procedures, processes, methods etc., for making and using secret writing as codes or cyphers to hide and keep secret military or political plans) has been used since the days of the Persian King Xerxes through the present time to obscure security sensitive information and national defense issues. The French, English and Americans of the late 1920’s emerged victors of World War 1 and paid little mind to the fact that political and military German radio messages had become more aggressive and threatening and impossible to decipher. French espionage had obtained instructions for Enigma operation and setting up message keys but French and British cryptanalysts used traditional methods in their attempt to decipher each intercepted message to no avail. Enigma was an electromagnetic device capable of enciphering messages at speeds beyond human capability. It was also unique in that the message key was changed each day at midnight. That meant that a new key had to be discovered to decrypt messages each day. The work force to perform this task was beyond fiscal afordability even if enough staff could be trained. Poland was situated between two formidable enemies. Germany lay to the west and Russia to the east. The Polish government established an intelligence group that, at first, was unable to break the Enigma code. However they were driven by the imperative to break the German code for national security. Polish Intelligence decided to try a mathematical approach. In 1932 a young team of mathematicians was put together; Jerzy Rozycki, Henryk Zygalski and Marian Rejewski. Rejewski noticed that Enigma had a weakness in cryptographic error of repeating the message key at the beginning of each message and he quickly proved that mathematical techniques could be used to solve the problem. In 1932 the Polish were given two sheets of monthly key settings that enabled Rejewski to deduce the internal wiring settings of three wheels of the Enigma machine. The Polish cryptographers produced a catalogue of wheel characteristics and devised a machine called a Cyclometer. Zygalski developed a grill method using perforated sheets to analyze the vast amount of information. Rejewski developed a Bombe machine to solve the double decipherment of each message setting. Two weeks before the German attack of Poland in September 1939, the Polish Intelligence shared their developments and findings with the British and French who were amazed that the Poles had successfully deciphered Enigma messages for 6 years. This information and new inventions of the Polish mathematicians gave the British a platform from which to build their own bombe at Bletchley Park to break German military codes and shorten the war. Using these techniques, Polish cryptographers successfully read 75% of all intercepted German messages using Enigma code in 1938. They provided England and France copies of the Enigma machine, Cyclometers, Bombas and Zygalski sheets. Their work by its nature required secrecy and credit for their work was not made public until 1967. Much of their work contributed to the development of the modern computer. Many lives were saved by shortening that great war and devastation. Jesus Christ said regarding the last days of devastation, “unless those days were shortened, no flesh should survive.” This contribution by  your country men is such an example.

Thanks be to God Most High for His work through Marion Rejewski, Kochany