Code Breaking History

You may wonder why some old letters or even new letters make absolutely no sense or don’t even spell words. The secret to reading them was a code key. Code breaking, the art of deciphering codes and letters, has been used for a long time. In fact, it has been traced back to the Navajo code talkers in the United States Marines in WWII. In this report I will break down different aspects of the art of code breaking. During World War II, a device was used called the German Enigma Machine

The Enigma machine was continuous, methodical electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines developed and used in the early- to mid-twentieth century to protect commercial, diplomatic and military communication. Enigma was invented by the German engineer Arthur Scherbius

The main task of Navajo Code Talkers was to transmit information and talk on troop movements, tactics, order, as well as all crucial battlefield information with the use of the native dialects over radios and telegraphs. The main reason behind the great value of this code was due to the fact that it had been established upon the native language and can never get broken. The Navajo language is a whole entirely different language to learn and has everything to do with the tone it is said in. It can be written one way and when said mean something completely different. Philip Johnston, a son of missionaries to the Navajos, was one of the only people who fluently spoke their language. Johnston was raised on the Navajo reservation, was a World War I veteran who knew of the military 's search for a code that would withstand all attempts to decipher it. Johnston also knew that Native American languages--notably Choctaw--had been used in World War I to encode messages. Johnston believed Navajo language was the military requirement for a code that was undecipherable because Navajo is an unwritten language of extreme complexity. Its syntax and tonal qualities, not to mention dialects, make it unintelligible to anyone without extensive exposure and training. The Navajo language has no alphabet or symbols, and is spoken only on the Navajo lands of the American Southwest. Currently, the Navajo language does have a written alphabet. Throughout WWII, the fight against Japan, the Code Talkers were such an integral part of the effort of the United States, being able to send coded messages back and forth. The marines (Navajo) were responsible for saving countless American lives however these marines were not able to tell anyone about it. These American servicemen deserved to be honored, as they were in the heat of the battle and seen the thick of the fight. Even years after the war, the Navajo code breakers were