ience explosive growth during the war. [173] These agencies would then go on to provide critical information during the war to provide information needed to combat the Axis.One of the most important needs for espionage was in the deciphering of the ENIGMA. [176] This was used to code and decode German messages sent and received between commanders and such. [176] It was very hard to decipher the ENIGMA because of the way it was set up. [176] What made it so difficult to decipher was the process by which a letter in an original message was transformed into a different one for the transmitted message. [176] The process involved, among other things, three motors in each machine that were chosen from a set of five. [176] Each of them had twenty-six settings, and a plugboard, which connected the keyboard letters to the lampboard letters. [176] For example the first time the L key was pressed a B might light up, but because the rotors turned further entries of L on the board would not produce another B but rather other letters. [176] US intelligence along with help from other countries was eventually able to make a duplicate machine that would help them in decoding messages. [177] Without help from espionage in this instance the US and their allies would be susceptible to unknown attacks and movements of armies without having a chance to prepare for it. Here to the use of American Espionage was evident in the fight against its oppressors. Without proper deciphering of messages the battles could have been altered for the side of the Axis.One particular instance in which the US used intelligence to gain an advantage when going to be attacked was the battle of Midway. The US intercepted an encrypted message from a Japanese Admiral and revealed the date in which the attacks were scheduled. [O’Toole, 388] Therefore the US was able to have a task force waiting for the Japanese when they arrived. [389] It was said that Midway marked the t...
