Codes, Ciphers and Spies Tales of Military Intelligence in World War I

When the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917, it was woefully unprepared to wage a modern war. Whereas their European counterparts already had three years of experience in using code and cipher systems in the war, American cryptologists had to help in the building of a military intelligence unit from scratch. This book relates the personal experiences of one such character, providing a uniquely American perspective on the Great War. It is a story of spies, coded letters, plots to blow up ships and munitions plants, secret inks, arms smuggling, treason, and desperate battlefield messages. Yet it all begins with a college English professor and Chaucer scholar named John Mathews Manly.

In 1927, John Manly wrote a series of articles on his service in the Code and Cipher Section (MI-8) of the U.S. Army’s Military Intelligence Division (MID) during World War I. Published here for the first time, enhanced with references and annotations for additional context, these articles form the basis of an exciting exploration of American military intelligence and counter-espionage in 1917-1918. Illustrating the thoughts of prisoners of war, draftees, German spies, and ordinary Americans with secrets to hide, the messages deciphered by Manly provide a fascinating insight into the state of mind of a nation at war.

An Introduction and a Few Words on Codes and Ciphers

PART I: The AEF

The Americans Embark: Getting to France 1917 – 1918

Introduction to Communications, Codes, and Ciphers in the AEF

The AEF and Colonel Moorman

Cryptology at the Front

The AEF: Breaking Codes and Ciphers

The AEF: German Codes and Ciphers

The AEF Fights: 1918

PART II: MI-8 and the Home Front

MI-8 and Civilian Messages

Civilian Correspondence: Foreign Letters and Hoaxes

Civilian Correspondence: Prisoners and Spies

PART III: German Spies in America, 1914 – 1918

Spies Among Us: The New York Cell, 1914 – 1915

Spies Among Us: Baltimore, Germs, Black Tom, and Kingsland, 1916 – 1917

The Waberski Cipher: A Spy is Condemned

Madame Victorica Arrives in New York

Madame Victorica and German Agents in the U.S.

More German Spies

Madame Victorica and Invisible Inks

Madame Victorica – Captured!

Part IV: Epilogue

Epilogue