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. Armys 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.

John F. Dooley is the William and Marilyn Ingersoll Professor of Computer Science at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. Before returning to teaching in 2001, he spent more than 15 years in the software industry as a developer, designer, and manager working for companies such as Bell Telephone Laboratories, McDonnell Douglas, IBM, and Motorola. Since 2004 his main research interest has been in the history of American cryptology, particularly during the inter-war period. His previous publications include the Springer titles A Brief History of Cryptology and Cryptographic Algorithms and Software Development and Professional Practice.

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

Civilian Correspondence: Families and Love Letters

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