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Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2021

Daniel Larsen
Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
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Summary

In the early years of the Great War, as generals waged such visible carnage that claimed so many young lives, there was another side of the conflict, invisible not only to the public of the day but to history for more than a century. Immense copper cables traversing the Atlantic carried confidential messages destined for the American diplomatic outposts in the capitals of Europe – messages sent in the service of a noble goal: bringing the slaughter to a halt. Only a short walk from the residence of the US Ambassador in London, a nondescript building on Cork Street would house a secret team of British cryptanalysts. A year into the war, that team began working to solve US codes and soon was steadily deciphering American transmissions. As the codebreakers worked, an uneasy political truce hung over the city. Beneath the surface, tension seethed amongst government ministers and unelected military and naval officials, who possessed vastly differing views of how the war was to be won – or if it remained winnable at all.

Type
Chapter
Information
Plotting for Peace
American Peacemakers, British Codebreakers, and Britain at War, 1914–1917
, pp. 1 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Introduction
  • Daniel Larsen, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Plotting for Peace
  • Online publication: 26 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761833.003
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  • Introduction
  • Daniel Larsen, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Plotting for Peace
  • Online publication: 26 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761833.003
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Introduction
  • Daniel Larsen, University of Cambridge
  • Book: Plotting for Peace
  • Online publication: 26 March 2021
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108761833.003
Available formats
×