WW1 by Janee ♠︎

(Inquiry Question)Cryptography

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 04:49:02 UTC

How did the advancement of cryptography in every country during WW1 affect the choices of other countries, the outcomes and consequences of the war and the cryptography we have today?

Supporting 3

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 04:53:26 UTC

How did the advancement of cryptography affect the cryptography we have today?

Supporting 1

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 04:55:35 UTC

How and when was cryptography used in WW1?

Supporting 2

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 04:56:51 UTC

How did the use of cryptography affect the decisions made in WW1 and the outcomes?

Secondary source 3

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:09:31 UTC

Advanced cryptography is now used in everyday life, even in things as simple as text messages where the message is set with a public key so that the receiver may be able to see it. Other cyphers may include time stamping, electronic money and secure network communications. During WW1, many newer versions of cryptography was developed like the one-time pad. The one-time pad is a crypt algorithm where plaintext is combined with a random key. Special Operation teams during WW2 and spies during the Cold War and more have used this cypher to protect diplomatic and military messages which benefited them greatly during the wars and affected the outcomes. Enigma, a complex cipher machine, was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius by the end off WW1. Many countries adopted the machine for military and government services in the 1920's. One of the most noticeable countries was Nazi Germany during WW2. Nowadays, Enigmas are used by all diplomatic services.

Secondary source 2

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:12:13 UTC

Russia:
Russia lost to the British for trade information in 1920 and was defeated by armies in WW1 because of the lack of good cipher skills. On the eastern font, the Russian's ciphers of communication were easily broken by the Germans. Therefore, knowing Russian intentions, the German forces were able to remove troops from certain defensive sectors and concentrate forces to attack and defeat separated parts of the Russian forces. Ect, Tennenberg and the Maurian Lakes. During the battle of Tannenberg, the Germans destruction of the Russian Second Army in 1914 intercepted Russia's invasion of East Prussia. The intention of Russia was to fulfill it's promise to France and divert German resources to relieve pressure on France.
France and Britain:
The French and British army code breakers worked out how to crack German ciphers from the period of mobile warfare up to the Battle of Marne. German armies used little wireless signalling in the tranches on the Western Front. This technology which helped the Germans were passed on to the code breakers in Room 40 where they were deciphered and all German naval wireless traffic was exposed. Therefore, knowing German wireless traffic, the French and British gained access of the knowledge of their departure, courses and activities at frequent intervals. The British also used their techniques to follow US diplomatic moves.
Germany:
Germany did make man gains during the war because of their cryptography and won many battles (ect. Battle of Tannenburg) because of it. However, though German codes were replaced with new versions some time into WW1, they still used the same Caesar cypher structure as before, the structure that was deciphered before by the British and was then easily broken again, giving the British army plain access to German plans. In 1914 when the British Royal Navy listened to the instructions on the German vessels, they gained information on when the German ship was leaving the harbor. Hence, they turned on the harbor lights at the same time, revealing the whole German Navy, leading to the Battle of Jutland.

primary source 1

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:13:48 UTC

The original Zimmerman telegram (coded)

“The History Guy.” Zimmerman Telegram: What Was The Zimmerman Telegram, and How Did It Affect World War One?, www.historyguy.com/zimmerman_telegram.htm.

secondary source 1

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:15:02 UTC

Russia
Solved (among others) German, Austrian and British codes.
France
The French were more prepared than any other nation involved in the war to decode German radiograms. At the beginning of the war, France had eight intercept stations
Britain
British Admiralty code breakers worked in Room 40 to break German codes and after deciphering, passing German plans to the war front.
Germany and Austria
Germany and Austria intercepted Russian radio traffic, German success at the Battle of Tannenburg was due to interception of messages between the Russian commanders in the clear.

The German Abhorchdienst , a code-breaking bureau composed mainly of mathematicians, was established in 1916.
US
The US Navy used the cryptographic code A-1. The US also started employing Indian code talkers in World War I, initially with members of the Cherokee and Choctaw tribes.

museum

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:24:19 UTC

Has a huge signature memorial sitting at the front of the museum

Inscription on the Liberty Memorial Tower in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A. “National World War I Museum and Memorial.” National World War I Museum and Memorial, www.theworldwar.org/.

Is built within a medieval castle, it's displays corresponding to it's surroundings

“Péronne, Historial De La Grande Guerre.” Somme.fr, 1 July 2017, www.somme-battlefields.com/memory-place/peronne-historial-museum-great-war.

The family that owned the museum had collected and scavenged artifacts from the war that had fallen onto their fields and opened this museum to display them.

“Jean and Denise Letaille Museum Bullecourt 1917.” Official Website for Tourism in France, 1 July 2013, au.france.fr/en/discover/jean-and-denise-letaille-museum-bullecourt-1917.

Journal Entry 2

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:27:03 UTC

(Thursday, 28th November)
I've focused on the cryptography of the countries that play the biggest roles in WW1. I've researched how cryptography has benefited and caused destruction on armies of all of these countries and how the outcomes have changed because of deciphering. A countries coding skills is crucial to how strong the country is in the war. I searched up three different types of museums which are different and unique in the way they present their artifacts and am thinking of a more creative way to represent mine. Cryptography is such a wide topic and one of the difficulties that came up during my research was narrowing down the cryptography nowadays to see which were used or invented during WW1 and analyzing the chain of events that leads to the cipher technology we have today. However, today was a rather productive day where I got what I wanted to do done.

Journal Entry 1

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:28:11 UTC

(Friday, 24th November)
I believe that cryptography is significant to the war because it is the bases of secret communication between countries where they exchange ideas and plans not to be known by other countries. Take the Zimmerman telegram for example, the Russians tried to communicate with the Mexicans to negotiate an alliance, however intercepted by the Americans, infuriating them and therefore becoming one of the main reasons why the American joined the war which was one of the biggest turning points in WW1 and one of the main deciding aspects of the outcome of the war, therefore leading to the Treaty of Versailles, the 14 points and the League of Nations, deciding the alliances of WWII, also affecting the outcomes of WWII.

Journal Entry (Also my artistic statement and explanation for my artifact)

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:28:42 UTC

(Wednesday, 6th December)
Today is the second last day we have in class to work on our artifact. I will be basing my art on this piece but I will be tinkering it so that it leans more towards what I want to express and adding details that will emphasize my topic. The cryptography script that I have added onto the left hand in the picture represents how the Germans tried to use cryptography to align with Mexico. I've also added a pair of eyes (with cryptography script on the pupil and the American flag around it) watching over the whole picture, implying how the Americans intercepted the telegram which became a major motivation for the Americans to join the war. The piece indicates how cryptography completely flipped the outcomes of WW1. If the Americans didn't have such advance skills and if the Germans had better cipher techniques then the Americans may have chosen to stay out of the war. Therefore there could have been a high possibility that the Germans could have won WW1 which could have (chain of events) affected WW2 and everything that happened since. I will touch up my piece during the class on Friday and finish my verifications of other peoples projects.

Placard

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-11-24 05:30:18 UTC

Cryptography during WW1 is significant because it plays the role of a deciding aspect in the outcomes of WW1, the chain of events that happen afterwards and has immense affect on the coding that we have nowadays. Without cryptography, the world could be very different as to what it is today. Cryptography was used between different military armies and spies during the war, a source of secret communication used to develop alliance plans that can travel right under the noses of their enemies, saving much time and effort. However, poor cryptography skills have caused many problems for countries during WW1 that impacted our world, everyone, more than we may notice. In 1920, if the Russians had better cipher skills and were not defeated by the Germans in the Battle of Tannenberg, East Prussia might have been successfully invaded and the Germans may not have pillaged into France. If the Germans had not let their wireless traffic be deciphered by the British, the Battle of Jutland may not have happened. In addition, the course of WW1 may not have been changed if the battle had not caused the British economic blockade and strangle the German war effort. The most significant was the example of the Zimmerman telegram which due to poor German cryptography skills on the telegram they sent to the Mexicans to ask for alliance and in return giving them Texas, triggered the Americans into joining the war that completely unbalanced the opposing war forces and ended the war. My artifact shows the complete event of the Zimmerman telegram through a recreation of a WW1 cartoon which I have added elements to to reiterate the significance of cryptography in the event and the war. The cryptography script that I have added onto the left hand in the picture represents how the Germans tried to use cryptography to align with Mexico. I've also added a pair of angry eyes (with cryptography script on the pupil and the American flag around it) watching over the whole picture, implying how the Americans intercepted the telegram and was angered by the German actions. Hence, deciding to join the war. Cryptography during WW1 did not only have affect during the war, but the technology of ciphers, like the one-time pad and the enigma developed at that time in history has helped advance the ciphers we have today that are still used between political leaders around the world, even in emails and twitter, to communicate with each other and political secretaries and alliance forces.

Verification (evidence under the placard)

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-05 02:24:57 UTC

- Nadine
-Tate

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-05 02:28:25 UTC

“Zimmermann Telegram Facts.” Zimmermann Telegram: WW1 History for Kids ***, www.american-historama.org/1913-1928-ww1-prohibition-era/zimmermann-telegram-facts.htm.

The 1917 Zimmermann telegram cartoon by Clifford K. Berryman depicts Germany carving up the United States of America.

Itinerary

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-05 02:30:38 UTC

11/30- answer supporting questions
12/4- research information
12/6- organize information
12/8- finalize artifact

How is my project unique?

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-05 02:32:32 UTC

My projects is unique because I've considered all stages of the significance of cryptography (when, how and it's affect on ciphers today) and also because my artifact isn't just a picture showing that one moment in history, but because I've combined different elements into the art, the piece of art tells the whole story/event of the Zimmerman telegram and implies the outcome of the event.

Work sited

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-05 02:43:08 UTC

Secondary source 1 

“Three Classical Ciphers From Russkaya Kriptologia Historica (OTP Conclusion).” UND: University of North Dakota, www.und.nodak.edu/org/crypto/crypto/lanaki.crypt.class/docs/russian/russ4.kript.

Secondary source 2 

“Battle of Dannenberg, 1914.” First World War.com - Battles - The Battle of Tannenberg, 1914, www.firstworldwar.com/battles/tannenberg.htm.

“Cryptography in Everyday Life.” Cryptography in Everyday Life, www.laits.utexas.edu/~anorman/BUS.FOR/course.mat/SSim/life.html.

History.com Staff. “Battle of Jutland.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 2009, www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/battle-of-jutland.

Secondary source 3

“Cracking the Code.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 30 Dec. 2016, www.cia.gov/news-information/featured-story-archive/2007-featured-story-archive/cracking-the-code.html.

Primary source 2

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-05 03:07:41 UTC

The original Zimmerman telegram (decoded)

The History Guy.” Zimmerman Telegram: What Was The Zimmerman Telegram, and How Did It Affect World War One?, www.historyguy.com/zimmerman_telegram.htm.

Primary source 3

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-08 01:38:18 UTC

(The cartoon inside of this link is the primary source.)

“Zimmermann Telegram Facts.” Zimmermann Telegram: WW1 History for Kids ***, www.american-historama.org/1913-1928-ww1-prohibition-era/zimmermann-telegram-facts.htm.

Final Product

sarafinejane_chen — 2017-12-12 00:21:49 UTC