Without enigma

Cryptologia, Oct 2002 by Kruh, Louis

Macksey, Kenneth. Without Enigma: The Ultra and Fellgiebel Riddles. Ian Allan Publishing, Riverdene Business Park, Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey KT12 4RG UK. 2000. 160 pp. $29.22.

It was only in the 1970s that the British authorities acknowledged that during World War II they had broken the German Enigma cipher. Since then much of the analysis of the struggle against Nazi Germany has assumed that the British and their allies gained a vital advantage through their knowledge of German plans and often had advance warning of German activities.

For years perceptive researchers have felt that a counter-argument needed to be made, that perhaps undue emphasis had been placed on Allied code-breaking successes.

Macksey, one of Britain's foremost military historians, seeks to explore in depth the impact of Enigma on both sides during the course of the war. Based upon detailed analysis of the records along with well informed interpretation, the author describes a scenario in which the Germans became fully aware of the British breaking of the codes and reconstructs how the Germans would have responded. In part it included greater reliance on codebooks and the Geheimschreiber The story is also interwoven with the grossly underrated role of General Erich Fellgiebel, the German's head of Wehrmacht and Army Signal Services, in both the countermeasures and also the plot to assassinate Hitler.

Drawing upon his detailed knowledge of the period and interlacing it with carefully argued speculation, the author's narrative is a compelling counterargument to the prevailing myth of the importance of Enigma. Each chapter's footnotes, however, are listed in two segments: Deviations from History and Confirmatory footnotes. Macksey provides a realistic and logical scenario of what might have been, along with insights on Hitler's generals and the failed assassination attempt. It is an excellent, imaginative book you will enjoy reading.