How should the contribution of codebreaking and its leading figures be assessed in the world wars?
Short answerCodebreaking supplied valuable information, but traffic analysis often produced the broader, more actionable picture and deserves more attention.
NotesTraffic analysis deserves a larger place in accounts of wartime intelligence. Breaking a cipher gives access to message contents and can yield valuable insights. Studying signals traffic supplies much of the actionable information and a wider strategic picture. The people doing that analytical work receive less recognition than the celebrated codebreakers.