Spying and Security

Spying and Security — page 1
SPYING AND SECURITY Introduction World War II was fought on fronts far from the battlefield Civilians prepared to face bombing and its aftermath Secret agents gathered information in the shadows Codebreakers puzzled over enemy ciphers National security during wartime can be defined as including anything that helps protect the state and its citizens That includes protection from both physical attack invasion sabotage or bombing and from attacks that threaten morale or political stability or espionage attempts to learn information that can benefit the enemy Threat from the Air World War II was the first major conflict in which civilian populations came under bombardment from enemy aircraft on a large scale Cities in Britain Germany and later in the war Japan were targeted by raids that involved hundreds of bombers Military planners believed that it was virtually impossible to prevent bombing raids so they planned instead to deal with their effects That involved providing shelters for civilians and firefighting medical and rescue teams These often relied on volunteers who also took responsibility for organizing public health services and even day-care for children Gaining Information Modern warfare depends on information Knowledge of the enemy’s military plans is only one part of the overall picture An understanding of 4 public opinion might reveal low morale that can be exploited Forewarning about the movements of leading personalities might offer a chance for assassination Gossip about a change in working hours or machines in a factory might give clues about an enemy’s change in weaponry or tactics and enable fighting forces to defend themselves against new threats Nations worked hard to limit the information that might reach the enemy They also used espionage themselves Spying took great courage it was usually punished with death but many secret agents went behind enemy lines to learn information or to perform acts of sabotage Code War Military communications were routinely sent in code form by all sides in order to prevent the enemy from reading them Throughout the military conflict a parallel struggle was fought between code setters and code breakers As on the battlefield the contest had both spectacular victories and tragic defeats failures Posters like this image of a drowning Y U S sailor reinforced the link between the home front and the front line the message was that everyone was equally responsible for national security