![]() ![]() For example, George Washington led a group of spies who communicated with codes during the Revolutionary War. People have been sending and breaking secret messages for centuries. Their hardwon efforts were key to winning the war. Army and Navy, making up more than half the U.S. ![]() ![]() According to the book Code Girls by Liza Mundy, more than 10,000 women would serve for the U.S. And women, including Ann White, rose to the task. Deciphering, or breaking, these codes let the Allies listen in on their enemies’ plans and learn about battles before they even happened.Īs the United States prepared to send men into the war, the country needed people to help with codebreaking. Many countries developed codes to send secret messages about things like upcoming battles or troop movements. The United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, after the Japanese bombed the Pearl Harbor Naval Base on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Tensions were still high following the end of World War I in 1918, and Hitler's invasion of Poland and other European countries led to a conflict that spread around the world.Ĭountries generally split into sides: the Axis powers (whose major players included Germany, Italy, and Japan) and the Allies (which included Britain, France, Russia, China, and the United States). Just two years before, Germany-ruled by the Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler-had invaded Poland, marking the start of World War II. If the answer to the first was yes and the second no, the women were offered the chance to train for a secret career: breaking codes for the United States Army or Navy. These same two questions were asked of women across the United States. White, who was studying German at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, soon discovered that the professor had just two questions: Do you like crossword puzzles? And, are you engaged to be married? One chilly afternoon in November 1941, Ann White found an odd letter in her mailbox from an astronomy professor who wanted to meet. ![]()
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