NSA celebrates Armed Forces Week with a look at a U.S. Navy cryptologic achievement

During WWII, nearly 10,000 naval cryptologists deployed worldwide supporting every major campaign. The Battle of Midway in particular was pivotal:

• Due to the Navy's cryptologic endeavors, Admiral Nimitz knew that the Japanese attack on Midway would commence on 3 June. Armed with this crucial information, he was able to get his outgunned but determined force in position in time. On 4 June, the battled was finally joined. General George Marshall, the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, in his comments on the victory, perhaps said it best: “… as a result of Cryptanalysis we were able to concentrate our limited forces to meet their naval advance on Midway when we otherwise would have been 3,000 miles out of place.”