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''Cadix'' was a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
clandestine
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can be des ...
center at
Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon and south-east of Alès. History Originally ''Uc ...
, in southern
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, from September 1940 to 9 November 1942. During this period southern France was under the control of
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...
and not occupied by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. At ''Cadix'', the predominantly
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
team of
cryptanalysts Cryptanalysis (from the Greek ''kryptós'', "hidden", and ''analýein'', "to analyze") refers to the process of analyzing information systems in order to understand hidden aspects of the systems. Cryptanalysis is used to breach cryptographic s ...
who had previously worked at ''
PC Bruno ''PC Bruno'' was a Polish–French–Spanish signals–intelligence station near Paris during World War II, from October 1939 until June 1940. Its function was decryption of cipher messages, most notably German messages enciphered on the Enigma ...
'' was reassembled, and worked against German and other
Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis * Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinat ...
ciphers, including the German Enigma machine cipher. ''Cadix'' shut down when Germany occupied southern France.


History

After the German conquest of Poland in 1939, key personnel of the Polish Cipher Bureau escaped to France. Major
Gustave Bertrand Gustave Bertrand (1896–1976) was a French military intelligence officer who made a vital contribution to the decryption, by Poland's Cipher Bureau, of German Enigma ciphers, beginning in December 1932. This achievement would in turn lead to ...
of French intelligence established ''
PC Bruno ''PC Bruno'' was a Polish–French–Spanish signals–intelligence station near Paris during World War II, from October 1939 until June 1940. Its function was decryption of cipher messages, most notably German messages enciphered on the Enigma ...
'', where the Poles worked, via teletype line, with British cryptologists at Bletchley Park to break Enigma. During the
German invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...
, ''PC Bruno'' had to be evacuated. On 22 June 1940, France signed an armistice with Germany. Two days later, Major Bertrand flew the essential personnel of ''PC Bruno'' to French-controlled
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
. Bertrand remained an officer of the official French intelligence service, nominally controlled by "
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its te ...
", the quasi-collaborationist regime headed by Marshal Pétain. But Bertrand and the service retained substantial independence. In September 1940, Bertrand secretly returned the ''PC Bruno'' staff to the unoccupied area of southern France. At the Château des Fouzes, near
Uzès Uzès (; ) is a commune in the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2017, it had a population of 8,454. Uzès lies about north-northeast of Nîmes, west of Avignon and south-east of Alès. History Originally ''Uc ...
, they formed a new intelligence center
codename A code name, call sign or cryptonym is a code word or name used, sometimes clandestinely, to refer to another name, word, project, or person. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage. They may also be used in industrial c ...
d ''Cadix''. (''Cadix'' was apparently derived from the French name for the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
city of
Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...
.) There they resumed work against Axis ciphers. The staff at ''Cadix'' comprised 15 Poles, 9 Frenchmen, and 7 Spaniards (the latter worked on
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
and Spanish ciphers). One unusual task came in July 1941. The Polish Cipher Bureau chiefs asked Polish analysts Marian Rejewski and
Henryk Zygalski Henryk Zygalski (; 15 July 1908 – 30 August 1978) was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who worked at breaking German Enigma ciphers before and during World War II. Life Zygalski was born on 15 July 1908 in Posen, German Empire (now Pozn ...
to test the security of the Polish ''
Lacida The Lacida, also called LCD, was a Polish rotor cipher machine. It was designed and produced before World War II by Poland's Cipher Bureau for prospective wartime use by Polish military higher commands. History The machine's name derived from ...
'' (or ''LCD'') rotor cipher machine. The device had evidently never been subjected to rigorous testing before being approved for production and wartime use. To the consternation of the Cipher Bureau chiefs, the two mathematicians made short work of the ''Lacida''. ''Cadix'' had a branch office in Algeria, directed by
Maksymilian Ciężki Maksymilian Ciężki (; Samter, Province of Posen (now Szamotuły, Poland), 24 November 1898 – 9 November 1951 in London, England) was the head of the Polish Cipher Bureau's German section (''BS–4'') in the 1930s, during which time— ...
, which periodically exchanged staff with Uzès. When the passenger ship ''Lamoricière'' mysteriously sank on 9 January 1942, several ''Cadix'' staff sailing to France in one of these exchanges were lost. Those lost included
Jerzy Różycki Jerzy Witold Różycki (; Vilshana, Ukraine, 24 July 1909 – 9 January 1942, Mediterranean Sea, near the Balearic Islands) was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who worked at breaking German Enigma-machine ciphers before and during World ...
, one of the Cipher Bureau's three mathematician-cryptologists, Piotr Smoleński and Jan Graliński of the prewar Cipher Bureau's Russian section, and Captain François Lane, a French officer accompanying the three Poles. On 8 November 1942, Allied forces landed in French North Africa. When the French authorities there submitted to the Allies and broke with Vichy France, Germany occupied southern France. Major Bertrand, anticipating this outcome, evacuated ''Cadix'' on 9 November, two days before the German forces moved. The ''Cadix'' staff dispersed, attempting to reach Allied territory. Rejewski and Zygalski eventually crossed into Spain, where they were arrested and imprisoned. Released after
Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...
intercessions, they went to Britain. There they were employed by
British intelligence The Government of the United Kingdom maintains intelligence agencies within three government departments, the Foreign Office, the Home Office and the Ministry of Defence. These agencies are responsible for collecting and analysing foreign and d ...
until the war's end, against German SS "hand" ciphers. ''Cadixs Polish military chiefs, Gwido Langer and
Maksymilian Ciężki Maksymilian Ciężki (; Samter, Province of Posen (now Szamotuły, Poland), 24 November 1898 – 9 November 1951 in London, England) was the head of the Polish Cipher Bureau's German section (''BS–4'') in the 1930s, during which time— ...
, were captured by the Germans as they tried to cross from France into Spain on the night of 10–11 March 1943. Three other Poles were captured with them,
Antoni Palluth Antoni Palluth (11 May 1900, Pobiedziska, Province of Posen – 18 April 1944) was a founder of the AVA Radio Company. The company built communications equipment for the Polish military; the work included not only radios but also cryptographic ...
,
Edward Fokczyński Edward Fokczyński was one of the four directors of the AVA Radio Company, an electronics firm established in Warsaw, Poland, in 1929. AVA produced radio equipment for the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau, which was responsible for the radio ...
, and Kazimierz Gaca. Langer and Ciężki became prisoners of war. The other three men were sent as slave labor to Germany, where Palluth and Fokczyński perished. All five men protected the secret of Allied decryption of the Enigma cipher.Kozaczuk, ''Enigma'', 1984, p. 156.


See also

* Cipher Bureau *
Saxon Palace The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
*
Kabaty Woods The Stefan Starzyński Kabaty Woods Nature Reserve ( pl, Rezerwat przyrody Las Kabacki im. Stefana Starzyńskiego) is a woodland park located in southern Warsaw, between two major arteries, Puławska Street, Warsaw, Puławska and Łukasz Drewny ...
*
PC Bruno ''PC Bruno'' was a Polish–French–Spanish signals–intelligence station near Paris during World War II, from October 1939 until June 1940. Its function was decryption of cipher messages, most notably German messages enciphered on the Enigma ...
* Enigma cipher *
Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...
*
Jerzy Różycki Jerzy Witold Różycki (; Vilshana, Ukraine, 24 July 1909 – 9 January 1942, Mediterranean Sea, near the Balearic Islands) was a Polish mathematician and cryptologist who worked at breaking German Enigma-machine ciphers before and during World ...


Notes


References

* Bertrand, Gustave, ''Enigma ou la plus grande énigme de la guerre 1939–1945'' ("Enigma: the Greatest Enigma of the War of 1939–1945"), Paris, Librairie Plon, 1973. * Kozaczuk, Władysław, ''Enigma: How the German Machine Cipher Was Broken, and How It Was Read by the Allies in World War Two'', edited and translated by
Christopher Kasparek Christopher Kasparek (born 1945) is a Scottish-born writer of Polish descent who has translated works by numerous authors, including Ignacy Krasicki, Bolesław Prus, Florian Znaniecki, Władysław Tatarkiewicz, Marian Rejewski, and Władysław ...
, Frederick, MD, University Publications of America, 1984, .


Staff photo

{{coord, 44.0216, N, 4.4341, E, source:wikidata, display=title Cipher Bureau (Poland) Enigma machine Vichy France