Breaking the Enigma code with the Turing-Welchman Bombe (Step-by-step example)

The Enigma was the most widely used German cipher machine during the Second World War. Although there were more modern and more secure encryption machines, t...

Jens Puhle9.0K views36:59

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The Enigma was the most widely used German cipher machine during the Second World War. Although there were more modern and more secure encryption machines, the Enigma was quite light and transportable and was therefore suitable for use in the field. From around 1940, the British around Alan Turing at Bletchley Park succeeded in breaking the Enigma code almost daily. However, this was not a one-off operation, but had to be carried out day after day, as the key was changed daily. In the video, I show step by step how the code-breaking was carried out and what had to be done. Above all, I also show how the Turing-Welchman Bombe was configured, what kind of output it delivered and how the further code-breaking took place. I use the following two simulations from VirtualColossus.co.uk: https://bombe.virtualcolossus.co.uk/ for the Turing-Welchman Bombe https://enigma.virtualcolossus.co.uk/ for the Enigma 0:00 Introduction 0:07 Description of the Enigma 0:23 Rotors and reflector 1:45 The plug board 2:29 Secret table with day keys 2:36 An example with two messages 3:05 Configuration of the day key in the Enigma 3:09 The rotor order 3:34 The ring positions 4:05 Plug connections on the plug board 4:39 Sending the first message (nautical weather report) 6:14 Sending the second message (strictly confidential) 6:48 The British perspective 6:59 Bletchley Park 7:18 Plaintext attack with Crib 8:28 Encryption in detail 10:08 Breaking the code from a British perspective 11:38 Breaking the plugboard by Alan Turing 13:14 The menu in the theoretical example 14:46 The Turing-Welchman bombe in action 15:18 Optimising the bombe menu 16:01 Inserting the rotors in the Turing-Welchman bombe 16:50 Menu settings on the rotors 17:33 The backside of the Turing-Welchman bombe 18:39 Wiring the bombe according to the menu 18:46 Bridge connectors 19:43 Wiring the input letter 20:55 The side switches and outputs 21:30 Output area for the found plug partner 21:39 Switching on the bombe 22:14 View into the electromechanical machine 22:58 The bombe delivers a result 23:16 Offsets of the bombe rotors 23:42 Result output of the plug partner 23:55 The checking machine (result check and determining the plug partners) 27:11 Analysing the ring positions and finding the last plug partner 28:16 Finding the right ring position 30:49 Finding the missing last connector pair 31:49 Decrypting the first message 33:32 Determining the left and centre ring positions 35:17 The day key is completely broken 35:52 Decrypting the second message

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36:59

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Published
May 1, 2025

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