He didn't do it by himself, but Alan Turing played a key role in breaking the German codes during WWII. Turing is recognized by many (although not all) as the Father of Artificial Intelligence. Among those who played a key role in breaking the Enigma code and the Lorenz code were a group of Polish mathematicians who had been spirited out of France? by the British so that the Germans would not capture them.
The British at Bletchley Park broke the codes used by the German encryption machine known as "Enigma".
Alan turing was a marathon runner who was also a mathematician. Tommy flowers was only a mathematician. they built a computer during WWII to crack the German codes.
Alan Turing. He broke the German enigma code machine around 1941.
The first computers developed by British intelligence at Bletchley Park were designed to break the German Enigma codes.
Hard codes are currently active (part is broke) codes.
Alan Turing was trained as a mathematician. During World War II, he worked for British Intelligence at Bletchley Park, where he specialized in cryptography (breaking secret codes). Using his expertise in mathematical logic, he developed an algorithm (a mathematical template) that was used to program a calculating machine to analyze German codes. The programming was successful and enabled the British to crack the German "Enigma" code; for several months the Allies had full access to German messages. Turing's work at Bletchley Park led directly to the development of the computer and modern research in artificial intelligence. Although Turing never claimed to be a philosopher, his work on the nature of intelligence and machine "thinking" is considered a substantial contribution to the philosophical discussion on these issues.
Colossus was the 1st electronic computer activity developed by the British to crack the LORENZ codes used by the German high command.
The US came to know about the Zimmerman telegram because of Britain. British spies had broken German codes, and discovered the telegram when it was sent. However, the British didn't want to immediately reveal it. There were two big reasons for this. First, the Germans were borrowing American telegraph cables; the British were secretly tapping those cables and spying on the US and Germany. Secondly, the British had broken German codes; they didn't want Germany to find out and change their codes. So the British engineered a complicated raid to make it look like they stole the telegram from a telegraph office in Mexico. This way, they would not upset the Americans nor would the Germans know that their codes were compromised. With the cover story in place, the British informed the US government about the telegram.
Tommy Flowers and Max Newman invented the Colossus computer. Its purpose was to help crack the German High Command's teletype codes that the British called "Fish".
During World War II, the Allies successfully broke several German codes, most notably the Enigma machine codes, which were used for secure military communications. The work of cryptanalysts at Bletchley Park, particularly by figures like Alan Turing, led to the decryption of Enigma messages. Additionally, the Allies also managed to break the Lorenz cipher, used for high-level communications. These breakthroughs significantly contributed to the Allied victory by providing critical intelligence on German operations.
No simple answer. Many books have been written about the subject. There were various codes (not just one) in use by the Germans in WW2. The Germans had different codes for the German Foreign Service, Military Intelligence, Navy, Army, Air Force, etc. Some were broken easily, until the Germans changed them. The British, French or Americans would crack them (entirely or a portion) for a short time until the next change. It was a process that never ended and continued the entire pre-war and war period. The most important German Code was code-named by the Allies: "Ultra". It was broken over a period of years. This is probably 'the code' that you have heard about. Google Ultrafor more details.
USA and UK