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The Scientists,
Spies, and Code Breakers of World War I
Taylor Downing
Pegasus
April 15, 2015 / ISBN 978-1-60598-694-4
History - World War I Europe
Reviewed
by Linda Morelli
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| Secret Warriors by English
author Taylor Downing describes the rarely written history
on how Great Britain defeated Germany by marshalling British
academic, intellectual, medical and scientific resources and
prowess that materially contributed to victory. These resources
provided the British armed forces with a technological edge
on the battlefield and foreshadowed a similar British strategy
in WWII.
In the centennial of the outbreak of WWI, Downing breaks away
from the traditional military and political narratives to
make a convincing argument how these intellectuals “helped
to fight a war that was won by scientific advantage…”
He describes in detail how the various scientific and other
disciplines made their way into the conduct of the war. This
development was nothing short of transformational for the
government, the military and society. WWI has been described
as the first large-scale brutal industrial war that caused
millions of deaths on both sides. Downing describes how Great
Britain responded to this challenge on the battlefield with
a number of ground breaking developments including: code breaking,
plastic surgery and other medical advances, building better
airplanes and tanks, using microphones on the battlefield
to detect artillery, airplane photo reconnaissance, and treating
shell-shocked troops (modern day PTSD). Going forward science
would play a pivotal role in the future conduct of war.
The other underlining thread in this narrative is how Great
Britain as a society changed as a result of the war. Much
has been written about the radical changes in continental
Europe with the collapse of empires, revolutions and creation
of new countries. Great Britain also underwent a quiet revolution
but with significant societal changes. As an example, millions
of women were mobilized for an unprecedented effort on the
home front to produce the necessary goods for the war effort.
This is a narrative worth reading.
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