"Lead" book from the cruiser "Magdeburg"

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"Lead" book from the cruiser "Magdeburg"


In Soviet times, Russia's participation in the First World War was presented exclusively as an endless series of battles lost by the mediocre tsarist generals. There were defeats, but besides them there were victories, and not only on the military front. Until Russia’s exit from the war, the Russian General Staff read the secret messages of the German forces. Hacking the enemy's secret cipher is a success that any intelligence of the world can be proud of.



The bold operation of the German Navy

21 August 1914 of the year in the strictest secrecy in the Gulf of Finland entered a detachment of ships of the German Navy. Two cruisers ("Magdeburg" and "Augsburg"), two destroyers and a submarine attached to the detachment were to suddenly attack the Russian ships in the bay and fire at a number of military installations on the coast.

The operation was defiant. However, with insufficient training, audacity turns into nonsense. In the evening of August 25 in the fog, the cruisers lost each other, and in 0: 37 "Magdeburg" at 15 speed knocked on stones right in front of Fr. Odenholm, where the Russian observation post was located.

“There is nothing better in Russia than Shustov brandy!”

"Magdeburg" fought like a fish caught on a hook: backed up, shells, anchor chains and even armor doors of gun turrets flew overboard, but the cruiser sat down on a stone fang firmly.

The “performance” was followed with interest by the Russian sailors from the observation post. They could not remain indifferent to the sufferings of the German cruiser and summoned Russian warships to "help" the Magdeburg. In the meantime, the “help” did not come up, not resisting the temptation to shoot at the Germans, opened fire on the cruiser (!) From the machine gun at the post.

Magdeburg appealed for help on the air. But the Russian radio operator scored the “SOS!” Cruiser, endlessly tapping the Morozian advertising slogan from the Niva magazine before him: “There is nothing in Russia better than Shustov brandy!” It was the very first radio commercial in the world.

In the morning, 7, Megdeburg captain Habenicht, having lost hope of salvation, ordered to burn secret documents and prepare the ship for demolition. When two Russian cruisers and a destroyer appeared on the horizon, he gave the order to set fire to the wicks of the mine cellars. The blast tore the front of the cruiser on the foremast.

The find of Lieutenant Hamilton

The Russian whaleboat approached the mutilated cruiser sitting on the stones. Lieutenant Hamilton at the head of the armed detachment boarded the "Magdeburg", arrested the captain and the sailors who were on it, lowered the German one and raised the St. Andrew's flag.

Wandering around the deck littered with things, he noticed ... a book of German signal codes fleet! Oh, he, the officer, did not know the value of this find! This is the "key" with which you can open secret ciphers.

Where did the signal books come from on deck? In the event of the threat of a ship being seized, they are subject to mandatory burning, in the extreme case - drowning; for this, lead plates are inserted into their bindings, which is why the seamen call them "lead books" among themselves. Apparently, the water poured into the cruiser’s holds after the explosion flooded the ship’s fireboxes, so the book was carried upstairs to be thrown overboard. And then - the appearance of Russian ships, panic ...

Trying not to attract the attention of German sailors who were standing nearby, Lieutenant, it seems like they had to forge a book with their foot. Whistling, he finished it to the side and the last kick sent to the deck of the whaleboat standing below.

A telegram about an important find flew to the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet. And on August 29 the second telegram arrived: during the inspection of the submarine part of the cruiser, the divers found the body of a German junior officer.

With his ossified hands, the drowned man pressed a lead book of signal codes to his chest. Until the last minute, he remained loyal to the oath and did not let go of the secrets of the German Navy entrusted to him.
Not one, but two signal books at once came into the hands of Russian sailors! Now the most important thing is to correctly use the gift of “Magdeburg”, to keep the fact of detecting “lead books” secret from the enemy, so that the codes are not replaced.

Cover operation

In the case entered the Russian intelligence. The commander of the detachment of divers who worked on the "Magdeburg", the order for the connection was announced ... a penalty for negligent work, which did not give any results.

All references to the detection of signal books from documents of the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet were removed. Admiral Essen reported to his immediate superior, the commander of a separate 6 army, Fan der Fleit orally about the miraculous find.

The sailors from the “Magdeburg” were sent to the camp of prisoners of war in Khabarovsk, from where there were no chances to get to their native fatlandland, even if you ran away from the camp.

In the town of Shlisselburg, on the rights of an honorable prisoner (in the first days of the war a certain “knighthood” was still observed), a “captain of the Magdeburg” appeared, to which German intelligence immediately approached. She was very interested in the fate of the “lead books”. “Captain Habenicht” conveyed the message that both copies were burned in the boiler number XXUMX of the cruiser. To check in the area of. Odenholm was sent a German submarine.

On a dark night, a German submarine secretly approached the remains of the Magdeburg, still protruding opposite the Russian observation post, and German intelligence officers landed on the long-suffering cruiser.

At the observation post about. Odenholm

- Can it be a palmate, mister lieutenant? - A young sailor looked at the German cruisers scurrying around the deck of the cruiser through the scope of his machine gun.
- quit.
“I’m telling the way,” the mine conductor Vakhromeev brought a huge fist to the sailor’s nose, “you are ordered not to see, so you don’t see!”
In the boiler number XXUMX, German officers found charred skin and molten lead. "Invisible" German submarine went back.


Now it was necessary to open a secret room with the help of the “golden key”, where the secrets of the German navy were kept. The commander of the group, which was to solve this problem, was appointed by art. Lt. Ivan Rengarten, inventor of the direction finder and creator of the Russian radio intercept service.

Fetterlein and his "Black Cabinet"

As early as the spring of 1914, several houses and several high masts with wire stretched between them appeared at Cape Shpitgamn at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland. It was a secret object "Gendarm" - the center of Russian radio espionage. Ernst Futterlane, the decoder of the Russian Empire No. XXUMX and six people selected by him, were delivered here in the first days of September. On the “Gendarme” the seven were respectfully called the “Black Cabinet”.

Within a few weeks, Futterlane and his assistants analyzed hundreds of intercepted radiograms, looking for bits of patterns, comparing them with data from the “lead book.” The golden key inserted into the lock made a turn, then another ...

At three o'clock in the morning, Fetterlane went to the duty officer of the liaison officer and demanded that he be immediately connected to Rengarten. “The key to your apartment is ready. You can take it, ”he said the conditional phrase. There was a sigh of relief at the other end of the wire.

"Fetterleyn key"

In just a month, Russian decoders did not just crack the German secret code and uncover the algorithm for changing it. From August 1914, every day at exactly midnight, the punctual Germans changed the cipher, but an hour later the decoded German radiograms were on the table of the commander of the Baltic Fleet.

During the war, the Germans completely changed the secret code several times. However, the method of approach to the creation of new ciphers remained the same, and therefore each new code was opened by Russian decoders. In March 1916, the Germans even introduced a new signal book, but less than three weeks later, this smart lock was opened with the help of the “Fetterlane key”.

Movement of the enemy, his plans, possible dangers - the Russian fleet was always ready to parry the blow.

Unfortunately, the fate of the First World War was decided for the Russian Empire not on the open sea. Out of world war, Russia emerged in 1918, sadly, as a losing power. However, this does not mean that against the background of defeat, we must forget about the victories that were.

Klim podkova
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    1. +14
      9 September 2017 06: 41
      ETERNAL GLORY TO THE DEFENDERS OF THE FATHERLAND,
      The PMV in the Soviet Union was not hushed up and there were many publications about it, of course, without * Kozma * with his healous deeds. WWII HEROES were also among the SOVIET RED ARMY commanders, who were proud of awards for defending the Fatherland. THE RED ARMY was created and led by officers of the tsarist army - PATRIOTS OF RUSSIA. All of them were participants in the WWII.
      1. The comment was deleted.
        1. +7
          9 September 2017 10: 02
          Quote: ALEXEY VLADIMIROVICH
          WWII 1941-45

          For absolutely non-Russian in spirit and meaning, it is written as you have. For Russian and not only in Russia and the post-Soviet republics, the Great Patriotic War.
          Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a meeting of the organizing committee for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, spoke about the preparations for the festive events, stressed the importance of responding to all kinds of speculation and attempts to rewrite the history of the Second World War, and recalled veterans who "need constant and daily care. "

          “Sometimes the language really doesn’t turn around to retell all these shameless conclusions, so-called observations that have nothing to do with the truth. Their goal is understandable - to sharpen the strength and moral authority of modern Russia, to deprive it of the status of a winning country with all the international legal consequences, divide and quarrel peoples, use historical speculation in geopolitical games. The rejection of Nazism in our genes and in our blood, "the words of the president of RIA" Novosti "convey.

          More details: http://www.newsru.com/russia/17mar2015/putinvoina
          .html
          1. The comment was deleted.
            1. +8
              9 September 2017 11: 54
              Quote: ALEXEY VLADIMIROVICH
              War 1941-45 part of World War II

              Mr. Russophobe, I, your opinion of an absolute expat and pro-Westerner, does not care at all.
              No matter how you put on your clothes, supposedly “Russian,” an absolutely foreign, mental and other smell emanates from you.
              1. The comment was deleted.
                1. +5
                  9 September 2017 16: 28
                  Quote: ALEXEY VLADIMIROVICH
                  You then, "sovetsky", what do you have to do with the Russians?

                  Direct and immediate. In isolation from you. Expatriates. It’s not me, but you, that’s just a pro-Western, anti-Russian, anti-Russian and anti-Soviet thought about the events of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Why is the anti-Soviet certainly and necessarily Russophobe? Knowing that the USSR appeared as a result of the choice of the people, who supported most of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War, that Russia achieved its greatest greatness and success precisely in the era of the USSR, and that the people desperately defended this USSR during the Great Patriotic War - any anti-Soviet rule automatically hits to the Russian people who made such a choice and waged such a struggle.
                2. +3
                  9 September 2017 20: 03
                  Quote: ALEXEY VLADIMIROVICH
                  You then, "sovetsky", what do you have to do with the Russians? N

                  Yes, this "comrade" has nothing to do with the Russians. He himself admitted that he came from the aul smile Hence the proletarian zeal.
    2. +10
      9 September 2017 07: 17
      In Soviet times, Russia's participation in the First World War was presented exclusively as an endless series of battles lost by mediocre tsarist generals.
      .... It’s not true how you write Klim, it’s exclusive, it’s not so ... I wouldn’t completely say it, it’s not finished .. For example, about the episode of the WWII that you are talking about, I learned from the newspaper Nedelya in Soviet times ... I kept the cutting for a long time .. But in the new daylight, I learned that the Great Patriotic War was won due to the fact that they filled up the corpses and there were only penal battalions at the front, and behind them detachments ..
    3. +6
      9 September 2017 07: 21
      It was the first radio advertisement in the world.
      That's when it became clear that ADVERTISING is ... ADVERTISING.
      With this story of finding cipher and signal books, Russian specialists were rehabilitated after the shame of the rout of our armies in East Prussia, where their actions were NOT AT THE HEIGHT.
    4. +9
      9 September 2017 08: 33
      A good article, just the words that no one knew anything in the USSR — are superfluous, this and almost all the events of the First World War were described and investigated in detail by military historians, theorists, published in the Military History Journal, Maritime Digest, and so on, came out in the open press, in the Military Publishing House, and in other publishing houses. For example, the Memoirs of Malinowski on service in the Russian Corps in France, the memoirs of Count Ignatieff "50 years in service" and so on, but almost everything could be found and read! It was only necessary to be able to select materials. It would be a desire.
      1. +4
        9 September 2017 10: 24
        I agree, there are flaws in my work, but who does not have them?
        1. +2
          10 September 2017 21: 49
          Only he who does nothing is not mistaken. But here I agree: the ciphers seized at Magdeburg were even written in Technique - Youth in the 70's, EMNIP. Moreover, the same article said that they were transferred to England and, possibly, allowed Admiral Spee to organize a trap for Falklands. By the way, the British were not in a hurry to share Enigma codes with us. Allies, one word.
          1. +1
            11 September 2017 14: 26
            Yes, there was such a story (about Admiral von Spee), but ... there was not enough room for letters!
          2. +1
            15 February 2018 13: 20
            Quote: Alex
            ciphers wrote even in Technique - Youth " in the 70s, EMNIP.
            - in 1979 there was an article, I read there
            1. 0
              18 February 2018 11: 58
              Quote: your1970
              there was an article in 1979, I read there

              Yes, for sure, I recently rummaged through the binder, found it. It is called "Surprise for the admiral" and the commentary on it is "Radio war - the first volleys."
    5. +2
      9 September 2017 10: 03
      And with such gorgeous initials, the actions of the Baltic Fleet are, to put it mildly.
      1. +4
        9 September 2017 11: 09
        Quote: Ken71
        And with such gorgeous initials, the actions of the Baltic Fleet are, to put it mildly.

        Unfortunately, during the Second World War, the Baltic Fleet did not become famous for anything special, unlike, say, the North. It was locked in its bases, part of the ships was lost during air raids and a significant part of the personnel was decommissioned from the ships and fought in the Marine Corps ... You won’t erase a word from a song ...
        PS: It is a pity that the author in his article did not mention that after the untimely death of Admiral Essen, Admiral Nepenin successfully continued his work, improving the radio interception service and raising intelligence in the fleet to a new height - he knew everything that was happening in the German fleet ... .
        Unfortunately, Nepenin was killed by a vile shot in the back of one of the scumbags who was repairing the massacre of officers in Kronstadt and Helsinki ...
        1. +1
          9 September 2017 11: 57
          A lot of things were not mentioned - there was not enough space.
        2. +1
          9 September 2017 12: 29
          ranger, about the murder of Nepenin, the story is dark there: we won’t have any debates about the “Leninist espionage”. I will make an assumption: there were disguised provocateurs. Nikolai knew his business "tight." By the way: I do not know what is the post-war biography of Nikolai?
          I read in one source: he died in the twenties in Switzerland, in another - he worked in Moscow and others
        3. +3
          9 September 2017 12: 45
          In addition to the Baltic Fleet, the entire Great Patriotic War which had settled in Kronshtat (no, for an accurate picture, can be remembered by the Light Forces detachment of the Drosda OLS, which in the summer of 41 rushed along the Gulf of Riga and wasn’t Germans and lost some of its EMs), but the Black Sea Fleet also glorified itself with its October (Ivanov) brothers abandoned in Sevastopol for some hr-mined approaches to Odessa and Sevastopol (on which their own vehicles died and died under the blows of the Luftwaffe EM (moreover, 43 died in the fall of 3 and when, according to official information, we already dominated in the air) '' However, the Pacific Fleet didn’t particularly show itself (Yumashev also put mines and defended himself in the ports) Aggressiveness and pressure were shown by one Golovko in the Northern Fleet (by the way the smallest). Nobody is forgotten, but these 3 Commanders of Tributs. October. Yumashev got their Black Mark from historians. Alas, and then what can we leave to “Offspring as an example”
          1. 0
            29 September 2017 11: 51
            alas, and then what can we leave `` For posterity as an example ''
            - fleet preservation
    6. +4
      9 September 2017 11: 23
      Quote: ALEXEY VLADIMIROVICH
      For Russians, the Great War was World War II, for the Soviets only Imperialist. Continuing logically, the 1941-45 Great Patriotic War should have been called the Communist War.

      Indeed, the WWII in Petrograd was considered the second Patriotic War, but your logical calculation, as they say, "past the checkout". ALL PATRIOTS fought against Hitler. If you do not like the Communists, this is not a reason to punish.
      Archbishop Luke, during the Second World War, was the head of the Evacuation Hospital, but he was not a communist. And there were a majority of such non-partisan patriots
      1. +1
        9 September 2017 20: 06
        Quote: Monarchist
        Archbishop Luke, during the Second World War, was the head of the Evacuation Hospital, but he was not a communist. And there were a majority of such non-partisan patriots

        Archbishop Luke was not a "non-partisan patriot", but primarily a representative of the Church, which emphasizes loyally to state power, be it Hitler, Khan Batuy or Stalin. Therefore, his example is inappropriate.
      2. +1
        11 September 2017 09: 47
        Well, the war is "Imperialist," because the imperialist powers brought in for their own purposes. And since the war was fought by the country of the Communists, then it is similarly called the Communist War
    7. +2
      9 September 2017 11: 31
      Thanks for the story about Magdeburg. I had already read about this before, but it said that a drowned signalman with a code book was found at the side of the cruiser. About Vetterlane I know almost nothing.
      1. 0
        9 September 2017 11: 58
        Futterlein successfully emigrated, worked in the special services of Great Britain.
        1. +6
          9 September 2017 17: 03
          Let me add. From the English-speaking Wiki. Ernst Konstantin Fetterlein (April 3 1873 -1944) was a Russian cryptographer who later moved to Britain. He was born in St. Petersburg, the son of Karl Fedorovich Vetterlein, a teacher of German, and Olga Vetterlein, nee Meyer. He studied various oriental languages ​​at St. Petersburg University, graduating from it in 1894. In 1896, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result, he became the main cryptologist of the tsar of Russia, who received the rank of admiral, honorary in tsarist Russia. During the 1 World War, he was known for some time as Ernst Popov, since his German name could attract unwanted attention. Among others, he decided German, Austrian and British codes.
          After the 1917 revolution, he fled to Western Europe with his wife aboard a Swedish ship, barely escaping capture. He contacted British and French intelligence organizations, offering to work for those who would pay him the most, and became British because he was recruited into "room 40" (Bureau of the Secret Service, in 1919 converted to the Government School of Codes and Ciphers - GC & CS, PShKSh) in June 1918 to work on Georgian, Austrian and Bolshevik codes. After the 1st World War, he worked at the PSHKSH, becoming a senior assistant on December 17.12.1919, 1938. During this time he worked in the direction of the Soviet communist movement. He was well understood by his colleagues, one of whom wrote: “He was a brilliant cryptographer. On the book cipher, and anywhere else where discernment was vital, he was the best. He was an excellent linguist and usually got an answer no matter what language was used. " Retired in 2. Retired during World War II to help the GC & CS diplomatic office in Berkeley Street. He worked on the German diplomatic code "Florador". His brother P.K.Fetterlein also worked at GC & CS.
        2. +5
          9 September 2017 17: 33
          And further. Addendum in the text of A. Klepov (“English Intelligence and the Revolution of 1917”), referring to the book by F. Tomaselli “Tracing secret service ancestors”:
          about the leading cryptographer of Nicholas II, who worked for British intelligence. According to some reports, when he entered the service in this intelligence service and headed the Russian decryption department there, he could decipher many diplomatic and military codes of Soviet Russia up to 1928. Ernst Fetterlein probably established his first contacts with British intelligence in 1909. when he was in England with Nicholas II. Perhaps then she recruited him. Analyzing the personalities of the people with whom E. Fetterlein met in London and then in Petrograd, one finds that they worked in British intelligence. Therefore, there is nothing surprising in the fact that after the overthrow of Nicholas II, he safely emigrated to England and took a leading position in one of the GC&CS divisions. Analyzing the documents for obtaining the citizenship of E. Fetterlein and his brother Paul, who also served in this service, one can find specific persons from the government of England who gave direct orders that E. Fetterlein, his brother and son became British citizens. Probably for their outstanding service to her government. 
           It should be noted that Nicholas II greatly appreciated E. Fetterlein, even presented him with a ring with a huge diamond. Probably E. Fetterlein developed a special cipher for him and Alexandra Feodorovna for the exchange of highly classified information. Naturally, we can only assume, but we cannot exclude the possibility that, thanks to the efforts of E. Fetterlein, the meaning of the last three cipher telegrams, which Alexandra Feodorovna sent to Nicholas II in February 1917, was distorted, and as a result of which he abdicated the throne. Apparently, British intelligence wanted to establish its own people at the head of the Russian state, who could completely control them. It is worth noting that E. Fetterlein, already working in British intelligence, spoke sharply negatively about Nicholas II, which was very strange, since he had the high military rank of admiral and was repeatedly encouraged by Nicholas II.
          1. +1
            29 September 2017 11: 56
            these are the pies with kittens
            and then all about the Bolsheviks wrote "overthrown"
    8. +1
      9 September 2017 15: 42
      In the comments and messages in the PM, readers correct me, in the sense that in Soviet times there were a lot of publications that fairly reflect the course of the WWI, both with the defeats of the Russian Army and with its victories. Thank you all for the amendments.
    9. +1
      9 September 2017 16: 07
      Quote: parusnik
      ... It’s not true how you write Klim, it’s exclusive, it’s not so ... I wouldn’t completely say it, it’s not said .. For example, about the episode of the WWII that you are talking about, I learned from the newspaper Nedelya in Soviet times. ..

      On a spoonful of positive information about RI and the Russian army during the WWII, the Bolshevik propaganda always had a barrel, I’m sorry, shit. It is a fact!
    10. +1
      9 September 2017 16: 10
      Quote: Monarchist
      ranger, about the murder of Nepenin, the story is dark there: we won’t have any debates about the “Leninist espionage”. I will make an assumption: there were disguised provocateurs. Nikolai knew his business "tight."

      In vain, you are dismissing those sailors, Monarchist, they are clearly not worth it, the "beauty and pride of the revolution" in 1917 shed so much innocent blood that my mother did not grieve, and their memory there too! Into the cesspool, where they belong!
    11. 0
      9 September 2017 23: 21
      Quote: Monarchist
      ALL PATRIOTS fought against Hitler.

      But in the WWI, ethnic Russians on the side of the Kaiser were not at all. Ukrainians were Georgians, Jews in large numbers. But Russian-0.
      1. 0
        15 February 2018 13: 23
        Quote: Koshnitsa
        But in the WWI, ethnic Russians on the side of the Kaiser were not at all.

        Who should be considered ethnic Russians?
        just read the last names in the article - whose are they?

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