Henri Braquenié
Encyclopedia
Henri Braquenié was an interbellum and World War II
French
Air Force officer and cryptanalyst.
Captain Braquenié attended, with French Major Gustave Bertrand
and another French Army officer, the January 9-10, 1939, Paris
meeting of French, Polish and British military intelligence
officers convened to discuss progress (none had occurred in France or Britain) on decryption of German Enigma
cipher
s.
Braquenié also participated with Bertrand in the trilateral July 25, 1939, Warsaw
meeting at which the Polish Cipher Bureau
disclosed its achievements in breaking Enigma ciphers (since December 1932).
During the period of the Phony War
(October 6, 1939 – May 10, 1940) Braquenié served as deputy to the French chief, Bertrand, of "PC Bruno
," the Franco-Polish radio-intelligence and cryptology center outside Paris.
On December 3-7, 1939, Braquenié accompanied the chief of the Polish cryptologic team, Lt. Col. Gwido Langer
, to London
and Bletchley Park
. At Bletchley, Braquenié established the procedures for mutual teleprinter
exchange of information, especially of solved daily Enigma keys
. In 1975, shortly before his death, he disclosed that, to ensure the absolute security of the information exchanges, the allied cryptologic services used Enigma itself as their cipher. Braquenié, personally responsible for the Bruno-Bletchley correspondence, followed the standard procedure of padding messages with innocuous verbiage, and habitually closed them with a "Heil Hitler!"
Following France's capitulation in June 1940, Braquenié evacuated south to unoccupied, Vichy France
with other Bruno staff, and subsequently served at the "Cadix
" center that was then established near Uzès
, not far from the Mediterranean Sea
.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Air Force officer and cryptanalyst.
Captain Braquenié attended, with French Major Gustave Bertrand
Gustave Bertrand
Gustave Bertrand 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...
and another French Army officer, the January 9-10, 1939, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
meeting of French, Polish and British military intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
officers convened to discuss progress (none had occurred in France or Britain) on decryption of German Enigma
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
s.
Braquenié also participated with Bertrand in the trilateral July 25, 1939, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
meeting at which the Polish Cipher Bureau
Biuro Szyfrów
The Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
disclosed its achievements in breaking Enigma ciphers (since December 1932).
During the period of the Phony War
Phony War
The Phoney War was a phase early in World War II – in the months following Britain and France's declaration of war on Germany in September 1939 and preceding the Battle of France in May 1940 – that was marked by a lack of major military operations by the Western Allies against the German Reich...
(October 6, 1939 – May 10, 1940) Braquenié served as deputy to the French chief, Bertrand, of "PC Bruno
PC Bruno
PC Bruno was a Polish-French intelligence station that operated outside Paris during World War II, from October 1939 until June 9, 1940. It decrypted German ciphers, most notably messages enciphered on the Enigma machine.-History:...
," the Franco-Polish radio-intelligence and cryptology center outside Paris.
On December 3-7, 1939, Braquenié accompanied the chief of the Polish cryptologic team, Lt. Col. Gwido Langer
Gwido Langer
Lt. Col. Karol Gwido Langer was chief of the Polish General Staff's Cipher Bureau from at least mid-1931.-Life:...
, to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
. At Bletchley, Braquenié established the procedures for mutual teleprinter
Teleprinter
A teleprinter is a electromechanical typewriter that can be used to communicate typed messages from point to point and point to multipoint over a variety of communication channels that range from a simple electrical connection, such as a pair of wires, to the use of radio and microwave as the...
exchange of information, especially of solved daily Enigma keys
Key (cryptography)
In cryptography, a key is a piece of information that determines the functional output of a cryptographic algorithm or cipher. Without a key, the algorithm would produce no useful result. In encryption, a key specifies the particular transformation of plaintext into ciphertext, or vice versa...
. In 1975, shortly before his death, he disclosed that, to ensure the absolute security of the information exchanges, the allied cryptologic services used Enigma itself as their cipher. Braquenié, personally responsible for the Bruno-Bletchley correspondence, followed the standard procedure of padding messages with innocuous verbiage, and habitually closed them with a "Heil Hitler!"
Following France's capitulation in June 1940, Braquenié evacuated south to unoccupied, Vichy France
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
with other Bruno staff, and subsequently served at the "Cadix
PC Bruno
PC Bruno was a Polish-French intelligence station that operated outside Paris during World War II, from October 1939 until June 9, 1940. It decrypted German ciphers, most notably messages enciphered on the Enigma machine.-History:...
" center that was then established near Uzès
Uzès
Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It lies about 25 km north-northeast of Nîmes.-History:Originally Ucetia, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum, or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first...
, not far from the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
.