TheCodeBreakers
at the Somme in the most furious artillery cannonade of the war. Five
hours later, 62 German divisions rolled forward on a 40-mile front. The
surprise was complete and its success overwhelming. French and British
troops reeled back day after day in stunned confusion. The head of
intelligence at French G.H.Q. came into the cryp-tologic bureau three
days later and told Major E.-A. Soudart, the replacement for ex-chief
Marcel Givierge, and Soudart's assistant, Marcel Guitard: "By virtue of
my job I am the best informed man in France, and at this moment I no
longer know where the Germans are. If We're captured in an hour, it
wouldn't surprise me." Within a week the Germans had punched a hole
38 miles deep in the Allied lines, and it was not until the British and
French
troops fell back to Amiens that they collected themselves and halted
the advance.
The furious advance was reflected in a dramatic upsurge in radio
traffic. The first result was disappointment
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