German code breaking in World War II German code breaking in World War II German code breaking in World War II achieved some notable successes cracking British Naval ciphers until well into the fourth year of the war, but also suffered from a problem typical of the German armed forces of the time: numerous branches and institutions maintained their own cryptographic departments, working on their own without collaboration or sharing results with equivalent units. This led to duplicated effort, to a fragmentation of potential, and to lower efficiency than might have been achieved. There was no central German cryptography agency comparable to the British Bletchley Park facility.
Arizona during World War II Johnston, a World War I veteran who had lived in the Navajo reservation of Arizona and was fluent in the Navajo language. Johnston and the "original twenty-nine," as they were known, are credited with developing the original code, however, it was modified and improved by others as the war progressed. At least 540 Navajos served in the Marine Corps during World War II, about 400 of whom were trained as code talkers. Because many of them lacked birth certificates, it was impossible to verify the age of some recruits. After the war it was revealed that boys as young as