About book The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes (2002)
Urban has rescued from near oblivion one of the most important men for Britain's winning the Peninsular War. Unfortunately for this man, George Scovell, he was not a member of the aristocracy and so, as apparently was typical for aristocrats such as Wellington, his achievement was not acknowledged either at the time or later to the general public and to the army bureaucracy. In fact, when asked about how the code was broken, some years later, Wellington did not mention Scovell at all but intimated he and others at his headquarters worked on it and puzzled it out.Scovell's breaking of the code, which the French generals and ruler never realized had happened, was one of the most significant events that enabled Wellington to conclude his military operations in the Peninsula and drive the French out of Spain. Whether he would have been able to do had the code not been broken we can never know, but inside of some 18 months after the breaking of the code the French were on the run. Knowledge of the code gave knowledge of French maneuvers, political rivalries and dissentions, troop strength, etc., which enabled Wellington to plan his strategy and attack on his own choosing.How the code worked is clearly explained; Durban also gives insights to what life was like in Wellington's army at the time and also gives due praise (which is often neglected by other authors) to the Spanish irregular forces that helped weaken the French troops and also supply the coded messages to Wellington. This book changed greatly my idea of Wellington; nonetheless like all of us his views and prejudices were formed by his society and we must ask ourselves what important things are our views and prejudices blinding us to.if you are interested in the Peninsular War or the history of the British army or of coding used in war and in politics this is an important book to read for Scovell brought decipherment forward into modern methods. A brilliant, painstaking man and fluent in several languages he should be better known for his work.
I read the book thinking it would tell me about the man who broke Napoleon's codes. That it did. But most of the book was a history-geek narration of the wellington vs french battles in spain, battle by battle, character by character, who said what to who in London Salons about whoever's reputation. Seriously I finally was able to put together that whole Wellington Napoleon story. And the author did go into details about the code breaking which was pretty cool - and impressive! The thing was to keep it from the french that Scovell had broken their codes. I was amazed how simple the first round of codes were, reminded me of codes I wrote as a kid. Anyways, if you want to read a book about code breaking, start about half way through the book, skip all the battle chapters, and you will learn a lot about the code breaking. Or if you want the details of all the battles, read this book. But don't expect the whole book to be about code breaking.
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Another book I bought purely for research. The subject of this book, George Scovell, whas Wellington's Code Breaker, and I unashamedly borrowed his career for one of my heroes. This is an easy read, and it focuses not only on Scovel's remarkable career, but it gives you very good context of all of Wellington's campaigns in the Peninsular Wars, if you're interested in a general introduction. My only gripe with this is that actually, there's a lot of context because I think the author struggled to make Scovel's particular career into an entire book. Maybe it was just me, but it felt like he was scrabbling a wee bit for material at times. But, it delivered what it promised, and it was perfect for me. And if you're interested in that rare thing, a man who rose up the ranks in Wellington's army, then Scovel is your man.
—Marguerite Kaye
Mark Urban has added another great book to the many titles competing to be placed in a Napoleonic library. This book, 'The Man Who Broken Napoleon's Codes' covers a little known and written of subject, the story of George Scovell. This man had as much to do with the British victories in Spain as did Wellington although you would not know it if you read any previous accounts of the Peninsular War.George Scovell helped break the French Imperial codes and provided much useful intelligence to Wellington in his campaigns against the French armies. But since Scovell was of low birth he struggled for advancement. He showed his bravery on a number of battlefields but was almost always forgotten when it came to promotion, being passed over by younger men of more distinguished birth.I must admit that I was a bit dubious when I started reading this book as I usually find accounts on code breaking and intelligence quite dull and boring however this book reads like a novel. Full of information with a narrative that races along, it was a great story and full of action. The book covers all the major campaigns and battles in the Peninsular and was a joy to read. I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone who loves reading about the Napoleonic period.
—'Aussie Rick'
Journalist Mark Urban highlights the work of George Scoville, an Assistant Quartermaster-General serving Wellington in the Peninsular War. Scoville was a brilliant linguist and logician, and successfully deciphered encrypted French dispatches delivered to British forces by Spanish guerrillas. Although the evidence is equivocal, Urban provides a reasonable argument that Scoville's insights influenced Wellington's course of action, especially before Salamanca. This highlighting of Scovell's contribution to the war is exciting, and the book is well-written and enjoyable, providing a potted history of the Peninsular War along the way.
—Edward
