The Contribution of the Cryptographic Bureaus in the World War

Yves Gyldén's survey compares the codebreaking organizations of the Allied and Central Powers in the First World War. It was one of the first attempts by a working cryptologist to weigh what each side's cryptographic bureau achieved and where it fell short.

The book was first published in Swedish, in Stockholm in 1931, as Chifferbyråernas insatser i världskriget till lands. An English translation ran in the U.S. Army Signal Corps Bulletin, nos. 75-81, from November 1933 to November 1934. Aegean Park Press then issued it as a standalone volume in its Cryptographic Series. William F. Friedman edited the translation from Swedish and added his own comments to the text.

Gyldén came to cryptology through family connections to the Swedish cipher industry. His father Olof Gyldén helped found the Cryptograph company with engineer Arvid Damm, the firm that later produced the machines associated with Boris Hagelin. Yves Gyldén taught cryptology and cryptanalysis at Swedish military schools and was regarded, through the 1930s, as Sweden's leading authority on the subject.