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Messages - 3da0km

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Perhaps the very first true sigint occurred during the Boer War. I'm quoting from "De la Rey--Lion of the West", the biography of Koos de la Rey, one of the greatest military geniuses ever, who invented both classical trench warfare and guerrilla warfare, the latter including teaching his mounted troops how to shoot from the saddle. This is from p. 204f:

"... one of the few Free State officials who had remained loyal, a man called Acton, had a most interesting apparatus with him. This was called a Vibrator, a most ingenious invention which one could use to intercept message where telegraph wires were cut. The apparatus was put up where the cut wires lay one the ground and one could hear quite clearly what was being said. The magnetic power of this Vibrator was so strong that it drew the stream through the ground. Thus they heard all the telegrams from Lord Roberts to Generals Broadwood, Plumer, Clements and Page, virtually all the military manoeuvres being intercepted by Acton. This was a great help, De la Rey goes on to say, for as they knew the enemy movements it was a saving not to send out horses on unnecessary scouting movements, and they could also plan their own actions accordingly."

Towards the end of the war in particular, the Boers survived on supplies plundered from the British. The Vibrator should take its place in the history of warfare.

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