Wwii Us Army M-209-B Cipher Machine Ww2 35th Div.

A M-209-B Cipher Machine with a data plate that reads SIGNAL CORPS U.S. ARMY CONVERTER M-209-B SERIAL NO. 23701 ORDER NO. 12453-PHILA.-42 SUPPLIED BY L.C. SMITH & CORONA TYPEWRITERS. INC. SYRACUSE, N.Y. and is stenciled HQ 134.which was part of the 35th Division. Excellent. The American equivalent of the German Enigma, the U.S. Army Cipher Machine model M-209 allowed for the enciphering and deciphering of messages in the field. It was small, light, rugged and dependable and required no batteries. Developed by Hagelin in Sweden for the US Army as the successor to the M-94 hand cipher used in World War I, the M-209 was used by the US Army during WWII and for a long time thereafter. Text is enciphered by entering one letter at a time on the alphabet ring at the left side of the M-209 and turning the black knob on the right one full revolution. A coded letter is then printed on a paper tape. Deciphering requires setting a knob to the “Decode” position and entering the coded letters in the same way. The decoded message is then printed on the paper tape.The cryptographic key includes the initial settings of the 6 rotors and the settings of the internal sliding clips on a drum. The rotors have different spacings of the letters on their rim. This adds complexity to the encoding process. This M-209 is supplied with its canvas carrying bag, together with spare paper rolls, operator's manual and a message book. For simple maintenance of the machine in the field all of the necessary tools are stored inside the top lid of the case. At the right is a pair of tweezers, used for feeding the paper through the printer and removing blocked paper. At the left is a notched screwdriver used for setting the clips on the drum. Two small containers in the leftmost corners of the cover contain oil (labeled "O") and ink (labeled "I"). The top lid of the case acts as the paper tape holder with its paper guided directly to the printing mechanism on the left of the machine. World War II: The 35th Division was ordered into federal service on 23 December 1940 at home stations. The division's units were ordered to report to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas, and had arrived by the end of January, 1941. The incomplete ranks of the 35th were swelled by thousands of draftees, a large portion of whom were from Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, through a War Department arrangement to fill the balance of National Guard units ordered into federal service with men from their home states or corps areas insofar as was possible. After completing the War Department-mandated divisional training program, the 35th Division maneuvered against other units in Arkansas and Louisiana in the fall of 1941. In August 1941, the division was redesignated the 35th Infantry Division. After the Pearl Harbor attack came its first assignment, the defense of the Southern California Sector of the Western Defense Command. Reorganization: On 3 February 1942, the War Department ordered that the 35th Division be "triangularized" at the earliest practicable date. The 138th Infantry Regiment departed, assigned to GHQ. The division's infantry and field artillery brigade headquarters were eliminated, and the engineer, field artillery, medical, and quartermaster regiments were reorganized as battalions. The reorganization was completed on 1 March 1942. On 27 January 1943, the 140th Infantry Regiment was relieved from the division, and was replaced by the 320th Infantry Regiment. Further training: The division departed California for Camp Rucker, Alabama, arriving on 1 April 1943. After participating in the Second Army Tennessee Maneuvers from 22 November 1943 to 17 January 1944 and receiving mountain warfare training at the West Virginia Maneuver Area from 21 February to 28 March 1944, the 35th Infantry Division was declared ready for overseas service. Further movement to Camp Butner, North Carolina, and Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, saw the division through to England, where it arrived on 25 May 1944.Commanders: Major General Ralph E. Truman (October 1938 – October 1941)Major General William H. Simpson (October 1941 – April 1942)Major General Maxwell Murray (May 1942 – January 1943)Major General Paul W. Baade (January 1943 to inactivation)Actions during World War IIThe 35th Infantry Division arrived in England on 25 May 1944 and received further training. It landed on Omaha Beach, Normandy 5–7 July 1944 and entered combat on 11 July, fighting in the Normandy hedgerows north of St. Lo. The division turned away twelve German counterattacks at Emelie before entering St. Lo on 18 July. After mopping up in the St. Lo area, it took part in the offensive action southwest of St. Lo, pushing the Germans across the Vire River on 2 August, and breaking out of the Cotentin Peninsula. While en route to an assembly area, the division was "flagged off the road," to secure the Mortain-Avranches corridor and to rescue the 30th Division's "Lost Battalion" August 7–13, 1944. Then racing across France thr