caption death_date death_place birth_place image_size birth_date image article_title name occupation
georges painvin in 1914 21 january 1980 paris nantes 200px 1886 georges painvin.jpg georges painvin
 georges painvin cryptographer
georges painvin

georges jean painvin -lrb- 1886 -- 1980 -rrb- was a french cryptanalyst during the first world war .
his most notable achievement was the breaking of the adfgvx cipher in june 1918 .
before the first world war , painvin taught paleontology and geology as well as playing the cello as a hobby .
he performed cryptanalytic work for the french army after a chance encounter with a member of the french bureau de chiffre .
in june 1918 , the german army was preparing for a final push to cover the 100 kilometres that separated it from paris .
the allies needed to know where the german attack would come .
painvin managed to break an adfgvx enciphered message , which read : `` rush munitions .
even by day if not seen . ''
this message indicated where the german offensive was to take place , and the allies managed to defeat the german attack .
in attempting to break the adfgvx cipher painvin lost 15 kg in weight .
after the war , he returned to teaching and became president of several companies , as well as of the paris chamber of commerce .
he was made a `` chevalier '' of the légion d'honneur , but was unable to speak about it for many years because of the secrecy that surrounded his work .
he died in 1980 .
