Ultra intercepts Enigma messages that indicate the Luftwaffe’s current target is not London, but Coventry. At first, it’s thought to be a decryption error, but it turns out to be correct. Save Coventry or save Ultra? Churchill interrupts a Cabinet meeting, retreats to his study, and after several agonizing minutes, pronounces: “Save Ultra.” A few hours later, German bombers devastate Coventry. A specific term will even be coined: koventrisieren, to Coventrize, meaning to raze a city to the ground by aerial bombardment.
