Israeli-American AI Researcher Cracks Napoleons Secret Code After 217 Years
Israeli-American AI researcher Carter Church has deciphered a 217-year-old secret code used by Napoleon Bonaparte, revealing vital military intelligence.
Jerusalem, 2 October, 2026 (TPS-IL) — An AI researcher at Israeli-American cybersecurity company SentinelOne has cracked a coded letter sent by Napoleon Bonaparte to one of his senior generals, solving a 217-year-old mystery.
Carter Church used OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra model to decipher the 1,300-character message, which was sent in 1809 to General Auguste de Marmont through Napoleon’s stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais.
The original cipher key had been lost, leaving much of the letter obscured. The AI system spent about six hours transcribing the symbols, comparing them with previous deciphering efforts, and testing possible words against surviving writings by Marmont.
The decoded letter contained military intelligence about French and Austrian troop movements before the outbreak of war between France and the Habsburg Empire. Napoleon warned that Austria would attack simultaneously on multiple fronts.
Church said he was inspired to attempt the challenge after an AI model helped decode a German military letter from 1941.