Page 168 - The Secret War in the Italian front in WWI (1915-1918)

THE SECRET WAR ON THE ITALIAN FRONT IN WWI (1915 – 1918)

organization, based on the division of tasks, considerably simplifies the work of radiotelegraphic
personnel, with remarkable benefits in terms of secrecy of communications”.

InTercePTIon and decryPTIon
Listening stations of Allied armies, located
in several areas along the front, immediately
transmitted to their Headquarters the
intercepted dispatches via wire telegraph in the
French army and via telephone in the English
one.
The French General Headquarters identified
enemy transmitters and decrypted dispatches
using already known ciphers. The most
‘difficult’ cryptograms were sent to the
Ministry of War in Paris where “Colonel
Le Cartier leads the office that has already
managed to identify the keys of German radio
communications” . Sacco reports that the
45
results obtained had effectively supported
the French army operations during the early
phases of the war, but in July 1915 the number
of German radio transmission had decreased
considerably due to the stabilized position of
armies on the western front.
As regards the Italian situation, after noticing 8.6 A French van mounted radio station photographed
that some radiotelegraphic stations, including by Luigi Sacco (Luigi Sacco’s photographic archive)
those of Rome and Florence, mostly dealt with
listening to enemy radio communications and that interception stations were being set up “closer to
the fighting line” as in Udine, Latisana, etc.”, Sacco suggests implementing a systematic listening
plan and to “urge all radiotelegraphic personnel to intensify listening activities” .
46
He also recommends that at the Italian Supreme Command “at least one Officer adequately
selected be assigned exclusively to the decryption service.” The Officer could possibly rely on
French cooperation and research in the field.
Considering the possibility that the Austrians might have organised a similar service, Sacco asserts
the absolute necessity of “using radiotelegraphic communications as little as possible, and always
encoding the dispatches integrally with frequently changing keys and typologies of codes and
ciphers” .
47

45 In 1910, the French Ministry of War had created the ‘Section de Chiffre’, whose Chief was Captain Françoise Cartier, to
create, distribute and manage the ciphers of the whole Army. In January 1914, the Section de Chiffre incorporated other Army
offices dealing with cryptography (Military Cryptographic Committee and Bureau militaire de déchiffrement).
46 Italian Military Mission at the French General Headquarters, Relazione sui Servizi, op. cit.
47 ibidem

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