Page 290 - The Secret War in the Italian front in WWI (1915-1918)

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

(the Austrian A/N) disregarded the precautions dictated by its Headquarters, we could recover a
huge amount of enemy communications, many of which were sometimes very significant” .
97
Among the causes for the high number of communications that the Italians had intercepted and
interpreted, we cannot exclude a certain Austrian assumption of technological superiority over
them, indeed a trait of the Austro-Hungarian army, especially among the highest ranks.
Of course, the Austrians were engaged in listening activities as well. Once the Italian Headquarters
realised, since June 1916, that the Austrians persisted in their interception efforts “in some regions
(i.e., Carnia and Isonzo), despite a two-wire telephone network had been laid in the forward
area”, they established additional technical requirements. Moreover, they ordered “to always use
a concealed or encoded language for confidential telephone dispatch transmission” and added,
as a conclusion that “all things considered, one should never rely on the secrecy of telephone
communications” (this sentence was written in boldface and with a bigger font, A/N) . Similar
98
orders were reaffirmed during 1917, especially after events showing that the enemy had exploited
their interception activities .
99
Nevertheless, in many circumstances the regulations on the secrecy of telephone communications
issued by the Italian Headquarters have not been fulfilled, as happened among the Austrian troops.

97 Ibid.
98 Inspectorate General of the STM, Diario storico, Circolare ai Comandi del Genio d’Armata. op. cit., p.3.
th
99 War Operations and Situation Office, Telegram no.5984 copied in the phonogram of General Etna to the 15 and 51
st
Divisions on 31 March 1917.

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