Page 58 - The Secret War in the Italian front in WWI (1915-1918)

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

The Inadequacy of The laws and Measures agaInsT esPIonage
Before his death, one of Pollio’s last initiatives though without success, was the proposal to
introduce harsher police measures against espionage activities by means of a royal decree, which
could condem unauthorised dissemination of news about military forces and operations; restrict
the freedom of press; introduce new regulations for foreigners who wanted to stay in the Kingdom;
and forbid the use of private radiotelegraphic stations.
Polio claimed that in analogy to the development of the military Intelligence Services by other
Powers who expanded and improved their information capabilities, it should be compulsory to
implement new measures aimed at “preventing the diffusion of data and news that deserve the
utmost secrecy” .
25
He also asked the Government to replace the old regulation of April 1901 with new ones aimed
at censoring letters sent from Italy during the mobilisation . Luigi Cadorna who replaced the
26
deceased Pollio on 26 July 1914, becoming Chief of the Army Staff, also tried without success to
establish a postal censorship .
27
Cadorna required the government authorities to carry out stricter police controls on foreign citizens
who lived or arrived in Italy during the neutrality period, checking “their nationality, their exact
number and the reasons why they live in the kingdom” and proposed that:

Public security authorities should control activities on deserters who are authorised to live in
their jurisdictions to ascertain violations and expel transgressors. All foreigners suspected of
carrying out espionage activities should be treated in the same manner […].

He also highlighted that:

The lack of special laws, the over-indulgence of the judiciary, the lack of personnel, especially
of military police officers, place Italy in a position of clear inferiority with respect to other
countries regarding the delicate and important area of state security .
28

3.3 PREPARATION DURING NEUTRALITY

new InTellIgence Tasks
The Intelligence structure in war times, defined during the neutrality period, included: a special
Intelligence Office within the Supreme Command, which directed the whole service; an officer
assigned to the Headquarters of the Armies; the chiefs of Staff at the Corps’ and Divisional
Headquarters; an officer assigned to every combat units, particularly skilled in enemy’s languages
for interviewing informers, prisoners, deserters, people inhabiting the zones the troops passed
through, etc .
29

25 Intelligence Office, letter no.1117, 24 June 1914, AUSSME, G-9 Series, env.6.
26 Intelligence Office letter no.1024, 25 June 1914, ibidem.
27 Letter no.1915, 19 August 1914, ibidem.
28 Intelligence Office, letter no.2272, 1 September 1914, AUSSME, ibidem.
29 Information Office, Norme per la raccolta e la trasmissione delle notizie relative al servizio informazioni in guerra (Rules
for collection and transmission of information on the Intelligence Service in war time), 1914, AUSSME, F17 Series.

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