Page 64 - The Secret War in the Italian front in WWI (1915-1918)

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

Most of the detached Offices,
immediately after the war
declaration, converged in the
Intelligence branches of the
Armies, allowing “the service
to switch from peace to war
automatically and seamlessly” .
43
In addition, in the imminence of
war and occupation of Austro-
Hungarian areas, rules for civil
administration and for ensuring
security in the regions beyond
the borders that the Italian
army expected to conquer,
were prepared, including the
declaration of the state of war
in the occupied countries and
the creation of military courts
for punishing crimes committed
also by civilians. The Corps’
Headquarters had to appoint
selected senior officers as special
commissioners, with the task to
manage the municipalities. The
Royal Carabinieri should replace
the Austrian Gendarmerie .
44
Censorship offices had to control
the distribution of newspapers,
the sale of books, theatre shows,
3.8 Telephoto of Predil fort taken by specialist units of the Italian movies, telephone, telegraph,
Corps of Engineers and postal communications.
Squads were prepared to patrol
the areas outside populated areas to intercept optical transmissions, clandestine radiotelegraphic
stations and dovecotes for homing pigeons. They also had to monitor telegraph lines to avoid
telegrams interceptions.

The InTellIgence offIce and The war sITuaTIon offIce
Before the mobilisation starting, the Theatres suppression caused the transfer of their personnel to
the War Situation Office, whose main tasks entailed the exploitation of the information about the
Austro-Hungarian army mainly collected by the Intelligence Office, to update the situation of the
enemy’s forces and to assess their possible intentions.

43 T. Marchetti, op. cit., pp. 65-67. Some officers were also preselected to cover the position of Chief of the Intelligence Office
of the Armies.
44 Supreme Headquarters - Secretariat-General for Civil Affairs. General Cadorna’s Order of 25 June 1915, Istruzioni sulla
ordinanza del 25 giugno 1915 per la gestione provvisoria dei servizi civili nei territori occupati.

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