Page 88 - The Secret War in the Italian front in WWI (1915-1918)

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

5.2 Organization chart of the Supreme Command as of August 1917

The Intelligence Office of the Army was headed by a junior officer who gathered the evidence
provided by subordinate collection centres.
The Intelligence branches of the Armies often maintained informer networks in distant enemy rear
lines with the evident endorsement of the Supreme Command, especially in the Cadorna period.

5.2 THE CRISIS OF THE INTELLIGENCE SERVICE

an InexIsTenT eneMy offensIve
The abundant documentation produced by the Intelligence Office/Service and coming from agents
operating abroad, sometimes showed to be scarcely reliable since it reported fanciful news, such as
the deployment of Turkish or Bulgarian troops on the Italian front. Because of the complexity of
distinguishing the more credible and truthful pieces of information within the quantity of collected
news, the Intelligence Service had to rely more on the dependability of the information sources
than on the analysis of the contents of the information they provided.
One of the most famous pieces of information - later proved to be false - was the alleged preparation
of a large Austro-German offensive in Trentino in early 1917. The rumours about this offensive,

Headquarters - Intelligence Office, Letter no. 516 of 4 January 1917, AUSSME, Series F-1. The document also comprises
detailed provisions regarding the telephone interception service and the artillery group observers.

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