Page 97 - The Secret War in the Italian front in WWI (1915-1918)

CHAPTER FIVE

telephone eavesdropping section;
an aircraft, ground, and balloon
observation section; a study and
communication section.
A collection centre would
generally only comprise an
officer heading the centre
supported by a certain number
of non-commissioned officers
and soldiers .
39
Under the new Regulations
issued in June 1918, the
Operational Units Intelligence
Offices became an integral
part of the Army corps staff, 5.5 A recently captured German trooper being interrogated by an
perhaps with the purpose to Officer of the Operational Units Intelligence Office on the French
better control their activities, front
avoiding excessive freedom of
action and eventual intrusion upon the responsibilities of the central Intelligence Service . In fact,
40
this kind of interferences was the main and most common reason for frictions occurred during the
Cadorna period, when the Intelligent Offices of the Armies entailed the possibility of having their
own intelligence networks abroad, which was at times formally forbidden but silently granted by
the Supreme Command.

new resPonsIbIlITIes of The InTellIgence servIce

At the beginning of February 1918, a deep transformation of the Supreme Command organization
led to the integration into the new Operations Office of three pre - existent Offices, namely: The
War Operations and General Affairs; the War Situation, war bulletins and missions abroad; and
the General Services Offices .
41
The new Operations Office was mainly interested in information regarding the enemy, such as
the war situations; the processing of data concerning the opponent Army; the coordination of the
Italian Armies Intelligence Offices.

39 Supreme Headquarters – Situation, War Notices and Missions Abroad Office, Norme generali per il Servizio Informazioni
sul nemico presso le truppe operanti (General Regulations for the Enemy-Oriented Intelligence Service within the Operating
Troops) AUSSME, Series F-1, env.107.
40 Circular letter n. 11797, 30 June1918, Norme generali per il servizio informazioni presso le truppe operanti (General
Regulations for the Intelligence Service within the operating troops), with five attachments published separately as booklets,
at different times. The first attachment dealt with the regulations on “questioning of prisoners and deserters for the analysis of
enemy documents and correspondence and for the functioning of telephone eavesdropping sections”. The second attachment
reported the “regulations for the interpretation of photographs”, the third attachment concerned the Regulations for I.T.O.
observers. The last two attachments comprised forms and procedures to fill in the periodical reports on “Probable Status and
positions of enemy forces opposite the army and of enemy artilleries along the front of the army”.
41 Supreme Headquarters, Service communication no. 5400, 9 February 1918, of the AUSSME, Series M-7, env.42.

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