Spies' Reports May Be In Casual Messages

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 86, 12 April 1941, Page 19 (Supplement)

Spies' Reports May Be In Casual Messages

By Andrew Pallen

A S the drone of the aeroplane drew nearer, the old man toolsome notes from his desk and began to read aloucl: President Lebrun will visit the Maginot Line around Strasbourg day after to-morrow on a military inspection tour. The 9th Division will relieve the 28th Division holding the sector between Colmar and St. Die. At to-day's meeting the FrencJi Cabinet discussed the following questions . . . As he finished, the 'plane which had been circling the house darted off into the enveloping clouds. The old man tore up his notes—his day's work was done. To his neighbours the man was a retired high school teacher who had comc to the little town in Normandy to cscape the horrors of German air raids on Paris. Actually he was one of hundreds of Hitlers agents who had invaded France befoffe and after the outbreak of the war. By persuasion, bribes and blackmail, they had built up a far-flung espionage organisation which, in spito of all wartime restrictions and censorship regulations, kept them fully informed on military and political developments in the country. Small Transmitter On certain days the man in the little Norman town received all information gathered by his sub-agents. At 11 p.m. he read them off into a transmitter, small enough to keep in a drawer of his desk or even in a pocket of his coat, and too feeble to be heard except at very close range. The message was picked up hy a German 'plane sent over for that purpose. Two days later, as President Lcbmn stood on the bank of the Rhino, he was greeted by a huge siprn flaunted from the German side: "Welcome Monsieur le President!" The Ninth Division, on taking up its post, was welcomed by a poster set up by the Germans informing the men £hat Der Fuehrer knew all about them—from the names of their commanding officers to the home town of the last battalion. German announcers, in their daily broadcasts from Berlin, told their English listeners triumphantly what the French Ministers had discussed in great secrecy. This type of broadcast was especially important from the German point of view as part of their war of nerves. As in all wars of modern times, spies play an important role in World War 11. If anything their duties have been intensified. Aerial reconnaissance may

Published recently throughout New Zealand was the report of the commission which inquired into the possibilities of information getting to the enemy from Dominion sources. Just how such leakages can occur and the use made of them by tho enemy is dealt with in this article.

have taken over some of their functions, but total warfare has created countless other tasks. In this war, fought with spiritiial as well as physical weapons, the spy has to do more than just ferret out military secrets. He must keep in touch with I'ifth Column activities, test the morale of the population and stir up underground movements. Often information must lie obtained which, in itself, may seem quite irrelevant, but, if skilfuily used, will serve to demoralise the enemy. It matters little what one country's functionaries have for dinner when they come together for conferences. Hut the fact that the enemy radio is able to broadcast the menu to the world an hour after one of their meetings has taken place in deepest secrecy cannot fail to have its etlect 011 the morale of the people. England had her share of German spies. They had come over before the war, some of them in the cloak of refugees, others as commercial travellers, students or mere tourists. A few were even disguised as nuns. Many German agents were rounded, up and interned at the outbreak of the war. Yet this measure failed entirely to disrupt the far-flung spy net. Information continued to leak out —vital information. The German U-boat which penetrated the English mine barrage to torpedo the Royal Oak could do so only after it had obtained detailed information on the position of submarine traps and mines. German intelligence agents went to work, and the commander got the necessary charts. Little is known about tbe activities of the Allied secret service organisations during this war, but British agents located a numlicr of armament plants and stores hidden throughout Germany. The Jv.A.F. followed up and paid these factories repeated visits. During the first months of the war smuggling of spies in and out of enemy territory presented only a minor problem. Denmark, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands were not yet embroiled, and many agents managed to slip through the severe border controls under the protection of neutral passports.

German agents equipped with papers taken from Polish refugees in Rumania and Hungary enlisted in the army set up by Poland's Government-in-exile. Others wormed their way into France and England with Belgian, Dutch and French refugees.

Since the German occupations operations from neutral countries are virtually impossible. The only neutral country from which Germany, could send spies into England is Ireland. Some agents may be smuggled in on neutral ships, but the risks involved are great. Another possible way for Germany would be to land spies at night from submarines. In March, 1017, a German U-boat was captured off Plymouth. On the commander was found a receipted bill from a Southampton hotel, dated two days before the capture. Apparently the ofliccr had gone ashore at night in a collapsible boat.

Comparatively, the safest way of getting spies into enemy territory to-day is by aeroplane.

Transmission of messages to headquarters at home was also comparatively easy at the lx'ginning of the war. The pocket-size transmitter, which could be used even while its operator strolled, was one of the chief mediums of communication. Classified advertisements were another channel. More than one secret message slipped into the personal columns or "help wanted" departments of newspapers. For instance, an advertisement asking for a butler, age about 37, for a West End household stated in reality the 37th Division had left for the Western Front. A chauffeur with 10 years' driving experience referred to the 10th Panzer Division. Simple Messages

Despite strictest censorship control, information is doubtless still transmitted by coded telegrams to neutral countries to lie forwarded therefrom to the respective army commands. Thus the most casual message may contain vital information.

"Am expecting letter from Liverpool Saturday" may mean that a convoy of six ships (Saturday for six) left Liverpool headed north. With the pronoun "I" added, the message indicates, on the other hand, that the convoy was headed south.

Dozens of plans, simple and complex, were in operation in World War I. Undoubtedly not all have outlived their usefulness. Some certainly are still being used in addition to the new ones which have been worked out. As for these new methods, they, will most likely not be disclosed for a long time.