Abteilung III b

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Abteilung III b was the military intelligence branch of the Imperial German Army from 1889 until the end of the First World War. Initially created as a section in the Prussian General Staff in 1889 and named Sektion III b, it was upgraded to a department and renamed Abteilung III b in June 1915.

History[]

The initial responsibilities of Sektion III b consisted solely of counterintelligence; it had limited foreign-intelligence capabilities. Its counterintelligence efforts focused on France and on Russia - the Imperial German Navy had responsibility for intelligence on the United Kingdom. During the First World War of 1914-1918, III b additionally acquired roles in censorship and propaganda.^[1]

In 1917 Abteilung III b gained authorization for domestic intelligence (German: Inlandsaufklärung). The secret activities of III b developed under the head of Abteilung III b, Walter Nicolai (in office: 1913-1918), as war made the need for a secret-police force more pressing. Never before had a German intelligence group held such influence in the German Reich. At the end of the war, the division was disbanded.

When the war began, the network of agents in enemy countries quickly evaporated as belligerent nations arrested the agents. The Secret Service could not provide information about enemy intentions and operational-deployment plans. At the General Staff, within the News Department, the 'enemy editor' grew more suspicious of information delivered as facts, as the intelligence reports often proved to be wrong. In the assessment of the enemy situation, there was one mishap after another. The fundamental error lay in the separation of news gathering and analysis.^{[citation needed]}

As the war progressed, Abteilung III b increasingly established itself as a secret-police and propaganda organization. The left-wing press often referred to Nicolai, the head of the secret police, as the "father of lies" and disinformation, among other things.

In addition, Abteilung III b competed with German Naval Intelligence, also called the "News Department", and the intelligence operations of the Foreign Office^{[citation needed]} became exposed.

Outline[]

During the First World War, the division was significantly upgraded and divided into press, propaganda, intelligence and defense:

Bibliography[]

• Altenhöner, Florian (Winter 2005). "Total War—Total Control? German Military Intelligence on the Home Front, 1914–1918". The Journal of Intelligence History. 5 (2): 55–72. doi:10.1080/16161262.2005.10555117. S2CID 153602438.
• Foley, Robert T. (Winter 2005). "Easy target or Invincible Enemy? German Intelligence Assessments of France Before the Great War". The Journal of Intelligence History. 5 (2): 1–24. doi:10.1080/16161262.2005.10555115. S2CID 155125666.
• Hieber, Hanne (Winter 2005). "'Mademoiselle Docteur': The Life and Service of Imperial Germany's Only Female Intelligence Officer". The Journal of Intelligence History. 5 (2): 91–108. doi:10.1080/16161262.2005.10555119. S2CID 141986010.
• Höhne, Heinz (1976). Canaris Patriot im Zwielicht [Canaris: Patriot in the Twilight] (in German). Munich: Bertelsmann. ISBN 3-570-01608-0. OCLC 230569943.
• Pöhlmann, Markus (Winter 2005). "German Intelligence at War, 1914–1918". The Journal of Intelligence History. 5 (2): 25–54. doi:10.1080/16161262.2005.10555116. S2CID 155389900.
• Schmidt, Jürgen W. (Winter 2005). Translated by Anja Becker. "Against Russia: Department IIIb of the Deputy General Staff, Berlin, and Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Newspaper Research, 1914–1918". The Journal of Intelligence History. 5 (2): 73–89. doi:10.1080/16161262.2005.10555118. S2CID 152339050.
• Schmidt, Jürgen W., ed. (2009). Geheimdienste, Militär und Politik in Deutschland [Intelligence Services, the Military and Politicians in Germany] (in German) (2nd ed.). Ludwigsfelder Verl.-Haus: Ludwigsfelde. ISBN 978-3-933022-55-4. OCLC 494691175.
• Schmidt, Jürgen W. (2009). Gegen Russland und Frankreich : Der deutsche militärische Geheimdienst, 1890–1914 [Against Russia and France: The German Military Intelligence 1890–1914] (3rd ed.). Ludwigsfelder Verl.-Haus: Ludwigsfelde. ISBN 978-3-933022-44-8. OCLC 800412308.

References[]