A great many things have been written about the "efficiency" of the German espionage system and the "inadequacy" of our own system. It is a fact that the German service was remarkably efficient; however, our own service, although very hastily organized, compared favorably with the much-lauded German organization. Secret agents of the A.E.F., working from the inside of German lines and through neutral countries, gave our Intelligence Service a great deal of exceedingly valuable information and few occurrences of importance to the American General Staff escaped our notice.
In October of 1917, I was ordered from the Army War College at Washington to General Headquarters of the A.E.F. for intelligence duty. While at Chaumont, I was in charge of recruiting of agents (spies) from neutral and allied countries, adoption and issue of codes, ciphers and invisible inks, examination of enemy's ciphers and letters and intercepted enemy wireless. Through the intercepted enemy wireless, we obtained an immense amount of information. Very few people have an idea how much patience and careful study it requires to decipher a message. It is a well-known fact that on a great many occasions, interceptions of dispatches and orders written in plain language has resulted in defeat for the force whose intentions thus become known to the opposing commanders. For this reason, careful commanders have used ciphers and codes. However, no practicable cipher is indecipherable if intercepted; the most that can be expected is to delay the deciphering of a message by the intercepting party. The preamble, "place from," date, address and signature give the most important clues as to the language of the cipher, the method probably used, and even the subject matter of the message. In military messages, we almost invariably found the language of the text to be that of the nation to which the military force belonged. The language of the text of the message used by secret agents was, however, another matter and it was only after painstaking efforts that we succeeded in deciphering them.
The cipher work requires an immense amount of concentration and quiet, and very often we worked until the wee hours in the morning on certain messages.
Much to my delight a few months later (in June, 1918), it was decided by the chief of the intelligence section to establish a branch of the secret service department at Evian les Bains on the lake of Geneva, directly across from Lausanne, Switzerland, of which I was placed in charge.
While in Evian les Bains, I succeeded in obtaining a great deal of information pertaining to the enemy's intentions, man power, armament, equipment, recruitment, defensive works, troop movements, munition factories, aviation, morale of the army and civil population, as well as political and economic conditions.
Information was obtained through "stationary" and "traveling" agents, deserters and repatriates. Stationary agents were planted in various cities in Germany, mostly railroad centers such as Metz and Thionville, as the information pertaining to the movements of German troops was considered of utmost importance.
The traveling agents were, as a rule, entrusted with special missions and were sent mostly through neutral countries. A great deal of information was received in letters sent to Switzerland and later forwarded to our office. The sending of these letters was made possible by possession of German censorship stamps which we managed to obtain.
Secured Advance Information on Hindenburg's Withdrawal.
Daily trains of repatriates, sent out from invaded France and Belgium because of lack of food, also provided means of communication. Agents were smuggled into the trains frequently and the repatriates themselves, when properly questioned, gave a good deal of information. I was fortunate enough to report the withdrawal of German troops to the old Hindenburg line in the region of St. Quentin about two weeks before it took place. Soon afterwards, Austrian troops began to arrive on the western front, and within forty-eight hours of the arrival, our General Headquarters had the information.
My agents reported the arrival of 136 trains of Austrian troops arriving on the western front from July 10 to 23, and seen on various points between Arion and Offenburg.
When the American army offensive was launched in the Meuse-Argonne sector on Sept. 26, 1918, the Germans immediately started rushing reinforcements to that particular sector, bringing their total strength from thirteen to twenty-seven divisions, and a few hours after a certain German division arrived in that sector, precise information was sent to General Headquarters.
While stationed at Evian les Bains, I also succeeded in obtaining a great deal of precise information as to the location of important German works, including telephone centrals, wireless stations, cantonments, hospitals, munition depots, anti-aircraft guns, observation posts, food supply depots, artillery positions, engineer dumps, etc., etc. This information was used by our advancing artillery, who fired thousands of rounds on the invisible targets which were definitely located through our service. After the armistice was signed, our attention was centered on the demobilization of the German army, activities of their munition factories, and political and economic conditions within Central Powers.
Co-operation, Communication, Coordination, Slogan of the Swiss.
Petty jealousies existed among the various branches of the Allied armies. However, such was not the case in the secret service. All heads of the various sections co-operated to the fullest extent of their ability, and whenever one of us secured some information in which, for instance, the British or French would be directly interested, we never failed to transmit such information at once.
I learned a great deal from Maj. Emile Gaillard, chief of the French secret service with headquarters at Annemasse (about thirty kilometers from Evian), and I owe a great deal to the counsel and timely advice of that brilliant man. Another very interesting character whom I had the pleasure of numbering among my friends and colleagues, was Lieut. Maurice Mougeot, also of the French secret service, who was sentenced by the Swiss authorities to fifteen years of penal servitude for blowing up a couple of Swiss munition factories which were producing shells for the Boches. In spite of the fact that if detected he would be imprisoned at once, Mougeot used to visit Switzerland at least once a week in order to get in personal contact with some of his agents.
On August 10, 1918, I had a very amusing experience. After leaving my office upon the completion of a hard day's work about 11 p.m., I decided to take a brisk walk along the lake before retiring. As a rule, at that hour, the piers and gardens facing the beautiful lake of Geneva were deserted, with the exception of a few French custom-house sentinels. While on my way back, I saw a woman leap off the pier into the lake, and without hesitation I plunged after her, bringing her back to the shore after a bitter struggle. You can imagine my astonishment when I found out later that the lady in question was Mme. La Marquise Genia de Medici, a member of an almost royal Italian family.
Aided in My Work by a Charming Young Woman.
On January 6, 1919, I left Evian en route to Trier, Germany, as it was decided by the General Staff that the maintenance of our section on the Swiss frontier was no longer necessary. Shortly afterward, I was sent to Paris to fully prepare and equip a number of agents who were sent into Germany. In February 1919, I was sent to Poland on a confidential mission. Having accomplished my mission successfully, for which I am greatly indebted to the beautiful and accomplished Miss T., I made the necessary preparations for my departure. While resting in the lobby of the Bristol Hotel in Warsaw, I met the French Gen. Nieselle, chief of the French military mission to Poland. During the course of conversation, I mentioned the fact that I expected to be in Paris within a few days, whereupon Gen. Nieselle asked me if I would take along some confidential documents to M. Clemenceau, to which I readily consented. I must admit that I was flattered by his request and confidence. Later that afternoon, Gen. Nieselle gave me a large envelope which I carefully concealed by wrapping it in one of my civilian shirts and placing the shirt in my suit case.
When I arrived in Berne, Switzerland, I stopped at the Bellevue Palace, one of the finest hotels there, and the meeting place of all the diplomats and agents of the various governments. In view of the fact that this was in February 1919, three months after the armistice was signed, I thought that the German agents had relaxed their activities, and therefore I did not take the precautionary measures to guard my papers, as I had never failed to do before the signing of the armistice. Instead of depositing the documents in the hotel's safe, I left them in my suit case. Before two hours had elapsed after my arrival, I noticed that I was very closely watched, and in turn decided to watch my watchers.
Narrowly Miss Losing Valuable Documents.
About 11 o'clock that night, upon reaching the floor on which my room was located, I saw one of the men who had been watching me all that day coming out from the room next to mine. He passed me very calmly, trying to appear absolutely unconcerned. His coming out from this room further aroused my suspicion and as soon as I entered my room, I examined my suit case and discovered that it had been opened and closed again. The articles in the suit case were arranged in the exact order in which I had left them, except that the documents were gone. Without waiting another moment, I broke into the next room and found a man getting ready to open the envelope which contained the confidential documents. Using a little mild persuasion in the shape of a German .38 automatic, I had no trouble in getting my papers back without unnecessary disturbance, and was fortunate enough to recover some other important documents which were stolen from the Swiss.
In May 1919, I returned to Warsaw, Poland, en route to Boshevik Russia, where I volunteered to go in order to obtain first-hand information about the conditions in that country. Upon my arrival in Warsaw, I was confronted with the problem of selecting the best route in order to cross the Bolshevik lines without being detected.
I retained an apartment in Warsaw and inserted an advertisement in all of the Polish newspapers, requesting that all the refugees who had recently returned from Russia call at my address. In four days' time, I had seen thirty-seven people, and having had a good deal of experience in interrogating deserters and refugees during the war, it was comparatively easy to elicit from them all the information that I required. The result was that I ascertained that I could cross the Bolshevik lines either by the way of Vilna, Pinsk or Lemberg.
Get in Touch With Bolshevik Agents Easily
In the meantime, by careful manipulation, I managed to get in personal contact with Isaac Warshawski, a Bolshevik agent and sympathizer, and connected with the Polish Department of Labor, to whom I presented myself as a personal friend of Bill Haywood, the notorious secretary of the American I.W.W. I told Warshawski that I was very anxious to get over to Moscow in order to get in touch with Lenine and Trotzky, with whom I wanted to hold a conference and lay plans to carry on an active Bolshevik propaganda upon my return to the States. Warshawski extended me a most cordial welcome and gave me a letter of introduction to a Mr. Rosenfeld in Vilna, another Bolshevik agent. Taking all of the above facts into consideration, I was pretty well prepared for the trip, but being accustomed to act with the utmost caution, I decided to make a short reconnoitering trip before crossing into Russia. I had given Warshawski's letter of introduction to my assistant, whom I sent to Vilna, while I went to Pinsk in order to look over the possibilities on the ground. Upon my arrival at Pinsk, I discovered that the Bolshevik lines could be easily crossed at that point, and two days later I returned to Warsaw, where I had prearranged a rendezvous with my assistant.
The following day, we left for Pinsk and arriving there, we disposed of all of our papers and civilian clothing. Dressed as Russian peasants, we crossed the lines without an incident and when we got to the first village beyond the Bolshevik lines, we secured a horse and wagon and drove to Minsk, where we boarded the train for Moscow.
We came in close contact with all classes of the population, from whom we obtained a great deal of information, the greatest part of which was contradictory to that submitted by the men who had been sent to Russia a short time before in semiofficial capacity by the American Peace Commission in Paris.
The men sent out by the Peace Commission submitted a report which was very favorable to the Bolshevik government, in view of the fact that they had not come in contact with the people, but had only seen the leaders, Lenine, Trotzky and Chicherin, who presented them with their side of the story. We found out from the people that the soviet form of government is not at all popular in Russia and the Bolsheviki are hated and dreaded. Lenine and Trotzky manage to maintain their power by terrorism and tyranny unheard of since the time of the Spanish inquisition.
The economic and industrial life of Russia was practically at a standstill, all of the factories remaining idle with the exception of some munition factories. The workmen employed in those factories represent the only element favorable to Bolshevism in Russia because they draw big wages. The people in general were praying for the Allies to deliver them from under the Bolshevik yoke and the soldiers have attempted to mutiny on numerous occasions, but they lacked organization and a competent leader. Several regiments tried to revolt, but the Bolsheviki sent against them their loyal Chinese and Letts divisions and annihilated the mutineers.
Brutality of the Bolsheviki Amounts to Barbarity.
Bolshevism is barbarism and I am fully convinced that no true American could sympathize with their cause if he was acquainted with their methods. Any sensible man would be bitterly opposed to the rule of the Bolsheviki if he had witnessed some of the atrocities committed by orders of Bolshevik leaders. I could cite hundreds of cases where the women and children were slaughtered and sometimes forced to dig their own graves, but it would take too long a time. However, I am going to mention some samples of justice and punishment as interpreted by the Bolsheviki.
A man in Moscow was suspected of anti-Bolshevik sentiments. At first he was imprisoned, then tried without the priviege of having a counsel to defend him, and finally executed in a most beastly fashion. He was placed in a square wood box, barely large enough to hold him doubled up, then the lid was nailed down and his executioners took a large cross-cut saw and sawed the box and the victim in two.
At Kiev, a factory superintendent and his assistant were assassinated in the most brutal manner. It happened in January and the thermometer stood at 40 deg. below zero. These two unfortunates were taken out into the bitter cold, stripped of their clothing, tied to poles which were solidly placed in the ground and cold water was poured over them. This water froze as soon as it struck their bodies, and this procedure was kept up until the two men became solid icicles. Then these poles were taken up and the victims carried at the head of a parade marching through the main streets of the town, while the marchers sang "Internationale" and other revolutionary and Communist songs.
Having obtained all the information necessary, we returned to Poland by the same identical route without incident, and a few days later we reported at the advance General Headquarters in Trier.
Early in June 1919, the entire personnel was either ordered back to the States or discharged in Europe. I was assigned to the American riding team and participated in the inter-Allied games at Pershing Stadium, returning to the U.S.A. in September.