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A-1 The Corps of Intelligence Police (CIC)-1 (1917-1940)
1. Purpose and Scope
The material in this manual is designed to furnish information on the historical development of the Counter Intelligence Corps. It covers the period from 1917 to 1945, with special emphasis on the war years. An attempt has been made, from the documents available, to describe the history and mission of the Counter Intelligence Corps in the various theaters of operations.

2. During World War One
During World War One, the Intelligence Section, American Expeditionary Force, recommended and the War College Division sanctioned the establishment of the Corps of Intelligence Police. Authority for such action was contained in the provisions of Section II of an Act of Congress (approved 18 May 1917) giving the President the power to increase the Army to meet the national emergency. This Corps of fifty men in the rank of sergeant of infantry was to report for counterespionage duty under the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Force (Gen George J. Pershing). On 13 August 1917, the Corps of Intelligence Police was officially established by War Department General Orders.

• a. A French-speaking officer with experience in police work was given the mission of recruiting the men. He traveled to New Orleans and New York City where he advertised in the local newspapers for men who could speak French to do intelligence work in France. He accepted all candidates who could pass the Army physical examination and answer a few simple questions in French.
• b. On 25 November 1917, the Corps of Intelligence Police, fifty strong, arrived in St Nazaire, France. Some were sent to British
  Intelligence at Le Havre for further training. The others were assigned to the rear area under the control of General Headquarters or were merged with divisional intelligence sections. The Le Havre Detachment worked at copying British suspect lists and counterespionage summaries and began indexing these lists. This training continued until a short while before the Armistice.

• c. In January, 1918, the Corps opened its office in Paris and began work on its central card file, securing names from British, French, and American sources. At the end of the war this file contained some 50,000 names.
• d. The first actual counterespionage work was done at St Nazaire where enemy agents were reported to be active. Agents apprehended by the Corps of Intelligence Police were immediately turned over to French authorities for disposition. Civilians were screened, travelers checked, and passports examined. In addition to work of a counterespionage and security nature, the Corps of Intelligence Police also did investigative work for the Department of Criminal Investigation by conducting fraud and graft investigations. Members of the Corps of Intelligence Police were assigned to the American Peace Delegation in Paris. One detachment was assigned to guard President Wilson’s residence while he was in France.
• e. In January, 1918, authorization was granted to increase the Corps gradually to an eventual strength of 750 men. One year later, there were 405 agents on duty with the American Expeditionary Force. However, the allotted 750 vacancies were never filled because of the Armistice and demobilization of the Corps.
• f. Meanwhile, during the years 1917-1918, the work of the Corps of Intelligence Police in the continental United States was carried out under the Chief of the War College Division, General Staff. On 28 November 1917, the Corps was increased to 300 men, 250 of whom were to work within the United States. In March, 1918, with the abolition of the War College Division of the General Staff, the Corps of Intelligence Police was transferred to the control of the Military Intelligence Branch of the Executive Division of the General Staff.
• g. The next increase in strength came in an order from The Adjutant General dated 4 September 1918. This was deemed necessary because of the rapid increase in the number of investigations being conducted throughout the United States and the territorial departments.
• h. However, these goals were never reached, for by January, 1920, of a total of 600 men who had been on duty in the Corps of Intelligence Police, only 18 remained. This caused serious concern among those who saw the menace of failing to provide a permanent place for the Corps of Intelligence Police in the organization of the Army. Many saw the necessity for such personnel in New York, Washington, and the Western and Southern Departments for investigation and guard duties of a strictly confidential nature. Therefore, authority was requested to detail not more than 24 sergeants of the duly authorized organizations of the Army for intelligence service. These were to be evenly divided among the Eastern, Western, and Southern Departments, and the District of Columbia. The Adjutant General granted the authority for such action on 7 February 1920. These men were to be subject to the orders of the Department Commander in whose territory they were assigned, except for the six men on duty with the Western Department who were to be subject to the orders of the Director of Military Intelligence. However, this order did not create a permanent status for the Corps of Intelligence Police in the organization of the Army.
• i. A series of memoranda, prepared by the Director of Intelligence, pointed out the necessity for such a body of men, requested a permanent organization for the Corps of Intelligence Police, and set forth the quotas for the Corps Areas and Departments. The quota of 45 sergeants allotted by the resultant order was not as great as had been desired by the various Corps Areas and Departments, but it did give the Corps of Intelligence Police a permanent foothold in the organization of the Army.
• j. Duties of the Corps of Intelligence Police were outlined by the War Department in the spring of 1921. All individuals who might be suspected of operating against the Military Establishment were to be closely observed. In addition, the Corps of Intelligence Police was directed to report on radical activities in political and industrial fields. This was a tremendous assignment for a handful of men whose number was reduced to a mere 30 in 1922 when the Army was cut to 125,000 men.
• k. The policy of isolationism that swept the country at that time made it impossible to increase the Army in general and the Corps of Intelligence Police in particular. Although there was important work for the Corps, the policy of the Army prohibited the Corps of Intelligence Police from growing large enough to control subversive activity in, or directly affecting, the Military Establishment. However, in 1926, when it became clear that the Corps of Intelligence Police would have to expand rapidly in an emergency, a Mobilization Plan for the Corps was drawn up. The initial strength of the Corps was set at 250 men with provision for increments as the mobilization progressed. The functions of the personnel were outlined more clearly, and a promotion plan was formulated.
• l. Despite the best intentions of men who were aware of the real value of the Corps of Intelligence Police, a further decrease
  occurred in 1926, which brought the total to 28; and in November 1933, strength was decreased to 15. This curtailment of essential personnel was effected as an economy move in the days of the depression. It was argued that the grades held by the men were too high for the clerical duties they were performing. It was even suggested that other military personnel or civilian employees replace the Corps of Intelligence Police in certain localities. To this, the Philippine Department answered :

  This Department presents a special case in that its distance from the homeland, its close proximity to World Powers, its heterogeneous mixture of foreigners, and the uncertainty of the future, all tend to emphasize the importance of keeping the Commanding General fully informed at all times. In order to perform this important duty, the scope of the organization charged with its execution is wide and varied… All of the present members of the Corps of Intelligence Police are men of proven ability, loyalty, and experience… Were any of these agents replaced by civilians or military personnel, it would confront this office with the necessity of building a new organization and discarding one which has reached its present state of efficiency after years of intelligence effort and experience.

• m. From 1934 to 1939, with but a single increase of one man authorized for work in the Philippine Department, the Corps of Intelligence Police existed precariously with its small quota. Meanwhile, continued reports indicated that Japanese and Nazi activity were on the upswing in the Panama, Hawaiian, and Philippine Departments. Finally, in June, 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation which stated that the control of all matters of an espionage, counterespionage, and sabotage nature would be handled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation of the Department of Justice, the Military Intelligence Division of the War Department, and the Office of Naval Intelligence of the Navy Department. The Directors of these three agencies were ordered to function as a committee to coordinate their activities.
• n. One year later, the chiefs of the three agencies involved drew up an agreement as to jurisdiction, with particular emphasis given to foreign operations. Further revision of this agreement, defining clearly the work to be handled by each agency, was made in February, 1942. This has become known as the Delimitations Agreement of 1942.
• o. Expansion of the Corps began almost immediately. In June, 1940, authorization was granted to bring in an additional 26 men. In December, 1940, the allotment was increased to 188 men. Although some difficulty was experienced in recruiting, because of a lack of definite standards of qualifications, it was soon established that only men of the highest integrity with a high school education or better would be selected. On 20 February 1941 a total of 288 men was reached. A total of 18 agents was allotted to the important Panama Canal Department. By 31 May the over-all total swelled to 513, and by 17 February 1942 the Panama Canal Department alone could count 59 men on duty there.
• p. In January, 1941, the office of the Chief of the Corps of Intelligence Police-Sub-Section, Investigating Section, Counter Intelligence Branch, Military Intelligence Division, was established. On 24 February 1941, the Corps of Intelligence Police Investigators School became operational in the Army War College and, after two classes, was moved to Chicago. By April, Technical Manual 30-215 (Tentative) was published, thereby creating a definite and consistent procedure of training for all personnel in the Corps.
• q. On 6 December 1941, the eve of Pearl Harbor, the Corps of Intelligence Police was a permanent organization of the Army, organized under the direction of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, General Staff. It had authorization for 513 enlisted men, and had begun the task of expanding its work under the policies set forth in the Delimitations Agreement. Suddenly the days of begging for men and money had come to an end. The problem was now to grow as rapidly as possible, procure and train men, and do a professional job simultaneously.

A-2 Organization for War
3. The Corps of Intelligence Police is Geared for Action

The outbreak of World War II called for an immediate increase in the authorized strength of the Corps of Intelligence Police. The total strength of the Corps was set at 1.026 non-commissioned officers, and all its members then in the Enlisted Reserve Corps were ordered to active duty with the least practical delay. The War Department then set out to produce a well-staffed and well-trained organization for this branch of intelligence work.

4. The Counterintelligence Corps

On 13 December 1941, a letter from the office of The Adjutant General officially changed the name of the Corps of Intelligence Police to the Counter Intelligence Corps, to be effective 1 January 1942. This was a change in name only. However, many organizational changes were made during the first two years of existence of the Counter Intelligence Corps on the basis of lessons learned from field experience.

• a. At the outset of the war, there were many Military Intelligence Division officers supervising the Corps of Intelligence Police who were not experienced in their duties. This deficiency was early recognized by the War Department, and constructive steps were taken immediately. All officers selected for duty with the Counter Intelligence Corps had to be cleared by the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, before serving with the Corps. Furthermore, commanders of all Corps Areas, Departments (except the Philippine and Hawaiian Departments), and Base Defense Commands were directed to submit without delay to the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, a roster of all commissioned personnel on duty with the Corps of Intelligence Police.
• b. In order to provide the most proficient and experienced counterintelligence commissioned personnel to supervise the activities of the Counter Intelligence Corps, it was recommended that a complement of commissioned officers be specifically authorized for the Counter Intelligence Corps. It was also deemed advisable to increase the commissioned strength of the Corps to 543 in field and company grades and to bring the total non-commissioned strength to 4.431.
• c. A tentative plan of organization for Counter Intelligence Corps detachments to serve with tactical and headquarters units down to and including divisions was also drawn up. In outline, the detachments were to be composed in the following manner :

  - Field Army : 6 Officers and 49 Enlisted men
  - Air Forces : 5 Officers and 17 Enlisted men
  - Defense Command : 4 Officers and 28 Enlisted men

  In addition, Counter Intelligence Corps Headquarters, the Training School, the Washington Field Office, and the Replacement Pool were authorized officer and enlisted vacancies.

• d. At this time, each service command was given a temporary and permanent allotment by The Adjutant General. The temporary allotment was to cover procurement when an overseas detachment was to be activated, the men therein to be transferred from the service commands. When men were transferred from the service commands for this purpose, the temporary allotment for the new detachment was reduced by The Adjutant General and the new detachment simultaneously set up.
• e. In October, 1942, the system of temporary allotments to the service commands was discontinued, and all such allotments were transferred to the War Department Reserve Pool. This Reserve Pool was then apportioned among the service commands for procurement purposes. When a tactical detachment was activated, an allotment was provided from the service commands as before; and the apportionment of the War Department Reserve Pool decreased by the grades of the men transferred.
• f. It was anticipated early in 1942 that the constant loss of men in service commands, because of the demands of overseas units, would seriously hamper operations. Consequently, on 14 May, the corps areas (service commands) were directed by Military Intelligence Section to submit a list of special agents considered key personnel with a brief explanation of the positions these men held. Because of a tendency on the part of the corps areas to include a large number of men on such listings, it soon became necessary to limit key personnel in the corps areas to 10% of the total personnel in each command.
• g. In April, 1943, it was determined that since all Counter Intelligence Corps personnel were chargeable to War Department overhead, they should be assigned to the War Department and attached to the various service commands for administrative purposes. Consequently, the allotments to the service commands were rescinded, and two months later the allotments to the theaters of operations were rescinded. In September, 1943, TM 30-215, Counter Intelligence Corps, set forth a T/O basis for assignment of personnel to the theaters of operations. The balance of the Counter Intelligence Corps personnel was to be assigned to Army Ground Forces, Army Service Forces, and other utilizing units.
• h. The increase in personnel made it necessary to expand the Counter Intelligence Corps administrative machinery to meet the new demands. In December, 1942, the office of the Chief, Counter Intelligence Corps, was divided into six sections :

  - Supply
  - Operations,
  - Fiscal
  - Plans and Training
  - Personnel
  - Army Air Forces Liaison

• i. The procurement and training of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel for overseas duty became the primary mission of the office of the Chief, Counter Intelligence Corps. Demands for assignment of Counter Intelligence Corps detachments, both to units scheduled for immediate departure to overseas duty and for units already in combat in the theaters of operations, were steadily increasing. To meet these demands and to facilitate training, the War Department, on 29 October, 1942, instructed all Bases, Departments, and Service Commands (except the Ninth) to establish preliminary Counter Intelligence Corps training schools in their respective commands.
• j. In an attempt to make the administration of the Counter Intelligence Corps more definitive, the Deputy Chief of Staff, on 25 November, 1943, directed that certain recommendations made by the Inspector General be carried out. These included the following :

  (1) Two changes in basic policy :
  - (a) The Counter Intelligence Corps was to be utilized, with certain limited exceptions, in theaters of operations.
  - (b) Personnel of the Corps were to be released from War Department overhead assignments, distributed on a T/O basis, with 6-2 exercising no command function over the Corps.

  (2) Three specific continuing responsibilities relative to the Counter Intelligence Corps charged to the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, War Department :
  - (a) The establishment of policies and over-all supervision of counterintelligence activities.
  - (b) Coordination of the procurement and shipment of Counter Intelligence Corps units.
  - (c) The administration of specialized training prior to assignment of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel to theaters of operations.

  (3) Certain specific actions relative to the Counter Intelligence Corps :
  - (a) The Counter Intelligence Corps Headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland, and the Counter Intelligence Corps Staging Area were to be eliminated.
  - (b) G-2, War Department, in collaboration with the three major commands, and G-3, War Department, were to submit for approval a plan for procurement of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel.
  - (c) Counter Intelligence Corps units were to be organized on a T/O basis included in troop quotas.
  - (d) Command channels were to be used and command responsibility emphasized.
  - (e) Shipment of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel overseas was to be in accordance with approved requests of theater commanders.
  - (f) Basic training of counterintelligence personnel was to be provided by Army Service Forces.
  - (g) Counter Intelligence Corps specialized training was to be given by Military Intelligence Division at Camp Ritchie, Maryland.
  - (h) Counter Intelligence Corps personnel in permanent detachments of Service Commands were to be transferred for assignment to those Service Commands by 31 December 1943.

• k. On 14 December, 1943, War Department Circular No. 324 transferred the counterintelligence functions within the zone of the interior to the Provost Marshal General. The investigative functions hitherto performed by the Counter Intelligence Corps and those of the Provost Marshal General were consolidated, and it was directed that these functions be performed by a single staff agency under each Service Command. This agency was later designated the Security and Intelligence Division.
• l. Since the Counter Intelligence Corps was no longer to be the organization conducting investigations of espionage and sabotage cases for the Military Intelligence Division in the continental United States, it was necessary that the responsibility for discharging these functions be placed with the Commanding General, Army Service Forces, and designated areas. The assignment of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel to the Service Commands, where they became part of the newly formed Security and Intelligence Division under the jurisdiction of the Provost Marshal General, was also provided in War Department Circular 324. The assignment of personnel from War Department overhead to the using commands with instructions to activate under T/O&E 30-500 was an entirely new concept for the Counter Intelligence Corps, and great administrative difficulties attended this change of activity.
• m. On 22 May 1944 a reorganization within the Military Intelligence Section replaced the office formerly known as the Counter Intelligence Corps Branch of the Military Intelligence Section with the title of the Counter Intelligence Corps Section. A G-2, War Department Policy Staff was created. This staff was responsible for policy decisions on intelligence functions, including the Counter Intelligence Corps. No important alterations in policy or duties accompanied this re-designation. However, since the function of the Counter Intelligence Corps Section was considered to be of an administrative and operational nature rather than a true staff function, on 1 August 1944 the Section was transferred from the control of the General Staff, War Department, to the Army Service Forces.
• n. By this time the Counter Intelligence Corps had operated successfully overseas in every combat area and had obtained a troop basis of 4.308. These were allocated in the following manner :

  - Theaters of Operation, Base Commands, and other overseas installations 3000
  - Army Ground Forces in United States 485
  - Army Air Forces in United States and Air Transport Command 823
  - Total 4308

  The overseas allotments increased as additional Army Ground Forces units were trained and shipped to combat. Counter Intelligence Corps detachments were assigned to their respective units and became an integral part of divisions, corps, armies, overseas administrative commands, theater headquarters, and of the A-2 Sections of the Air Force commands and installations.

• o. On 1 December 1944 the Counter Intelligence Corps became a separate branch of the Intelligence Division of the Army Service Forces. Under the Army Service Forces the policy of assigning all Counter Intelligence Corps detachments to using units was continued. The only Counter Intelligence Corps detachments working within the zone of the interior were those units specifically allowed to do so by the War Department.

5. Personnel Procurment

The administrative difficulties that were met in the early days of the Counter Intelligence Corps were paralleled by an equally difficult task of procuring desired personnel. On 21 October 1942 the power to initiate Counter Intelligence Corps personnel investigations was placed within the Service Commands. The commands were also empowered to assign and transfer personnel as Counter Intelligence Corps agents in the grade of corporal, and as Counter Intelligence Corps clerks in the grade of private first class. Control over the assignment and transfer of Counter Intelligence Corps special agents, the promotion of personnel from the rank of agent to special agent, and all matters concerning the assignment or transfer of commissioned personnel remained with the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, War Department.

• a. A backlog of investigations to be conducted on prospective Counter Intelligence Corps personnel developed during this period. Until June, 1943, Counter Intelligence Corps agents and clerks had been recruited by the theater commanders in overseas areas on the same basis as in the Service Commands. However, on 26 June, the allotments to theaters were discontinued. TX 30-215, Counter Intelligence Corps, published 22 September 1943, limited the responsibility for procurement and assignment of officers and special agents to the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, War Department, and of agents and clerks to the Director of Intelligence in the Service Commands within the zone of the interior. All Counter Intelligence Corps personnel procured in theaters of operations were to be approved by the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, War Department.
• b. As an aid in spotting potential Counter Intelligence Corps personnel, the classification 301 Investigator was introduced into the Army classification system early in 1942. The names of all men under this classification were referred to the office of the Chief, Counter Intelligence Corps, for review and selection of prospective personnel. Men who were given the classification of 213 Stenographers were also brought to the attention of this office so that from this group suitable clerks might be procured. When the procurement of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel was decentralized to the Service Commands in October, 1942, the names of men in the 301 and 213 classification were reported directly to the Service Commands by the reception centers. During 1942-and 1943, the office of The Adjutant General furnished the office of the Chief, Counter Intelligence Corps, extracts from qualification cards on all linguists inducted into the Army.
• c. The largest percentage of Counter Intelligence Corps agents was obtained from personnel already in the Army. At the reception centers newly inducted personnel with basic Counter Intelligence Corps qualifications were interviewed by Counter Intelligence Corps agents to determine their suitability for assignment to Counter Intelligence Corps duty. Civilian and government organizations which employed investigators were requested to submit information concerning former investigators in their employ who had been inducted into the military service. In the early days of the organization of the Counter Intelligence Corps, men occasionally applied for admission to the Corps prior to their induction into the Army. If application was approved, they were immediately tabbed and shortly thereafter transferred to the Counter Intelligence Corps. This method was not widely used because it resulted in personnel being transferred into the Corps without basic military training. Lack of basic training later proved to be a handicap to these agents when they were assigned to tactical detachments.
• d. To meet the demands for qualified men, recommendations were accepted from post intelligence officers, Counter Intelligence Corps personnel, and any other military personnel who knew of men with basic Counter Intelligence Corps qualifications. All commanding officers throughout the Army were encouraged to submit names of men with the basic qualifications for Counter Intelligence Corps duty.
• e. In the early recruitment, emphasis was placed on investigative or legal experience. Later, men with adequate education, good character, and loyalty were accepted even though they had neither legal nor investigative experience. Some linguists were procured, but this qualification was not an exclusive one. Men were drawn from all types of civilian occupations, and the Counter Intelligence Corps became an organization which included representatives of virtually every profession and nationality. In spite of the fact that most of these men worked as corporals or sergeants, the organization obtained outstanding men. The lure of the word intelligence and the prospect of working in civilian clothes was tempting bait; but if the men of the Corps had not been carefully selected, their records in the war would have been less impressive. Counter Intelligence Corps men have always relied upon their own initiative. This has been borne out by the nature of their work in the United States and, to an even greater extent, by the record they have made in overseas operations.
• f. For the most part, men selected for the Counter Intelligence Corps were well suited for their tasks, but one major weakness in the recruiting program was very noticeable. Not enough emphasis was given to procuring and training linguists. The problem of obtaining men fluent in French, German, Italian, Japanese, and other foreign languages was made more difficult because of War Department policy which directed that no persons of close foreign background would be assigned to or retained in the Counter Intelligence Corps. Many naturalized Americans, both in and out of the Army, were fluent in several languages, but the Counter Intelligence Corps was unable to use this source of language personnel because of this strict policy. When the war in Europe came to an end, the Army was faced with the overwhelming task of procuring a large number of men fluent in foreign languages. This necessity brought a quick reversal of policy and, thereafter, close foreign relations alone ceased to be considered sufficient to disqualify a man for the Corps.

6. The Problem of Rank

The rank of the agent was at best a partial secret within the Army. Counter Intelligence Corps men were instructed to conceal their actual rank by using the term agent or special agent. Concealment of rank in the zone of the interior was not too great a problem since agents worked in civilian clothes. The average civilian respected Counter Intelligence Corps credentials and was not concerned with the actual rank of the bearer.

• a. When his mission was changed from the zone of the interior to foreign theaters of operations, the Counter Intelligence Corps agent, in some cases, wore the military uniform indicating his status. This factor was a disadvantage in dealing with officers of the United States Army and officers of the Allied Forces. The low rank of the leaders of some detachments often had a hampering effect, especially in their relationships with allied services in the theaters and with coordinate agencies in the United States. In many theaters this difficulty of rank was overcome by the adoption of a uniform similar to that of war correspondent which showed no rank.

A-3 In the Zone of the Interior 1941-1943
7. The Military Intelligence Division

As a result of the Delimitations Agreement of 1939, the counterintelligence system was centralized under three agencies. The task assigned to the United States Army covered both the Military Establishment and a large percentage of the munitions industry. The primary counterintelligence effort was the organization of a security system which would prevent access of hostile agents to our facilities.

• a. Countless security surveys were made. Safeguards were developed, and identification systems were established. Thousands of personnel investigations were conducted; and, as these proceeded, steps were taken to place persons whose loyalty was in question on work where they could not injure our war effort.
• b. There were individual cases of sabotage and these, of course, became the immediate subject of intensive investigation. A few saboteurs and spies were captured and convicted. Even in cases where investigation failed to uncover the perpetrator, exhaustive investigation resulted in the development of better security measures.
• c. A special effort was made to safeguard military information. Counter Intelligence Corps personnel operated the security system for the headquarters that planned the North African campaign. In many cases where the Counter Intelligence Corps found improper safeguarding of military information, strategic plans were changed or revoked.
• d. During the years 1942-1943, agents of the Counter Intelligence Corps made thousands of loyalty investigations on military personnel and civilians assigned to duties requiring access to classified material. The transfer of certain investigative functions from the Military Intelligence Division to the Provost Marshal General in October, 1941, did not relieve the Corps of the duty of investigating personnel already in military service who were working with classified material. Typical examples of such personnel were cryptographers; certain Signal Corps personnel in other types of work; Military Intelligence personnel (civilian and military); and, of course, as a large part of the last mentioned category, potential Counter Intelligence Corps personnel.
• e. The forms used and the extent of the investigations varied in accordance with War Department and Service Command policy. Investigations of prospective Counter Intelligence Corps personnel were always exhaustive.
• f. Loyalty investigations which involved no suspicion of disloyalty consisted of an examination of personal history, education, employment, and associations. Each subject of a personnel investigation was required to complete a Personal History Statement. In each personnel investigation, a check was made of the local police, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of Naval Intelligence, and the Military Intelligence Division files. Copies of each memorandum report were sent to the Service Commands interested, the Military Intelligence Division, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• g. Investigations of military personnel suspected of disaffection, espionage, treason, sedition, sabotage, or of violations of AR 380-5, Safeguarding Military Information, were reported on War Department Form CIR 1 (Counter Intelligence Report No. 1). This form contained a summarization by the investigating agent, a detailed outline of the subject’s personal background, and a recommendation for disposition of the subject in accordance with the purpose of the investigation.
• h. The Service Command Counter Intelligence Corps detachments were divided into several field offices, each having investigative responsibility for a certain geographic area of the Service Command. In certain less populated areas, single representatives were used and designated as resident agents. In metropolitan field offices with many agents, the personnel operated in separate sections and squads under the direction of special agents of proved experience and ability. These sections performed specific types of investigations. Agents became specialists in one type of investigation, developed local contacts of value in their particular field, and accumulated a general knowledge of organizations and individuals in the area considered subversive or of questionable loyalty.
• i. Exclusive of background investigations, the largest volume of investigations consisted of disaffection cases. Disaffection has been defined as a state of mind indicating a lack of affection for the United States Government. Such cases usually concerned persons with German, Italian, or Japanese backgrounds.
• j. In the field of suspected sabotage and espionage, the Counter Intelligence Corps performed investigations which often employed the use of technical investigative equipment. The Counter Intelligence Corps mission in the zone of the interior was not as dramatic as that of federal agencies which apprehended espionage agents. The efforts of the Counter Intelligence Corps, however, denied access to vital industrial plants and to highly secret military installations to many persons whose loyalty to the United States was dubious. What damage these persons might have wrought on the war effort is only a matter of conjecture.
• k. In the fall of 1943, the Inspector General conducted an extensive examination of Counter Intelligence Corps activities in the Service Commands. The resultant recommendations brought about a reorganization of the Corps both in its activity in the Service Commands, and in foreign theaters. Of special import was the suggestion that Counter Intelligence Corps personnel :

  … be specifically procured and trained for utilization in theaters of operation; that they be so utilized that Counter Intelligence Corps activities within the Zone of Interior be performed by the Security Intelligence Corps of the Provost Marshal General’s Department.

• l. Since the future Counter Intelligence Corps mission would be entirely overseas, it was necessary to administer the program of the Counter Intelligence Corps and train and procure the personnel especially for that purpose. The largest source of personnel, the Service Command detachments, was no longer available, thereby necessitating a new method of procurement. The office of the Chief, Counter Intelligence Corps, in Baltimore, Maryland, was discontinued, and all administration was handled by the Counter Intelligence Section of the Counter Intelligence Group, Military Intelligence Service. The staff of this office was much smaller than it had been in the office of the Chief, Counter Intelligence Corps.
• m. After a period of training and reorganization, the Counter Intelligence Corps was sent to the combat zones. It was here that the real value and meaning of the Corps became known to combat commanders. The record and achievements of Counter Intelligence Corps personnel brought added prestige to the Corps and to the Armed Forces of the United States.

A-4 Operation Torch
8. The Mission

The Counter Intelligence Corps mission in combat was to protect troops, equipment, and installations from enemy espionage and sabotage. North Africa was the scene of the first tactical use of the Counter Intelligence Corps.

9. The Landings

After a period of several months’ intensive training and orientation, the Counter Intelligence Section, G-2, Western Task Force, began its activities on 8 November 1942 by making the landing in French Morocco with the assault troops. The landing was made at Fedala with elements of the 3rd Infantry Division. Counter Intelligence Corps personnel were successful in the capture of a mass of documents in a hotel that was used as headquarters by members of the German Armistice Commission. Brig Gen Arthur R. Wilson appropriately evaluated the captured material in one sentence : Hitler’s (Armistice) Commission has saved the American Army a great deal of work. In addition, the Counter Intelligence Corps captured a group of Italian nationals at Fedala whose presence there was a source of danger to the security of the American Army during the initial assault.

• a. A Counter Intelligence Corps contingent accompanied the 9th Infantry Division when it landed at Port Lyautey. The 11th Armored Division with its Counter Intelligence Corps component and elements of the 9th Infantry Division made the landing at Safi under heavy fire. In Algiers, the Counter Intelligence Corps landed with the first boats and seized a number of Nazi suspects as well as important documents. At the close of the first day of operations, the Counter Intelligence Corps had established positions stretched over some seven hundred miles
  of coastline.

• b. On 11 November the Counter Intelligence Corps, with elements of the 3rd Infantry Division, took part in the encirclement of Casablanca. At Casablanca, among the documents seized were German lists of French Axis sympathizers as well as a complete Italian Secret Service list of French Intelligence Service members. Consequently, these compromised French agents were replaced by men unknown to the enemy.
• c. In these early operations against the enemy, the Counter Intelligence Corps made a favorable impression with the troop commanders. The Corps proved that it was not just a rear echelon organization. For their heroism under fire, many of its members received decorations which included the Soldier’s Medal, the Silver Star, and the Legion of Merit award.

10. Organization for Operation with Combat Troops

After the landing, Counter Intelligence Corps personnel were relieved from attachment to divisions and were attached to Western Task Force Headquarters. They were then deployed on a territorial basis in various cities along the Moroccan seaboard. Shortly thereafter, the Western Task Force was dissolved and its Counter Intelligence Corps personnel briefly joined the 1st Armored Corps. On 9 February, they were attached to Headquarters, 5th Army, a new army which had been organized in North Africa only the previous month.

• a. The Counter Intelligence Corps then assumed counterintelligence jurisdiction over all French Morocco except those portions covered by the Atlantic and Mediterranean Base Sections, Eventually, a part of Algeria was included as well. Freedom of action was curtailed, however, because under the terms of the Armistice Agreement the French retained the powers of arrest and search. As a result, Counter Intelligence Corps operations in North Africa after the Armistice were conducted under the closest advisement of the French intelligence agencies there.
• b. During the occupational phase in North Africa, the mission of the Counter Intelligence Corps slowly began to crystallize. Every precaution was taken to prevent enemy communications in the occupied area. As a means of neutralizing the efforts of Axis sympathizers, a diligent search was carried out for all caches of arms, ammunition, or other contraband. Investigations were carried out on all suspicious persons and incidents reported by units. By interrogation and from relevant documents, a great deal of security information was amassed. From the intelligence thus collected, the Counter Intelligence Corps was able to give assistance and advice to the combat troops in the application of security precautions to vital installations such as ports, utilities, dumps, communications, and other areas.
• c. One of the tasks performed by the Counter Intelligence Corps in forward areas was the search of enemy headquarters and local administrative and police offices. This made it necessary for Counter Intelligence Corps personnel to arrive on the scene in time to protect documents from destruction and dissipation. In the performance of these duties Counter Intelligence Corps sections were sent well forward, and in some instances were the first troops to enter towns and villages. They performed functions varying from those of the mayor of a town to those of the infantryman.

11. Operations in Liberated Areas.

The Counter Intelligence Corps North African operations were difficult in the liberated areas due to the fluid political situation. Precautions had to be taken to prevent enemy communications. Civilian telephone calls were subject to spot monitoring; and when certain telephone users incurred suspicion, the telephones were monitored continuously. At Fedala, Counter Intelligence Corps personnel discovered that Axis paid agents had installed a monitoring board to cover American Headquarters. This board was neutralized before it had begun to operate. Cooperation was also given to the Signal Intelligence Service in the interception of short-wave radio transmitters. The Counter Intelligence Corps furnished leads to Signal Intelligence which located the transmitters, and the stations were promptly raided. Continuous monitoring was necessary because enemy transmitters changed frequencies and often would broadcast no more than fifteen minutes a day, and then at irregular intervals.

• a. The enemy attempted to infiltrate agents through Spanish Morocco in an effort to gain information concerning the movement of troops and troop concentrations. These agents were intercepted by a frontier control system established soon after the landing phase. Similar attempts were made at the French Border Control Stations. Counter Intelligence Corps agents worked with the French in checking applications for border passage. In one instance, the border agents were informed that an Arab woman, employed by a German agent, would attempt to cross the border with short-wave equipment concealed in her voluminous dress. The tip was correct and the equipment was seized.
• b. The Counter Intelligence Corps was also assigned the task of providing protection of supplies, installations, and personnel. To carry out this function, Counter Intelligence Corps agents installed and supervised pass systems at ports, conducted security surveys, and investigated port personnel. Working with the Navy at one port, the Counter Intelligence Corps established a pass system which cleared more than 3000 French and native workers daily without incident. Informant nets facilitated this work. Many of the native informants worked with labor gangs.
• c. In conjunction with these duties, the Counter Intelligence Corps gathered information concerning the trend of political thinking in occupied and friendly territories. This was carried on by Counter Intelligence Corps agents in plain clothes. In addition, because of the exigencies of war, United States censorship in French Morocco was for a time placed in the hands of the Corps. Perhaps the most important duty assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps in this Theater was the security preparation and supervision of the Roosevelt-Churchill Casablanca Conference. The bodyguard was provided by the Secret Service. Security for the area was a duty assigned to Counter Intelligence Corps agents in plain clothes aided by a battalion of Military Police. The success of these multitudinous tasks was achieved only by close cooperation with other agencies.

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