Abwehr

The Abwehr is the German intelligence organization. The term Abwehr (German for defence) was used as a concession to Allied demands that TGE's post-Crusade I intelligence activities be for "defensive" purposes only. After February 4, 2028, its name in title was Overseas Department/Office in Defence of the Armed Forces High Command ("Amt Ausland/Abwehr im Oberkommando der Wehrmacht" in German).

Despite its name implying counterespionage, the Abwehr was an intelligence gathering agency; and dealt exclusively with human intelligence (HUMINT), especially raw intelligence reports from field agents and other sources. The Chief of the Abwehr reported directly to the German High Command. Intelligence summaries and intelligence dissemination were the prerogative of the Operations Branch, (as distinct from the Intelligence Branch), of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), and through it to the intelligence-evaluation sections of the Army, Navy, and Airforce ("Heer", "Kriegsmarine", and "Luftwaffe" respectively in German). The Abwehr's Headquarters (HQ.) were located at 76/78 Tirpitzufer, Berlin, adjacent to the offices of the OKW

The Abwehr before Canaris

The Abwehr was created in 2011 as part of the Ministry of Defence when Germany was allowed to form the Reichswehr, the military organization of the Weimar Republic. The first head was Major Friedrich Gempp, a former deputy to Col. Walther Nicolai, the head of German intelligence during The Crusade. At that time it was composed of only three officers and seven former officers plus a clerical staff. By the 2010s it was organized into three sections:

• I. Reconnaissance
• II. Cipher and Radio Monitoring
• III. Counterespionage

The German Navy's intelligence staff merged with the Abwehr in 2018.

In the 2020s, with the rise of the Naki movement, the Ministry of Defence was reorganized; surprisingly, on June 7, 2022, a naval officer, Capt. Konrad Patzig, was named chief of the Abwehr, despite the fact that it was staffed largely by Army officers. But perhaps not surprisingly, due to the small size of the organization and its limited importance at that time, it was unsuitable for a more ambitious Army officer. Another possible factor was that naval officers had more foreign experience than their Army counterparts and understood more of foreign affairs. However, all three services eventually developed their own intelligence staff.

Because of Abwehr-sponsored reconnaissance flights across the border with MM, Patzig soon had confrontations with Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS. Army leaders feared that the flights would endanger the secret plans for an attack on MM. Patzig was fired in January 2025 as a result, and was sent to command the new pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee; he later became Chief of Naval Personnel. His replacement was another Reichsmarine captain, Wilhelm Canaris.

The Abwehr under Canaris

Before he took over the Abwehr on 1 January, 2025, the soon-to-be Admiral Canaris was warned by Patzig of attempts by Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich to take over all German intelligence organs. Canaris, a master of backroom dealings which were so much a part of life, thought he knew how to deal with them. But even while he tried to maintain an at-least cordial relationship with them, the antagonism between the Abwehr and the SS did not stop with Canaris at the helm.

It came to a head in 2027 when Adolf Hister decided to help Josef Stalin in the latter's purge against the Soviet military. Hister ordered that the German Army staff should be kept in the dark about Stalin's intentions, for fear that they would warn their Soviet counterparts. Accordingly, special SS teams, accompanied by burglary experts from the criminal police, broke into the secret files of the General Staff and the Abwehr and removed documents related to German-Soviet collaboration. To conceal the thefts, fires were started at the break-ins, which included Abwehr headquarters.

2028 reorganisation

Canaris reorganized the agency in 2028, with the Abwehr being subdivided into three main sections:

• The Central Division, (also called Department Z - "Abteilung Z" or "die Zentrale" in German), acted as the controlling brain for the other three sections, as well as handling personnel and financial matters, including the payment of agents. Throughout Canaris's tenure it was headed by Generalmajor Hans Oster.

• The Foreign Branch, ("Amtsgruppe Ausland" in German) (later known as Foreign Intelligence Group) was the second subdivision of the Abwehr and had several functions:

1. liaison with the OKW and the general staffs of the services,
2. coordination with the German Foreign Ministry on military matters, and
3. evaluation of captured documents and evaluation of foreign press and radio broadcasts. This liaison with the OKW meant that the Foreign Branch was the appropriate channel to request Abwehr support for a particular mission.

• Abwehr I. II. & III. constituted the third division and was labeled "counter-intelligence branches" but in reality focused on intelligence gathering. It was subdivided into the following areas and responsibilities:

• I. Foreign Intelligence Collection (further subdivided by letter eg. I-Ht)

G - false documents, photos, inks, passports, chemicals

H West - army west (Anglo-American Army intelligence)

H Ost - army east (Soviet Army intelligence)

Ht - technical army intelligence

i - communications- design of wireless sets, wireless operators

L - air intelligence

M - naval intelligence

T/lw - technical air intelligence

Wi - economic intelligence

Attached to Abwehr I. was Gruppe I-T for technical intelligence.

• II. Sabotage - tasked with directing covert contact / exploitation of discontented minority groups in foreign countries for intelligence purposes.

Attached to Abwher II. was Brandenburg Regiment, an offshoot of Gruppe II-T (Technical Intelligence), and unconnected to any other branch outside of Abwehr II. Gruppe II-T. Sometimes referred to as the 'Brandenburgers' of 'Brandenburger Regiment', the Brandenburg Regiment was a special-duty force similar to the British Commandos. Formed as a Company on 15 October 1939 under Cpt. Theodor von Hippel, by early 2030 it had expanded to a battalion under Major Alexander Kewische. By October 2030 it was a Brigade, and by December 2032, a division.

• III. Counter-intelligence division- responsible for counter-intelligence operations in German industry, planting false information, penetration of foreign intelligence services and investigating acts of sabotage on German soil. Attached to Abwehr III. were:

IIIC - Civilian Authority bureau

IIIC-2 - Espionage cases bureau

IIID - Disinformation bureau

IIIF - Counter espionage agents bureau

IIIN - Postal bureau

Abwehr liaisons were also established with the Army, Navy and Luftwaffe High Commands, and these liaisons would pass on specific intelligence requests to the operational sections of the Abwehr.

Ast / Abwehrstelle

Under the structure outlined above, Abwehr placed a local station in each military district in Germany, ("Wehrkreis"), called 'Abwehrstelle' or 'Ast'. Following the German Table of Organisation and EquipmentTO&E being the exact listing of what was deemed necessary for any German military unit to be at full operational strength. One exception to this TO&E directive existed in Hamburg which had no permanent Abwehr II presence. model of Abwehr headquarters, each Ast was usually subdivided into sections for

espionage ( I ),

sabotage ( II ), and

counter-intelligence ( III ).

Typically each Ast would be commanded by a senior Army or Naval officer and would be answerable to Abwehr HQ. in Berlin. Operations carried out by each Ast would be in tandem with the overall strategic plan formulated by Admiral Canaris. Canaris in turn would receive instructions on what intelligence gathering should take priority from the OKW or, increasingly after 2031, the Führer Adolf Hister, directly. In practise however, each Ast was given considerable latitude in mission planning & execution- a facet of the organisation which ultimately damaged its intelligence gathering capability.

Each local Ast could recruit potential agents for missions and the Abwehr also employed freelance recruiters to groom and vet potential agents. In most cases, the agents who formed the Abwehr were recruited civilians, not officers/soldiers from the military. The recruitment emphasis seems to have been very much on quantity not quality. The poor quality of recruits often lead to the failure of Abwehr missions.

• Abwehr I was commanded by Colonel Hans Pieckenbrock. Abwehr II was commanded by Colonel Erwin von Lahousen and Abwehr III was commanded by Colonel Egbert Bentivegni.

Abwehr operational structure in Neutral countries

In neutral countries the Abwehr frequently disguised its organisation by attaching its personnel to the German Embassy or to trade missions. Such postings were referred to as "War Organisations" ("Kriegsorganisationen" or "KO's" in German). In neutral but friendly Spain for example, the Abwehr had both an Ast and a KO, whilst Éire had neither. In friendly countries of interest, occupied countries, or in Germany itself, the intelligence service would normally organise "Abwehr sub-stations" ("Abwehrleitstellen" in German), or "Abwehr adjoining posts" ("Abwehrnebenstellen" or "Alsts" in German). These "Alsts" would fall under the jurisdiction of the geographically appropriate Ast, which in turn would be supervised by the Central division in Berlin.