The Influence Of British Operational Intelligence On The War At Sea In The Mediterranean June 1940 - November 1942

By Lieutenant Commander Mark E. Stille

Intelligence derived from a number of sources, primarily the decryption of high-level German and Italian communications, provided British forces in the Mediterranean with extraordinary insights into Axis naval operations. This level of intelligence was instrumental to the success of British forces during most of the decisive points during the naval war in the Mediterranean and indirectly had great influence on the ground war in North Africa. Many of the hallmarks of the nature in which operational intelligence was used retains relevance for today’s operational commander. These include use of intelligence to identify and attack enemy centers of gravity, the importance of incorporating intelligence into the planning process, use of intelligence as a force multiplier but not as a force substitute, and the dissemination and handling of sensitive intelligence.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucknow Books
• Release date: Aug 15, 2014
• ISBN: 9781782898245

Lieutenant Commander Mark E. Stille

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Text originally published in 1994 under the same title.

© Pickle Partners Publishing 2014, all rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means, electrical, mechanical or otherwise without the written permission of the copyright holder.

Publisher’s Note

Although in most cases we have retained the Author’s original spelling and grammar to authentically reproduce the work of the Author and the original intent of such material, some additional notes and clarifications have been added for the modern reader’s benefit.

We have also made every effort to include all maps and illustrations of the original edition the limitations of formatting do not allow of including larger maps, we will upload as many of these maps as possible.

THE INFLUENCE OF BRITISH OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE WAR AT SEA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN JUNE 1940 - NOVEMBER 1942

by

Mark E. Stille Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

ABSTRACT 5

CHAPTER I — INTRODUCTION 6

CHAPTER II — THE BATTLE FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN 7

Background 7

1940—Opening Moves 8

1941—The Germans Intervene 9

1942—Malta Holds the Key 10

CHAPTER III — BRITISH OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE 12

Sources 12

Analysis 13

Dissemination 14

CHAPTER IV — THE ROLE OF BRITISH OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DURING THE WAR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN 16

The Importance of Intelligence in Fleet Actions 16

The War Against the Sea Lanes 17

CHAPTER V — CONCLUSIONS 21

Modern Parallels 21

REQUEST FROM THE PUBLISHER 26

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 27

ABSTRACT

Intelligence derived from a number of sources, primarily the decryption of high-level German and Italian communications, provided British forces in the Mediterranean with extraordinary insights into Axis naval operations. This level of intelligence was instrumental to the success of British forces during most of the decisive points during the naval war in the Mediterranean and indirectly had great influence on the ground war in North Africa. Many of the hallmarks of the nature in which operational intelligence was used retains relevance for today’s operational commander. These include use of intelligence to identify and attack enemy centers of gravity, the importance of incorporating intelligence into the planning process, use of intelligence as a force multiplier but not as a force substitute, and the dissemination and handling of sensitive intelligence.

THE INFLUENCE OF BRITISH OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON THE WAR AT SEA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN