Geheimdiensteinheit

Geheimdiensteinheit

Geheim Intelligence Unit
Seal of the Geheimdiensteinheit
Foreign intelligence service overview
Formed	August 1, 1931 (1931-08-01)
Jurisdiction	Altenland
Headquarters	Kulper Building, Hochstadt, Altenland
Motto	"Verteidigung aus der Ferne"
Minister responsible	Wilhelm Schauer, Commanding Officer

The Geheimdiensteinheit (Altish: "intelligence unit", commonly referred to as the Geheim, is the military-intelligence service of Altenland, operating under the umbrella of the Wehrmacht. The 1920 Treaty of Verdon had forbidden the Altish Empire from forming an intelligence organization of its own, however, multiple units were nevertheless established at the behest of Reichswehr chief Hermann Pröll, named 1. Geheimdiensteinheit and 2. Geheimdiensteinheit respectively. These early units, both formed in 1925, were designed to protect against foreign espionage. Following Martin Winter's ascension to Führer in October 1928, Bruno Graf von Scharnhorst was appointed to lead the Reichswehr, and would move to expand the intelligence units from two to five. On 1 August 1931, after the armed forces had been rebranded into the Wehrmacht, von Scharnhorst consolidated the various intelligence units into a single, distinct division under the same name.

History

Early history & formation

Prior to 1920, the military-intelligence wing of the Altish Empire was known as Sektion V, which operated under the umbrella of the Imperial Altish Army. Its initial responsibilities included foreign and counterintelligence, as well as counter-espionage efforts, and itself was active during the Great War, carrying out subversive operations primarily in Auvernia and the SIA. After the Treaty of Verdon went into effect in mid-1920, the Imperial Altish Army was disbanded and replaced by the Reichswehr. The Reichswehr was heavily restricted by the terms of the Verdon Treaty, and was prohibited from having an intelligence organization of its own, resulting in Sektion V not initially being reorganized within the new military structure.

To circumvent restrictions put in place by the Verdon Treaty, then-head of the Reichswehr, Hermann Pröll, ordered the creation of a counterespionage unit in April 1922, which was named 1. Geheimdiensteinheit, or Intelligence Unit 1. The unit was headed by Major Ludwig Waldner, who had previously served as the head of Sektion V during the Great War with signifcant effect. At the time, the unit comprised of only three officers and seven former officers, plus a clerical staff. By 1924, Pröll had commissioned two additional Geheim units, and Waldner was tasked with overseeing all three, which were organized into the following areas of responsibility:

1. Reconnaissance
2. Cipher and Radio Monitoring
3. Counterespionage

In October of 1928, Hermann Pröll was arrested in connection to a plot against then-Chancellor Martin Winter, and Kaiser Siegfried III abdicated soon after. Martin Winter became Führer by consolidating the powers of the offices of Kaiser and Chancellor, and thus became Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. General Bruno Graf von Scharnhorst was promoted to Field Marshal in November 1928, and appointed by Winter to replace Pröll. Subsequently, von Scharnhorst moved to remove military leaders thought to be sympathetic to Pröll and the Kaiser, leading to Ludwig Waldner, now a colonel, being replaced by Major Wilhelm Schauer, who had been a deputy under Waldner in Sektion V during the Great War. Under Schauer, the Geheim began sponsoring reconnaissance flights across the border with Reynland, though Winter ordered that these operations cease in July 1932 to prevent already-tense relations between Reynland and the Reich from souring further.

1933 reorganization

Before the reorganization of the OKW in 1933, the Geheim was merely a department within the Ministry of War, and it was not until after Wilhelm Schauer was appointed chief that its numbers increased, and it gained some independence. Schauer consolidated the multiple Geheim units into a single, consolidated agency, and subdivided them into three main sections: