Intelligencers: British Military Intelligence From the Middle Ages to 1929

During the 250 years of British military history, the army failed to establish a staff branch or unit to gather intelligence or frustrate the enemy from obtaining it, despite the bravery and success of individual officers. It took the Great War to create an Intelligence Corps, which was disbanded post-war.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 09 November 2021
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

Knowledge of the enemy's strength, dispositions, and intentions is essential for success in any war or battle. This book reveals that for 250 years, the British Army resolutely failed to prepare for war by refusing to establish a nucleus of soldiers trained to obtain intelligence in war. Although there were Scoutmasters and secret spy organizations such as Walsinghams in the 15th century, in no major conflict from the Civil War of 1642, including the Peninsula, the Crimea, Burma, Egypt, and South Africa, and in the multitude of small wars that gained Britain an empire, was there any staff branch or unit specifically pre-established to gain intelligence or frustrate the enemy from obtaining intelligence? Yet, the story of British military endeavour over 250 years is a remarkable story of individuals' bravery, achievement, and success. We read of the Scoutmaster whose role was to gather intelligence on the King's enemies and of Walsinghams secret organization at the time of Elizabeth I. During the long years of war against France culminating in the Napoleonic Wars, spymasters developed on an ad hoc basis. In the Nineteenth Century, despite the power and reach of the Empire, no central intelligence organization existed. Enterprising young officers worked wonders, but failures such as those in the Boer War cost the Nation dearly. It took the reverses in the Great War to create an Intelligence Corps. But even that was disbanded post-war.

Weight: 532g
Dimension: 157 x 235 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399004923