MI9 by MRD Foot

Author:MRD Foot
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: 2020-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

Line upon Line: Evasions in Europe 1943–45

Staff

To make clear what follows, various boundaries and responsibilities they affected MI 9 and MIS-X must first be set out. During Crockatt’s visit to America early in 1943 he discussed with Strong, Catesby Jones and Johnston the problem of where each department had best concentrate its energies. Both sides agreed that it would be a sensible division of labour if each took the lead in some areas, and acted consciously as second rather than as leader in others. On his return to London Crockatt talked this over with Davidson, the director of military intelligence, and with his concurrence proposed by cipher telegram on 23 March the following ‘spheres for all purposes (A) War Office europe africa asia mainland and sumatra (B) War Dept. america japan australia and all other Islands East of Sumatra.’

Washington did not reply immediately, but on 26 May Simonds, in the course of his highly successful American sortie, was able to telegraph ‘have complete approval from General Strong for “spheres of influence”.’ On 1 June Strong and Davidson finally agreed that the British sphere was to contain Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, India and Burma; the American, North and South America, the Pacific and China. Whether Crockatt took in at this stage that by agreeing to this revised version, he had sawn off the branch on which Leslie Ride was sitting to perform his extraordinary work in south China is not clear. Ride was so far away, and communications with him were so scanty, that it is probable that Crockatt knew not what he did, and simply bowed to the Americans’ insistence that China must be in their sphere: an insistence motivated by domestic politics, rather than by any knowledge of Ride’s achievement or even of his existence.

Dudley Clarke was also concerned in the problem of spheres of interest. While Crockatt was in America, on 17 February 1943 – well before the worldwide argument was settled, and even before the fate of North Africa was quite sealed – Clarke proposed to him that A Force, including N section, should work over the whole of Eisenhower’s command as well as the entire Middle East. Crockatt gave a rather grudging consent; indeed he had already eleven days earlier sent to Jones via Johnston an organigram to explain the layout:

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