Spying on the rock: an assessment of Abwehr clandestine operations against Gibraltar during the Second World War

ABSTRACT

This article will offer an assessment on the effectiveness of clandestine operations conducted by the German military intelligence service, the Abwehr, against the British colony of Gibraltar during the Second World War. This assessment is based on declassified British archival records, and this paper will argue that while the Abwehr had complex networks which attempted operations against the British at Gibraltar the Germans actually achieved little meaningful success. This article will reason that the inability to achieve any significant results was due to ineffective leadership and direction from Abwehr officers who also oversaw inadequate agent recruitment and training which impaired Abwehr clandestine operations.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the late Professor Keith Jeffery who supervised the MA thesis that this article is based on and also provided helpful comments on an earlier draft of this article. I also have to offer special thanks to Dr Paul Corthorn for his willingness to read and give feedback on several drafts of this article. I would also like to acknowledge the two anonymous reviewers who both offered constructive suggestions for improving this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 523.

2. Report on Canaris secret organization, part II, December 15, 1945 (The National Archives [hereafter TNA] KV 2/173).

3. Colvin, Chief of intelligence; Bryden, Fighting to lose; Schaub, “General Lahousen and the Abwehr resistance,” 538–58; Waller, “The double life of Admiral Canaris,” 271–89; Manvell and Fraenkel, The Canaris conspiracy; Brissaud, Canaris.

4. Wheeler-Bennett, Nemesis of power, 597.

5. Dulles, Germany’s underground; Höhne, Canaris; Farago, The game of foxes; Trevor-Roper, The last days of Hitler, 22–4; Abshagen, Canaris.

6. O’Sullivan, Nazi secret warfare in occupied Persia (Iran), 224.

7. Krieger, “German intelligence history,” 185–98.

8. Olsson, “Beyond diplomacy,” 338–51; Fedorowich, “German espionage and British counter-intelligence in South Africa and Mozambique, 1939–1944,” 209–30; Chen, “In the shadow of the Gestapo,” 775–799; Seydi, “The intelligence war in Turkey during the Second World War,” 75–85; Thomas, “Foreign armies East and German military intelligence in Russia 1941–45,” 261–301; Hilton, Hitler’s secret war in South America, 1939–1945; Bratzel, The shadow war; Kahn, Hitler’s spies; Wires, The Cicero spy affair; Paine, German military intelligence in World War II.

9. Erskine, “Eavesdropping on ‘Bodden’,” 110–29. The exceptions to this are Rankin, Defending the rock, 522–36 and Stockey, Gibraltar, 146–54.

10. Operation ‘Bodden’ will be only be briefly touched upon when discussing German observational intelligence operations.

11. Unfortunately, due to language and travel barriers the author has been unable to consult such records.

12. Espionage in Gibraltar (TNA KV 3/213); German espionage in Gibraltar (TNA KV 3/239–243); History of Defence Security Office [hereafter HODSO], vol. 1–2, (TNA KV 4/259–60); Ignacio Molina Perez (TNA KV 2/3123); Wolgang Blaum (TNA KV 2/1976); Eleuterio Sanchez Rubio (TNA KV 2/3001–2); Enemy sabotage activities in Gibraltar (TNA FO 371/49,601).

13. Leverkuehn, German military intelligence, 1–2.

14. Höhne, Canaris, 37–45.

15. Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 232–3.

16. Ibid, 260, 268–9.

17. The German secret service, August 1942 (TNA KV 3/4); German intelligence services, October 4, 1944 (TNA KV 3/9).

18. Hinsley and Simkins, British intelligence in the Second World War, iv, 296.

19. Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 243.

20. The German secret service, August 1942 (TNA KV 3/4).

21. Jackson, The British Empire and the Second World War, 134–5.

22. Megargee, Inside Hitler’s high command, 90–1.

23. Hinsley, Hitler’s strategy, 97.

24. See Finlayson, The fortress came first.

25. Fa and Finlayson, The fortifications of Gibraltar 1068–1945, 47.

26. Finlayson, The fortress came first, 134–7.

27. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe, 106.

28. Dietz, The British in the Mediterranean, 136–7; Harvey, Gibraltar, 151–2.

29. Jackson, The rock of the Gibraltarians, 276.

30. Harvey, Gibraltar, 147.

31. Burdick, Germany’s military strategy and Spain in World War II, 16, 18–33.

32. Ibid, 9–33.

33. Trevor-Roper, Hitler’s war directives 1939–1945, 81–3.

34. Burdick, Germany’s military strategy and Spain in World War II, 24–5; Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 236.

35. See Map one for location of Algeciras in relation to Gibraltar.

36. Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 242.

37. The Campo de Gibraltar which is the lower region of Andalusia, Spain, adjacent to Gibraltar, hereafter known as the Campo.

38. Operation Felix, October 1946 (TNA WO 106/2794); Fa and Finlayson, The fortifications of Gibraltar 1068–1945, 45–7.

39. Burdick, Germany’s military strategy and Spain in World War II, 97–130.

40. Erskine, “Eavesdropping on ‘Bodden’,” 114–6, 121–2.

41. Godfrey to Cavendish-Bentinck, March 7, 1942; C to Loxley, June 22, 1942 (TNA FO 1093/318); Malta convoys from ISOS sources, August 13, 1942 (TNA ADM 223/793); Llewellyn-Jones ed., Royal Navy and the Mediterranean convoys, 67.

42. Erskine, “Eavesdropping on ‘Bodden’,” 121.

43. Smyth, “Screening ‘Torch’,” 335.

44. Ibid.

45. Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 476.

46. Report 870, November 4, 1942 (TNA HW 1/1053).

47. Erskine, “Eavesdropping on Bodden,” 121–2. For the Allied strategic deception plans employed to protect Operation ‘Torch’ see: Smyth, “Screening ‘Torch’,” 335–56; Howard, British intelligence in the Second World War, v, 55–63; Holt, The deceivers, 258–70.

48. During the Second World War there were three different DSO’s stationed at Gibraltar: E. A. Airy, H. C. Medlam and Philip Kirby-Green. At the start of the war the DSO at Gibraltar was working alongside one other security official but by the end of hostilities in Europe there was the DSO and fourteen other officers as well as 113 other officials working to maintain the security at Gibraltar. Under the oversight of the DSO the British security had an extensive number of informers and agents, including numerous double agents, operating in Spain reporting on Axis and Spanish espionage and subversive activities. HODSO, vol. i: security organisation, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

49. Report on enemy agents, DSO, June 23, 1945 (TNA KV 3/243). See Map one for location of La Linea in relation to Gibraltar.

50. Counter espionage: Ramon Fierro, April 25, 1944 (TNA KV 3/241).

51. German scientific observation stations in the straits of Gibraltar, July 11, 1945 (TNA ADM 223/792).

52. Medlam to Hart, November 3, 1943 (TNA KV 3/213).

53. Hoare, Ambassador on special mission, 249–56, 263.

54. Madrid telegram 907 to Foreign Office June 12, 1944 (TNA FO 371/39669); Report on wireless transmissions in Campo, February 1, 1945 (TNA KV 3/242).

55. HODSO, vol. i: Gibraltar and Campo, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

56. Contribution of Security Service to the war effort, June 26, 1944 (TNA KV 4/87).

57. Medlam to White, December 27, 1941 (TNA KV 3/240).

58. Medlam to White, January 26, 1942 (TNA KV 3/240); HODSO, vol. i: Franco’s Spain, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

59. Security at Gibraltar, Joint Intelligence Sub-Committee, February 26, 1942 (TNA CAB 79/18/37).

60. Dossier on sabotage agents, April 3, 1945 (TNA FO 371/49601); List of known or suspected enemy agents in the Gibraltar area, June 30, 1945 (TNA KV 3/243).

61. Report on Sago, July 15, 1944 (TNA KV 3/241).

62. Further interrogation of Major Heinrich, January 26, 1943 (TNA KV 2/275).

63. General conclusion: the Abwehr, [January] 1943 (TNA KV 2/275).

64. Kahn, Hitler’s spies, 217–18.

65. Ramon Fierro, April 25, 1944 (TNA KV 3/241).

66. Report on the operations of Camp 020 and Camp 020-R, 1939–45, September 1945 (TNA KV 4/8).

67. History of Camp 020, December 1946 (TNA KV 4/14).

68. Hart to Kirby-Green, June 10, 1944 (TNA KV 3/241).

69. Report and dossier regarding Molina, April 27, 1944; Comandante Ignacio Molina Perez, June 3, 1944 (TNA KV 2/3123).

70. SIS report on Captain Ignacio Molina, February 7, 1940 (TNA KV 2/3123).

71. Medlam to White, August 27, 1943; Comandante Ignacio Molina Perez, June 3, 1944; (TNA KV 2/3123).

72. Registry note on Molina, April 19, 1942; Report regarding Molina, August 27, 1943 (TNA KV 2/3123).

73. Movements of Molina into and out of Gibraltar between June 8, 1942 and November 17, 1942, November 18, 1942 (TNA KV 2/3123).

74. SIS report on Captain Ignacio Molina, February 7, 1940; Comandante Ignacio Molina Perez, June 3, 1944 (TNA KV 2/3123).

75. Memorandum on the organisation of the German secret service against Gibraltar, April 17, 1942 (TNA KV 3/213).

76. Summary of information on Burma [Sanchez-Rubio], MI5, August 17, 1943 (TNA KV 2/3001); Dossier on Eleuterio Sanchez-Rubio, December 6, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

77. Extract of Pants report relating to Lt. Col. Sanchez-Rubio, January. 1942 (TNA KV 2/3001).

78. B. 5 note, March 24, 1942 (TNA KV 2/3001).

79. Dossier on Eleuterio Sanchez-Rubio, December 6, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

80. Report on German espionage activities in Spain, June 15, 1942; Memorandum on enemy agents in the Campo during the war, August 18, 1945 (TNA KV 3/243).

81. Report on Molina, October 12, 1943; Hart to Medlam, November 2, 1943; Report and dossier on Molina, April 27, 1944; Note on Molina, November 11, 1944 (TNA KV 3/3123); Bromley to Liddell, February 9, 1945; Liddell to Bromley, February 16, 1945 (TNA FO 371/49601).

82. HODSO, vol. ii: Abteilung II, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/260).

83. Jose Estella, Hart, May 30, 1942; Memorandum on Jose Estella Key, May 21, 1942; Note on Jose Estella Key, June 3, 1944 (TNA KV 2/118).

84. Jose Estella, Hart, May 30, 1942 (TNA KV 2/118).

85. Ibid.

86. Memorandum on Jose Estella Key, May 21, 1942 (TNA KV 2/118).

87. Report on Jose Estella, March 20, 1942 (TNA KV 2/118).

88. Medlam to White, January 26, 1942 (TNA KV 2/118).

89. Proceedings regarding the trial of Estella, May 21, 1942; Note on execution of Estella, July 11, 1942 (TNA KV 2/118).

90. “Two Nazi spies executed,” July 8, 1942, Belfast News-Letter.

91. “German agents hanged,” July 8, 1942, Lancashire Evening Post; “Two spies executed,” July 8, 1942, The Scotsman; “Two spies hanged in London,” July 8, 1942, The Times.

92. Enrique and Mariquita to Osbourne, July 11, 1942 (TNA KV2/118).

93. HODSO, Gibraltar, vol. i: Spanish invasion, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

94. Ibid.

95. List of German agents working in Spanish territory and particularly in the Straits area of Gibraltar and Morocco, November 25, 1942 (TNA FO 1093/318).

96. Report on Blaum and KO II Spain, January 12, 1946 (TNA KV 2/1976).

97. Ibid.

98. HODSO, vol. i: Spanish invasion; vol. ii: security organisation, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259–60).

99. Porch, “French intelligence culture,” 498.

100. See note 96 above.

101. Some weaknesses in German strategy and organisation 1933–1945, October 20, 1946 (TNA CAB 81/132); Interim report on the case of Erich Pheiffer, October 15, 1945 (TNA KV 2/267).

102. The Abwehr, May 16, 1944 (TNA HW 19/333); Organisation and activities of German Abwehr, November 9, 1944 (TNA KV 2/274).

103. See note 96 above.

104. Interim report on the case of Erich Pheiffer, 15 October 1945 (TNA KV 2/267); Interrogation report of Walter Schellenberg, 27 June – 12 July 1945 (TNA KV 2/95).

105. See note 96 above.

106. See note 63 above.

107. See note 96 above.

108. See note 82 above.

109. HODSO, vol. i: Spanish invasion, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

110. Ibid.

111. Ibid.

112. See note 82 above.

113. HODSO, vol. ii: security organisation, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/260).

114. Ibid.

115. Dossier on Emillio Plazas, December 7, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

116. See note 82 above.

117. Dossier on Perales-Castro group, December 6, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601). They were both lieutenants in the Spanish army serving with the Spanish Forty-Seventh Infantry Division, based in the town of San Roque five miles north of La Linea.

118. Dossier on Perales-Castro group, December 6, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601); HODSO, vol. i: Franco’s Spain, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

119. Dossier on Perales-Castro group, December 6, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

120. Ibid.

121. HODSO, vol. i: Franco’s Spain, October 1945 (TNA KV 4/259).

122. Report on enemy agents, June 23, 1945 (TNA KV 3/243); Executions of Cuenca and Muñoz, January 11, 1944 (TNA KV 2/2114).

123. Dossier on Perales-Castro group, December 6, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

124. Dossier on Carlos Calvo, December 7, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

125. See note 82 above.

126. Ibid.

127. Ibid.

128. Ibid.

129. Executions of Cuenca and Muñoz, January 11, 1944 (TNA KV 2/2114); ‘Sabotage executions carried out at Gibraltar’, January 19, 1944, Gibraltar Chronicle.

130. Dossier on Carlos Calvo, December 7, 1944 (TNA FO 371/49601).

131. See note 82 above.

132. See note 109 above.

133. Report on Blaum and KO II Spain, January 12, 1946 (TNA KV 2/1976); Expulsion of German agents, December 15, 1944 (TNA KV 3/242).

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Jonathan Best

Jonathan Best is a British Intelligence historian who has completed his PhD at Queen’s University Belfast. He has recently completed and defended his thesis, which examined how the British spy novel reflected British intelligence and the contemporary British strategic outlook between 1894 and 1963, at Queen’s University Belfast. His research has focused on the history of British intelligence in the twentieth century particularly during the Second World War.