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The k.u.k. Evidenzbureau (lit. "Imperial and Royal Evidence Bureau") [1] was the common military intelligence service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
It was subordinated to the Chief of the General Staff under the common Imperial and Royal Ministry of War. It was headquartered in Vienna, Cisleithania (empire's Austrian half).
Founded in 1850 as the first permanent military intelligence service in the world, the Evidenzbureau became active in the 1859 Austro-Sardinian War and the 1866 Austro-Prussian War, albeit with little success.
The Evidenzbureau initially reported to the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Ministry, but was reassigned to the General Staff at the outbreak of World War I. It existed until the end of the monarchy in 1918.
The Kundschaftsbüro, tasked with monitoring foreign states, was subordinate to the Evidenzbureau.[ citation needed ]
Towards the end of the 19th century, tensions among the major European powers were rising, leading to increased activities of intelligence services. Mirroring political interests, attention of Austro-Hungarian services was primarily directed east- and southward (Russia and the Balkans); conversely, Russia was chiefly interested in affairs of Austria-Hungary and the German Reich.
The bureau collected intelligence of military relevance from various sources into daily reports to the Chief of Staff (Generalstabschef) and weekly reports to Emperor Franz Joseph; until 1913, the reports to the Emperor had to be submitted in longhand.[ citation needed ]
The core Bureau at the time consisted of 20 officers, a fraction of the numbers employed in the German or Russian services. This shortage was primarily because the service was part of the Foreign Ministry, which, as an Imperial institution, customarily received only the minimum acceptable amount of financing from the Hungarian side (see also Ausgleich ).
In 1903, the agencies of the Russian Empire succeeded in enlisting Colonel Alfred Redl, a General Staff officer and later head of counterintelligence and deputy director (1908-1912) of the Evidenzbureau, as a double agent. His unmasking in May 1913 led to a severe political and military crisis [2] in Austria on the eve of World War I.
During that war, the Bureau increased in importance; the relatively new task of intercepting radio transmissions was added to its traditional functions (such as mail censorship).
In the last year of the war (1918), the Evidenzbureau – then led by Colonel Maximilian Ronge – along with the domestic intelligence service (Staatspolizei ) allegedly[ citation needed ] employed 300 officers, 50 officials, 400 police agents, 600 soldiers and 600 informants.
Notable officers
The fictional biography of Rex Stout's detective Nero Wolfe includes a reference to Wolfe - originally a Montenegrin - having acted as an agent of the Evidenzbureau in the years of increasing Balkan tensions leading to the outbreak of World War I.
Franz Xaver Josef Conrad von Hötzendorf, sometimes anglicised as Hoetzendorf, was an Austrian general who played a central role in World War I. He served as K.u.k. Feldmarschall and Chief of the General Staff of the military of the Austro-Hungarian Army and Navy from 1906 to 1917. He was in charge during the July Crisis of 1914 that caused World War I.
Alfred Redl was an Austro-Hungarian military officer who rose to head the Evidenzbureau, the counterintelligence wing of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army. He was one of the leading figures of pre-World War I espionage; his term in office was marked by radical innovations and the use of advanced technology to ensnare foreign spies.
The Order of the Red Eagle was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, or other achievements. As with most German and other European orders, the Order of the Red Eagle could be awarded only to commissioned officers or civilians of approximately equivalent status. However, there was a medal of the order, which could be awarded to non-commissioned officers and enlisted men, lower ranking civil servants and other civilians.
Colonel Redl is a 1985 biographical drama film by Hungarian director István Szabó. The plot, set in the period before World War I, follows the rise of Alfred Redl, an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Redl, who comes from a humble background, enters military school as a boy and an illustrious military career comes his way by virtue of his loyalty to the crown. He is appointed the head of an intelligence-gathering unit, but his attraction to men eventually causes his downfall.
The Military Order of Maria Theresa was the highest military honour of the Habsburg monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austro-Hungarian Empire.
The Hofkriegsrat established in 1556 was the central military administrative authority of the Habsburg monarchy until 1848 and the predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of War. The agency was directly subordinated to the Habsburg emperors with its seat in Vienna.
Gavrilo or Gabriel Rodić, Freiherr (Baron) von Rodich, was an Austro-Hungarian general in the Imperial Austrian and Austro-Hungarian Army, of Serbian descent.
Moritz Friedrich Joseph Eugen Freiherr Auffenberg von Komarów was an Austro-Hungarian Military officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army and Minister of War. At the outbreak of World War I, he took command of the Fourth Army.
Generaloberst Arthur Freiherr Arz von Straußenburg was an Austro-Hungarian colonel general and last Chief of the General Staff of the Austro-Hungarian Army. At the outbreak of the First World War, he commanded the 15th Infantry Division. Soon, he was promoted to the head of the 6th Corps and the First Army. He participated on the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive in 1915 and the countryside of Romania in 1916. In March 1917, he became Chief of the General Staff until his resignation on 3 November 1918.
Colonel Maximilian Ronge was the last director of the Evidenzbureau, the directorate of military intelligence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Ronge played a key role in the 1913 exposure of Col. Alfred Redl as a double agent.
Rudolf Stöger-Steiner Freiherr von Steinstätten was a colonel general in the Austro-Hungarian army and served as the last Imperial Minister for War not only to the Austro-Hungarian Empire but also to the ancient Habsburg monarchy which sat at its head.
Franz Freiherr Rohr von Denta was an Austro-Hungarian field marshal and field commander who served as the last commander of the Austro-Hungarian First Army.
Maximilian Daublebsky Freiherr von Sterneck zu Ehrenstein was an Austrian admiral who served as the chief administrator of the Austro-Hungarian Navy from 1883 until his death.
Hermann Freiherr von Spaun was an admiral in the Austro-Hungarian Navy. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Austro-Hungarian Navy from December 1897 to October 1904.
Paul Freiherr Puhallo von Brlog was a general of Austria-Hungary. During World War I, he commanded the Austro-Hungarian Army's 3rd and 1st Armies.
Friedrich Graf von Beck-Rzikowsky, sometimes Friedrich Beck, was an Austrian Generaloberst and Chief of the general staff of the Imperial and Royal Army of Austria-Hungary from 1881 to 1906.
Arthur Freiherr Giesl von Gieslingen was an Austrian general officer during the First World War.
Alfred Edler von Schenk was an Austrian general and later Czechoslovakian government advisor.
Most serious of the scandals – and a[n] [...] existential crisis for Austria-Hungary – emerged in 1913 [...]. [...] In the biggest spy scandal in Austrian history, it emerged that Redl committed treason with the Russians [...].
