168 • ELAS
Dame developed a friendship and remained in contact until 1900,
when the latter was removed from his post for being too pro-British;
he was replaced by Major Bose, who was known to be anti-British.
Soon afterward, Edmonds learned that a third branch of the German
Secret Service had been formed to deal with England, according to a
British officer serving with the international contingents in Peking,
an account corroborated by the French Deuxie`me Bureau.
In 1908 it was reported that a German espionage system of the
kind that had been so successful in France was being established in
England. The War Office had received no reports from the police,
and although some chief constables had made inquiries when asked
to do so, they had done so reluctantly, indicating to the General Staff
that it was not really a matter for the police. Late in 1908 the War
Office learned that the Nachrichtendienst had established a branch in
Brussels to work against English targets and that the head of the
branch was to enter England from Ostend. Scotland Yard was asked
to watch for the man among the boat arrivals at Dover, but the request
was refused on the ground that the man was not a criminal and that
if the matter leaked out there might be awkward questions in Parlia-
ment. The director of military operations (DMO), when informed of
this, considered that, as the spy was probably coming to interview
new agents, it was essential to know whom he would contact. The
issue was discussed by the DMO, the chief of the general staff, the
secretary of state for war, and the Admiralty. While they appreciated
the need to acquire the intelligence they wanted from Germany, the
local security apparatus made the task difficult, and although they
had received approaches from individuals seeking to sell intelligence
on Germany, they felt it undesirable for the Admiralty to take up the
offers.
The War Office was asked to investigate cases of suspected espio-
nage and Edmonds was selected to prepare a paper on the German
and French peacetime espionage systems, and it was this document
that led to the creation of the Secret Service Bureau.ELAS.The Greek guerrilla movement backed bySpecial Operations
Executive(SOE) during World War II. ELAS was a Communist or-
ganization, although initially this was not realized. Prior to SOE’s
first mission intoGreece,harlingin September 1942, SOE had not