– N –
“N.” The intelligence department of the German imperial navy, “N”
(Nachrichten-Abteiling) was formed in 1901 and located in the Na-
val Staff Building in Berlin. Its original name—Nachrichtenbüro, or
intelligence office—was quickly dropped. While the creation of “N”
reflected the large naval expansion enthusiastically endorsed by Em-
peror William II in the late 1890s, the jurisdictional dispute between
Alfred von Tirpitz, the secretary of the Naval Office, and the chiefs
of the naval staff complicated matters in the beginning. Nevertheless,
the initial group of four persons grew significantly, particularly after
the outbreak of war in 1914 (no precise figures exist concerning its
ultimate size). “N” remained closely associated with the imperial
navy throughout its existence and never developed much institutional
independence. Its three directors—Arthur Tapken, Walther Isendahl,
and Paul Ebert—were all drawn from other naval branches. Coopera-
tion with Abteilung IIIb, its army counterpart, was minimal, as each
organization worked in strict secrecy and tended to view the other as
a competitor.
From the outset, “N” focused its intelligence-gathering almost
exclusively on Great Britain and the seeming omnipresence of the
Royal Navy. German battleship commanders were instructed to re-
cruit agents in their respective ports of call and seal the agreement
with a handshake. Agents knew only their Hauptberichterstatter (im-
mediate superior) and received a number based on one of the seven
different global divisions created by “N” (200–299 for Europe, 300–
399 for East Africa, etc.). Other sources of agents included the large
steamship companies, notably the Hamburg-American Line headed
by Albert Ballin (who met once with Isendahl), and the German For-
eign Office. Although the latter did not want its reputation tarnished
by the revelation of an official link to “N,” it proved cooperative in
providing the names of potential recruits.
By 1911, an extensive network of agents had developed with
the capacity to monitor the movement of enemy warships. This
Kriegsnachrichtenwesen (war intelligence system), however, soon
became a casualty of World War I. While British counterintelligence
led by Vernon Kell never achieved a realistic picture of German
agents active in the country (most went undetected), direct com-
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