War Office: Monthly Intelligence, 1947

Part of British Online Archives's wide-ranging World Wars series, the resources contained within this collection shed light on the activities and attitudes of British military intelligence agencies during the Second World War and Cold War.

The majority of the documents are weekly, monthly, and quarterly intelligence summaries produced by the Army, Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. In addition, two volumes include records from the British Commanders’-in-Chief Mission to the Soviet Forces in Germany (BRIXMIS), providing a fascinating insight into the internal politics and strategic calculations of Warsaw Pact countries.

The images were scanned from paper at the National Archives (UK), with Admiralty (ADM 223), Air Ministry (AIR 22 / AIR 40), Foreign Office (FO 371) and War Office (WO 208) files all featuring heavily. The collection is also accompanied by a contextual essay written by Dr Stephen Twigge, former Head of Modern Collections at The National Archives (UK). 

This volume contains monthly intelligence reports compiled by the War Office and British Army during the early years of the Cold War. Signed off by the General Staff and intended for the eyes of divisional commanders and above, their purpose was to provide information on the political, economic, and diplomatic situation across the globe. Each summary is divided into four sections—(1) Europe; (2) Middle East; (3) Far East; (4) Americas—while the final pages include relevant photographs, diagrams, and maps.

Much of the content is dedicated to analysing the intentions, capabilities, and internal machinations of adversarial powers such as the Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China. Newly independent colonial states feature heavily, too—especially Egypt and Myanmar—as do existing British colonies. When it comes to allied and non-aligned nations, a great deal of effort goes into analysing the strength of indigenous communist movements. 

Series: WO 208 (War Office: Directorate of Military Operations and Intelligence, and Directorate of Military Intelligence; Ministry of Defence, Defence Intelligence Staff). 

Monthly Intelligence Reports of the Army, 1947. These reports are digital copies of records held at the National Archives under the reference numbers: WO 208/4849 - WO 208/4860.