Lucy Spy Ring

[A.A. Koppers]

J. Vincent heeft geschreven in bericht <6me6c4$n...@gazette.bcm.tmc.edu>...
>
>Does anyone have any information on the Lucy Spy Ring?
>I believe they were Russian and had people inside the German
>High Command. Thats all I know from a brief reference in Paul
>Carells "Hitler Moves East"
>

About Lucy's spy ring much has been written, especially by the Briton who
was
part of that spy ring Alexander Foot (Handbook for Spies, London: Museum
Press, 1949).
In another message I wrote that Enigma information was packed as
spy-messages and sent to the Soviets. Well, that was done by the 'Lucy" spy
ring.

It has been claimed that the spy network in Switzerland made all the
difference between a Russian victory and defeat. This because the network
was a unique secret service, throught which plans and order of the German
High Command on the Eastern Front right down to brigade level were
transmitted to Moscow daily. 'Lucy' was Rudolf Roessler, a German publisher
who moved to Switzerland after the Nazis came to power, started a firm
called Vita Nova Verlag in Geneva. He was eventually employed by Brigadier
Mason of the Swiss Security Organisation. After the fall of France when the
Swiss were afraid of a German invasion, Roessler provided them with highly
reliable information that was extremely accurate on what the Nazis would do
next. He also started to give information to the Soviets. The Soviets were
very pleased with his information as they more than once radioed back to
Switserland.

The mystery of Roessler always remains. It is claimed that he had ten
Bavarian officers, anti-Nazis, with whom he served in WWI, in high places
and they send their material through German Army radio channels about all
operations on the Eastern Front. It only requires a cursory examination of
this theory to realize that it defies belief. The ten officers were never
named, nor is it explained how they could continue to use official channels
for sending such information. The mystery stays.
In fact, the network was a Russian controlled organization, employed a
number of Soviet agents including Sandor Rado, Ursula Ruth Kuczynski (later
she had contact with Klaus Fuchs, the atom spy) and two Britons, one of whom
is Alexander Foote who wrote about this whole affair and told his story to
MI-5. The truth is that the network received their information from outside
its organization, sometimes from unofficial networks such as PAKBO and INSA,
but also some material cleverly disseminated by the British from intercepts
of German signals at Bletchley Park. The British knew that the Russians,
especially Stalin, still mistrusted them despite the fact that they were
allies. Knowing that Germany must be prevented from defeating Russian at all
costs, the British used a Soviet spy as their link-agent in passing
intelligence to the 'Lucy" ring so that Moscow would bot suspect where it
came from. Somehow the sheme worked, though on occasions Moscow centre
declined even to accept 'Lucy' material as althogether reliable.

Alexander Foote claimed that 'for three vital years of the war' he was 'to a
large extent controller of the Russian spy network in Switzerland, which was
working against Germany... I sent back much of the information which
enabled the Russian to make their successful stand before Moscow'. The ring
also fed information on the German pincher movement near Kursk.

Roessler's true allegiance was to the Czechs, for whom he worked for a short
while after WWII. Only in November 1943, when the tide of war had turned in
the Allies' favour, did the Swiss start making arrests of the Soviet spy
network, and even then they were extremely lenient towards Foote who had a
relatively comfortable time in prison and was released the folliwing year.

Kuczynski managed to reach Britain and Rado escaped to France.
Just to end on her: Kuczynski was never investigated upon by MI5 after Foote
talked with them. Peter Wright knew from the case file that she stayed a
secret until 1972 and was left alone by British intelligence, there-by
adding another big misser committed by British intelligence and most likely
a cover-up by more moles than previously known.

Constantine Fitzgibbon who was involved in deciphering operations at
Bletchley during WWII wrote a book, "Secret Intelligence in the Twentieth
Century" (London: Hart-Davis, MacGibbon, 1976).

Anthony Read and David Fischer, "Operation Lucy" (London: Hodder &
Stoughton, 1980), the authors claim that it is all a British cover to feed
Ultra sigint.

F.H. Hinsley et al., "British Intelligence in the Second World War" (London:
HMSO, 1979-1988) give another view, as does Philip Knightley in "The Second
Oldest Profession (London: Andre Deutsch, 1986).

Hinsley worked in Blentchley Park. Knightley disbelieves the claimes that
secret orders were sent within 24 hours from Blentchley Park via London, via
Switserland and there to the radio-man Foote who was elsewhere in
Switserland. I ythink that this can only happen in James Bond films. Anyway,
both
believe that the sources could be both the Swiss, who
allowed every country to run spy rings as long as the Swiss received
information, and the claim that there were high officers involved
can't be disbelieved all together. The reason behind that is the value that
Knightley and others give to the Czech government in exile which ran one of
the
best intelligence networks.
However, as with all spies stories there always remains the mistery. That
also accounts
for the 'Lucy' network given the fact that no one named names. Thus, the
myth stays alive
and probably that is the most clossest we get to the historical truth.

Best wishes,

Andre Koppers,
historian