RIO 1055 .U51 S-E -C -R--L--T U.S. Army. European Command ...

SECRET
Among Ferid's first jobs was the billeting of the FAK and the
consolidation of the personnel of the disbanded AST II BELGRADE. He
also had to establish contact among the FAX and its subordinate Trupps,
the respective intelligence chiefs, the local authorities in BELGRADE
and with Abwehr IT in BERLIN. Fend also supervised the inventory of
weapons, sabotage and W/T equipment and inspected the two t raining camps,
Lager Pancevo and Lager Golfhaus.
The following Trupps were attached to FAk 201 at that time:
(1) FAT 202 in the Kassovo district
(2) FAT 214 in Albania
(3) FAT 250 in SALONIKA
These units encountered many difficulties in the matter of their
development and their operational functions. The intelligence chief of
Heeres Gruppe F seemed mainly concerned with lining up his Trupps in a way .
which would look impressive on the map but which completely neglected
political strategy and actual needs. Trupps were switched from one location
to another with no regard for the valuable time and effort they spent making
contacts among native circles. Since the nature of these contacts was purely
personal, they could not readily be re-established by .a successor. After
a few weeks in new territory, the Trupps were required to report their
success in partisan warfare. This resulted in many false messages in which
minor incidents were grossly exaggerated.
Most of the trouble could be traced to von Harling, who was completely
uninformed about the functions, importance and limitations of the
Trupps under his command. He established himself as a dictator over them,
refused to report to anybody and completely disregarded directions from
Abwehr II in BERLIN and, later, from Leit Stelle II SO in VIENNA. Von
a Harlong, a typical Prussian militarist, forced his will upon most of the
.r; Abwehr officials under his command and accepted nobody else's judgment but
his own. Only Fend was not easily intimidated. He used his friendship
with Obst Lt Fechner, chief of Leit Stelle II SO, and with Hptm Eisenberg
of Abwehr II in BERLIN to scheme behind von Harling i s back and thus often
succeeded in nullifying the latter's orders. The intelligence chiefs of
Heeres Gruppe E and the 2d Panzer Army had no trouble with their attached
FATs and no complaints ever reached the FAK.
Other local authorities which had to be dealt with from time to
time were the other two FAKs which were attached to Heeres Gruppe F and which
replaced the former AST I BELGRADE (YAK III) and AST III BELGRADE (FAX 310),
the GYP, and the office of the intelligence chiefs with its various paymasters.
Although FAT payments were handled by the Abwehr paymaster of the
ilalligence chief, the authority had to come from BERLIN.
SEG1ET