EXPEDITIONARY INTELLIGENCE IN A TIME OF CRISIS : The USS Scorpion in Constantinople, 1914-1918

Abstract

At a time when Lawrence of Arabia was decimating Ottoman railways in the Hejaz and Gertrude Bell was plotting the political future of Iraq, American sailors were navigating the intrigues of intelligence work in Constantinople. The USS Scorpion served as the American Station Ship at Constantinople in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Sent with little guidance from Washington, the Scorpions role evolved into that of a floating embassy, intelligence service, and public diplomacy enterprise. The Scorpions crew formed deep and enduring relationships with the local population, which facilitated detailed intelligence reports on all facets of the Ottoman war effort. The Scorpions efforts sowed the seeds of the post-war American effort to stabilize Turkey and the Near East. The experience of the Scorpion can inform future discussions on the question of expeditionary intelligence and defense diplomacy in the modern era.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1102343

Entities

People

  • Michael Imbrenda

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Diplomacy
  • Fire Control Systems
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Health Services
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Organizations
  • Medical Personnel
  • National Security
  • Naval Personnel
  • Personnel Management
  • Recreation
  • Scorpions
  • Security
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • East Asian Political and Security Studies within the Soviet Union
  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.