Pigeon reconnaissance and the fight against it on the western border of Russia on the eve and the beginning of the First World War

Abstract

Pigeon reconnaissance (including the possibility of using carrier pigeons to deliver intelligence reports) is considered as a new type of threat to the interests of the military (border) security of the Russian Empire on the eve and at the beginning of the First World War. The practice of combating a new military-criminal phenomenon is revealed. It is concluded that the counterintelligence and gendarmerie departments that served the Warsaw General Government paralyzed the “pigeon-spy communication channel” with their own efforts and eliminated the fastest and most reliable way to inform the enemy.