Government Code and Cypher School: Signals Intelligence Passed to the Prime Minister, Messages and Correspondence

A file of signals intelligence reports, messages, and correspondence issued by the Government Code and Cypher School and sent by the head ('C') of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) to the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. This file contains a message from C to the Prime Minister (PM); and the following reports on Western Europe: that the 12th SS Panzer Division claims to have halted an Allied break-through in the Caen area, on June 23, and makes a request for German Air Force (GAF) fighter protection; a manning return for the 12th SS Panzer Division as at June 18 totalling some 20,000 men; that the 2nd Parachute Corps and the 84th Corps considered on June 23 that if the Allies advanced to the coast near Coutances it would be impossible for the 84th Corps to hold the Northern Front, so reinforcements are called for; a battle report for June 22 from the 84th and 86th Army Corps' areas of the 7th Army; on a series of measures and counter-measures ordered by various naval authorities in connection with supply traffic to and the ultimate closing of Cherbourg harbour, on June 21-23; that Cherbourg harbour is to close, on June 23, and all sea supplies are to cease; on the ration strength of von Schlieben's battle group being given as 25,000 on June 21, and on the ammunition and weapons requirements for the battle group; that von Schlieben protests that the ration strength of 21,000 is irrevelant because the majority were raw recruits incapable of resistance and many officers had been lost, and so he requests reinforcement by at least one battle-experienced battalion, on June 22; a 7th Army situation report for June 23, covering an Allied penetration east of the River Orne, and heavy Allied shipping concentrations north of Caen; that Berlin decides to release 50 French railwaymen prisoners of war in recognition of the heroic deeds of French railwaymen in the face of Allied air attacks, and that the released men would be transferred to work on French railways, with all German authorities being urged to maximise the propaganda value of this event; and of the first evidence on June 18 that the 89th Infantry Division was preparing to move from Scandinavia to the 15th Army's area in northern France - C notes for the PM that our agents had reported the move of a division from Norway; on Southern Europe: in reply to a question from Berlin on June 2, the Commander in Chief (C-in-C) for the South-west informs Berlin on June 5 that gas masks for Allied troops in his area were mainly carried in the baggage trains; that Berlin orders the 715th Division to be re-formed and the 65th Division to be rested and refitted, on June 20; that the 14th Corps is to withdraw overnight on June 23/24 to a line south of Siena; Allied radio reports indicated that 10 brigades of Garibaldi guerrillas were operating in northern Italy, with the Germans suffering an increase in cable sabotage from the guerrillas owing to completely inadequate measures of reprisal and protection, on June 22; and of German Air Force (GAF) photo-reconnaissance results for Elba, on June 23.