The British intelligence station in San Francisco during the First World War

Abstract

During World War I, a network of Indian revolutionaries with the logistical aid of Irish nationalists and the financial aid of German agents made efforts to smuggle guns from the United States to India for a revolt against the British Raj. British agents established a forward intelligence station in San Francisco to aid American authorities in halting and prosecuting these violations of US neutrality laws. This article describes these lesser-known activities of British intelligence working with American authorities in San Francisco with the argument that this station was just as active and important as the better-known New York station of British intelligence.