Oberstleutnant Reinhard Gehlen replaced Kinzel on 1 April 1942 on the orders of Chief of the General Staff, General Franz Halder, with an initial staffing of about 35 people.[4] Foreign Armies East was the successor organisation of Department IIIb of the German General Staff, a section since 1889, and only became a department during World War I.[5] During World War I, the department was heavily involved in military intelligence, counter-intelligence and sabotage.