It was originally established in the Office of the Coordinator of Information with the appointment of James Phinney Baxter III as the first Director of Research and Analysis (July 31, 1941) and the branch became operational on August 27, 1941.

[4] The primary mission of this OSS Branch was "to collect, analyze, and disseminate foreign intelligence.

[1] It used notable historians, economists, geographers, anthropologists, political scientists, and subject matter experts to research and prepare reports for senior policy makers.

[8] This work was done by "poring through papers, cables, reports, photographs, maps, journals, foreign newspapers, and other materials – laying the foundation of modern intelligence research and analysis.

[4] In the early days of R&A, arguments occurred between Division and Section Chiefs over jurisdictional matters regarding analysis and mission.

[10] Barry Katz writes that "This [restructuring] was one of the most portentous administrative decisions of its history, but also the most traumatic, for it violated the received wisdom that the world is organized in the manner of a university catalogue.

[13] The Political Sub-Division of the Far East Division comprised the following sections: China, Japan, Korea and Manchuria, Southern Asia, and Pacific Islands.

[16] R&A's Map Division functioned as the "central repository for target intelligence collected by OSS around the world.

"[17] "Winnowing out irrelevant details, the branch created accurate, customized maps for specific operations.

[19] The Current Intelligence Staff oversaw the publication of a series of highly regarded periodicals produced by R&A.