Japanese Imperial Navy

Japanese Military Today

Februarkämpfe, Austria, 1934

Rhodesian War, Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Government Propaganda Film

60 Years of USSR Communist Propaganda Medal, 1982

Obverse:

Reverse:

Available on eBay: USSR 60 Years Medal

Che Guevara Speech at UN

Che Guevara talking at UN about imperialism.

A very nice collection of propaganda cartoons, videos and films can be found here:www.battlesworld.com

Russian Military Weapons

A very nice collection of propaganda cartoons, videos and films can be found here:www.battlesworld.com

US Army Video with “I Won’t Back Down” Soundtrack by Johnny Cash

A very nice collection of propaganda cartoons, videos and films can be found here:www.battlesworld.com

Propaganda warfare

Most of the events throughout history involving psychological warfare utilized tactics that instilled fear or a sense of awe towards the enemy. But as humanity continued into the 19th century, advances in communications technology acted as a catalyst for mass propagandizing.

One of the first leaders to inexorably gain fanatical support through the use of microphone technology was Adolf Hitler. By first creating a speaking environment, designed by Joseph Goebbels, that exaggerated his presence to make him seem almost god-like, Hitler then coupled this with the resonating projections of his orations through a microphone. This was a form of psychological warfare, because the image that he created for himself greatly influenced and swayed the German people to eventually follow him to what would ultimately become their own destruction. Churchill made similar use of radio for propaganda.

During WWII, psychological warfare was used effectively by the military as well. The enormous success that the invasion of Normandy displayed was a fusion of psychological warfare with military deception. Before D-Day, Operation Quicksilver created a fictional “First United States Army Group” (FUSAG) commanded by General George Patton that supposedly would invade France at the Pas-de-Calais. American troops used false signals, decoy installations and phony equipment to deceive German observation aircraft and radio intercept operators. This had the desired effect of misleading the German High Command as to the location of the primary invasion, and of keeping reserves away from the actual landings. Erwin Rommel was the primary target of the psychological aspects of this operation. Convinced that Patton would lead the invasion, as he was clearly the best Allied armour commander, Rommel was caught off-guard and unable to react strongly to the Normandy invasion, since Patton’s illusionary FUSAG had not “yet” landed. Confidence in his own intelligence and judgement was also reduced enough that the German response to the beachhead was simply not decisive. The edge provided by his hesitation and uncertainty was pivotal in the overall war effort and outcome.

Spanish Blue Division in Russia (wwII)

German propaganda newsreel aimed at french volunteers. The spanish blue division were spaniards who volunteered to fight for Nazi Germany and participated in Germany’s aggression against the USSR during 1941-1943.