Propaganda and Psyops in T2K

[Raellus]

I'm reading a book about the WWII Korsun Pocket battles and a chapter devoted to a Soviet parley attempt got me thinking about propaganda and psyops in the Twilight world, post TDM.

How have you handled propaganda and psyops in your T2K campaigns?

I haven't done too much with it, up to this point, but I'm making plans. So far, I've mostly just stuck to the tried and true marauder attrocities perpetrated to terrify civilian-occupied settlements into submission. I also flipped roles a bit and had an independent militia led by a Col. Kurtz-like, U.S. SF officer stringing up captured marauders and painting "Death to Bandits" on walls throughout his territory.

I'm thinking of having the Lublin goverment start a propaganda campaign of airdropped leaflets offering amnesty to deserters/marauders who lay down their arms and/or rejoin the "official" Polish army.

I can also imagine artillery-fired leaflets between cantonments encouraging enemy combatants to desert/surrender.

I can also see Krakow and the merchant league in Silecia using propaganda to lure skilled workers to their respective territories and to try to keep unsavory elements out.

There would probably be quite a bit of psyops activities in the CONUS dedicated to building and/or maintaining support for the government factions (MilGov and CivGov).

With most radios around the world either fried by EMP or with no power supply to keep them turned on, I don't see radio stuff like "Tokyo Rose" or Radio Free Europe being particularly emphasized or effective.

I'd love to hear your ideas on the subject.

[Mohoender]

We already talk about this in a thread call T2K Propaganda. You might find some useful thoughts there.

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.p...ght=propaganda

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

We already talk about this in a thread call T2K Propaganda. You might find some useful thoughts there.

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.p...ght=propaganda

That kind of made me think of an interesting (and monstrous) idea -- what if World War 3 started because of warhawk-type propaganda -- coming from the US or another NATO country? In essence, there was no legitimate reason for World War 3 to have happened, other than the distorted thinking of those who wanted it? (The parallels to the Iraq War are deliberate...)

[Slappy]

It's not clear to me that there was any reason for the war to have started in canon. Sino-soviet front was a border squabble that got out of hand and the whole german reunification thing set off by a bunch of generals without enough to do.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

We already talk about this in a thread call T2K Propaganda. You might find some useful thoughts there.

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.p...ght=propaganda

Whoops. Thanks. I guess I wasn't tuned in when that thread was active.

But hey, this one adds PSYOPS to the mix.

[Fusilier]

Originally Posted by Raellus

With most radios around the world either fried by EMP or with no power supply to keep them turned on, I don't see radio stuff like "Tokyo Rose" or Radio Free Europe being particularly emphasized or effective.

That isn't really any different compared to today. I supported a conference of NATO Pysops commanders a couple years ago, and listening in on their reports from different operations, it was all pretty low tech regardless of the army or the location.

It didn't matter if it was no-tech Afghanistan or high-tech Bosnia, the most popular form of media was leaflets, posters and vehicles with loudspeakers.

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by Raellus

Whoops. Thanks. I guess I wasn't tuned in when that thread was active.

But hey, this one adds PSYOPS to the mix.

It was just for you to add some more informations.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Fusilier

It didn't matter if it was no-tech Afghanistan or high-tech Bosnia, the most popular form of media was leaflets, posters and vehicles with loudspeakers.

There was a light bomber unit in the Pacific Theater of World War 2 that specialized in psyops, and they dropped a lot of leaflets (using a sort of "cluster bomb"). They nicknamed their unit the "Bullshit Bombers."

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by Slappy

It's not clear to me that there was any reason for the war to have started in canon. Sino-soviet front was a border squabble that got out of hand and the whole german reunification thing set off by a bunch of generals without enough to do.

One might view the start of the Twilight War in much the same light as the start of WW1. The powder keg was there, just waiting to be lit by some stray spark. In much the same way that defensive technology and tactics had established dominance over offensive technology and tactics in 1914, both the Soviets in China and the Germans in Germany found that they were unable to bring their respective wars to a satisfactory conclusion with offensive action. Each offensive failure opened up opportunities for other powers with scores (real or imagined) to settle.

Webstral

[Raellus]

I know others have written pretty extensively about the forced reunification of Twilight Germany (Aunschlus [sic] anyone?) but it comes to mind that covert psyops could have played a roll in convincing some E. German units to come over to the "Unity" party.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Webstral

One might view the start of the Twilight War in much the same light as the start of WW1. The powder keg was there, just waiting to be lit by some stray spark. In much the same way that defensive technology and tactics had established dominance over offensive technology and tactics in 1914, both the Soviets in China and the Germans in Germany found that they were unable to bring their respective wars to a satisfactory conclusion with offensive action. Each offensive failure opened up opportunities for other powers with scores (real or imagined) to settle.

Webstral

That reminds me of a one-question final exam I once had in college: "Summarize the origins of the Cold War, starting with the Colonial Period of the 1500s." Believe it or not, there is a clear chain of events there (though it would still be a monster-sized post if I listed it here).

[Matt Wiser]

Sometimes very effective Psyops can be done in a very direct manner: in the Tunisian Campaign in 1943, the Ghurkas had a very effective way of spreading terror amongst German and Italian troops: a Ghurka unit would send out patrols looking for German or Italians also on patrol, and they'd track the enemy until they bedded down for the night. The Ghurkas, if they outnumbered the Germans or Italians, would wait until they were asleep, and then creep up and use their Khukri knives-killing all but one as swiftly and silently as possible. Often, the sole survivor would wake up at dawn surrounded by bodies, and he'd run for his own lines pretty fast to spread the word. The Germans were also afraid of certain French Colonial troops from either Algeria or Morocco: they had a habit of collecting ears... Or try the 1st Special Service Force ("The Devil's Brigade") at Anzio: they'd look for German patrols to ambush, or sneak up on isolated sentries, slit their throats, and leave cardboard signs in German saying "You may be next." The Germans opposite their front would be very nervous, reluctant to go out on patrol, and preferred to stay in their positions. In Burma, the Japanese were deathly afraid of three British divisions: the 11th West African and the 81st and 82nd East African Infantry Divisions. The Japanese thought the rank and file of each division was made up of soldiers recruited from cannibalistic tribes. Not true, but if it made the bad guys lose sleep at night.....(BTW, it's said that Idi Amin was a Sgt. in either the 81st or 82nd Division in 1945, during the final Burma campaign, though others say he wasn't in the Army until 1946).

Or the USMC's PsyWar people in the First Gulf War: they often blared music towards Iraqi positions to try and get them to surrender. It was found that both country and rock drew the most line-crossers wanting to give up, while rap often drew artillery fire (which often drew counter-battery fire via MLRS-the famous "Grid Square Removal Device"...). The Iraqis' "Baghdad Betty" wasn't as good as either Tokyo Rose or Hanoi Hannah: she claimed that while GIs were in the Gulf, movie stars like Bart Simpson were sleeping with their wives.

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

...while rap often drew artillery fire...

I can understand the Iraqi point of view here.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

I can understand the Iraqi point of view here.

We should have used early 80's rap instead of late 80's rap! Rap was actually good back then!

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

We should have used early 80's rap instead of late 80's rap! Rap was actually good back then!

You should have used Portuguese Fado or Corsican Polyphonic Songs and you would have had to deal with mass suicide more than having to feed prisoners.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Mohoender

You should have used Portuguese Fado or Corsican Polyphonic Songs and you would have had to deal with mass suicide more than having to feed prisoners.

Or we could have played bagpipe music at them, and there would have been mass suicides! On both sides!

[Rainbow Six]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

Or we could have played bagpipe music at them, and there would have been mass suicides! On both sides!

Paul, you're a heathen....there's nothing sweeter on the ear than the skirl of the pipes!!

Seriously, and semi on topic, Scottish soldiers have a long history of playing the pipes going into battle to intimidate their enemies. There was actually an article in one of the newspapers a couple of weeks ago about a Scottish volunteer at the battle of the Alamo who allegedly played the pipes to drown out Mexican musicians (I think they were buglers).

[Targan]

I like the sound of the pipes too. Must be all my Scottish blood.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

Paul, you're a heathen....there's nothing sweeter on the ear than the skirl of the pipes!!

I'm not a heathen -- I'm an atheist, and I have good taste in music...

[Mohoender]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

I'm not a heathen -- I'm an atheist, and I have good taste in music...

The Wermacht too. When the scots crossed a certain bridge in Normandy the Germans fled away or surrendered, I don't remember.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

That kind of made me think of an interesting (and monstrous) idea -- what if World War 3 started because of warhawk-type propaganda -- coming from the US or another NATO country? In essence, there was no legitimate reason for World War 3 to have happened, other than the distorted thinking of those who wanted it? (The parallels to the Iraq War are deliberate...)

And here's another horrible idea for World War 3 starting: Neunundneunzig Luftballoons...

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by pmulcahy11b

And here's another horrible idea for World War 3 starting: Neunundneunzig Luftballoons...

LOL. The song started the war? Or was it actually 99 Red Balloons?

[Webstral]

Originally Posted by Rainbow Six

Paul, you're a heathen....there's nothing sweeter on the ear than the skirl of the pipes!!

Unless it's the sound of cats in boiling water or my wife calling my name when I've let the boy live in his own filth all day. (Admittedly, I trample old ladies and little children to get to the front when the pipes are marching on Saint Patrick's Day.)

[Legbreaker]

There's nothing like throwing on the kilt and marching behind the battalion colours to the sound of the pipes!

Damn I miss it...

Or was it the ladies afterwards in the bar trying to find out what's worn under the kilt - by feel?

[Targan]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

There's nothing like throwing on the kilt and marching behind the battalion colours to the sound of the pipes!

Your battalion had the kilt as part of its dress uniform? I didn't know that. Very cool. I plan to get married in a kilt in my clan tartan.

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Raellus

LOL. The song started the war? Or was it actually 99 Red Balloons?

While it would be "funnier" if Nena and their singing started the war, I meant the 99 balloons -- or some other object (on the ground or in the air -- or even a Fail Safe scenario along the Iron Curtain or Chinese border where it's a sensor glitch) that everyone misinterprets.

How about a real-life ET spaceship accidentally starting the war? The ETs might feel obligated to help us recover from the war, or they could be like humans and be trying to cover up the incident so they don't get executed by their superiors.

BTW: The German version of the song is REALLY hard for me to follow -- it strains my incredibly-rusty German, and has a lot of colloquialisms in it and regional accents. Of course, trying to follow Falco's German-language songs are pretty much impossible for me...I can't rock Amadeus because I don't know what Falco's trying to tell me!

[pmulcahy11b]

Originally Posted by Legbreaker

There's nothing like throwing on the kilt and marching behind the battalion colours to the sound of the pipes!

Damn I miss it...

Or was it the ladies afterwards in the bar trying to find out what's worn under the kilt - by feel?

Of course, if you pull the musical part of the bagpipes out and stuff them with silicone rubber or Vaseline, your squad could have a sort of gangbang...

[Legbreaker]

Originally Posted by Targan

Your battalion had the kilt as part of its dress uniform? I didn't know that. Very cool. I plan to get married in a kilt in my clan tartan.

Yep, I was one of the very few Australia soliders who wore it - probably less than a hundred all told. And it was really only my company too - the rest of the battalion had the standard poly's.

It was amazing how well it worked with women - offers coming in from every direction, although Cenotaph guard on Anzac Day (25th April - mid autumn) with the five layers of wool could be difficult to say the least. It was damn hot and sunny (usually) where I was at the time and black bitumen underneath didn't help much!

The bonnet was much more practical than the slouch hat too when on courses, etc. Could roll it up and stuff it in your pocket - everyone else had to take great care not to damage their grade one (parade) hats.

The brogues (shoes) on the other hand were a bit of a handful. They were 100% leather right down to and including the soles. With absolutely NO GRIP on the bottom, just flat, smooth, hard leather, polished floors were something to avoid if at all possible. Of course this didn't stop us having a few dozen drinks at functions and the like though.