Somewhere beyond this ridge is the enemy. His strength has been sacked by steady aerial strikes. And heavy artillery barrages. But he is still a long way from being defeated. He still has his will to fight. How can we weaken that will . How can we defeat him . By physical force . Yes. Thats the most effective way. But theres still another force applied in combat that we generally dont think of as a weapon of war. That weapon is words. Yes, in a situation like this, words are weapons. Now that the enemy has had a strong dose of our military power, the impact of words may provide the final persuasion. Words that go Something Like this. Translator soldiers of north korea, youre surrounded. Your comrades are dying. You will die next. Theres just one hope. Leave your positions tonight. This is psychological warfare or at least its one phase. As a weapon of war, psychological war far is as old as war itself. But the use of this force as an integral part of combat has now taken on new forms. And it works in many different ways, the printed word and the spoken word. Both hammer away at a single objective, defeat the enemy. On 25 june 1950, the enemy is morale at its peak, had few weak spots that could be attacked psychologically. Still, within 48 hours of fighting in korea, the un began waging its side war battle in support of our military objectives. First operations parallel the early techniques of world war ii when psychological warfare played a big role in the military theater. Initially, it was forced to conduct a defensive action. Its propaganda was designed to uplift the badly sagging morale of the south koreans. Then as our military effort shifted from defensive to offensive, so did psy war. Result, desertion, desengs, lowered morale. It was paying off. On 15 january 1951 at the top army level, psy was established as a special agency. This move had far reaching results n. Civilian colleges and universities, long range recruiting and Educational Programs were instituted. Laboratory experiments and research led to new and better psychological warfare. Reserve units were recalled, and several new units activated. And at fort riley, kansas, a psy War Training School was established. Here, recruits with specialized backgrounds were taught the nature, methods, and techniques of propaganda. Plans were launched for the Permanent Training Center now located at fort bragg. Meanwhile, like the fighting in korea, psy war operations went into high gear. Staff planning and supervision are handled by the psy war section while the operating unit in tokyo is the first broadcasting and Leaflet Group. This group conducts strategic propaganda and supporting the tactical operation in korea. Currently broadcasting in japan and korea are 32 radio stations. For about four hours every evening, this station delivers propaganda that thrusts at the communists and north korea with facts. Radio presents these facts in any number of ways. Perhaps its most rewards form of expression is news. News is readymade propaganda. And to an enemy, denied access to outside information is as welcome as food and water. In addition to news, radio employees other techniques to attract the maximum audience. For example, messages from prisoners of war are broadcast, assuring their families that they are safe and wellcared for. These awaited messages induced the enemy civilian to turn his set on. And to make sure hell keep it on, prisoner of war messages are spotted at different times during the week. Often a Radio Program takes the form of a drama, such as we see now. Dramatization is close to the oriental mind. Ever since as early as schoolings, the average far easterner is taught by having things acted out for them. Planned and rehearsed, these offerings play heavily on the emotions. There is no strict evaluation of radios achievement, but with a constant repetition of the free worlds point of view, it is certain to have a cumulative affect upon the enemy nerve. In this effort to weaken and harass the enemy, programs are also broadcast from mobile units in the field. Completely selfsustaining, they perform in numerous ways, as awe relay station for larger networks, as a stop gap to fill a temporary void, or to lend direct support to the tactical operation. At the Radio Broadcasting and Leaflet Group Central Printing plan near tokyo are produced strategic and stock tactical leads. Every leaflet has a central idea or issue can which in turn is exploited by any number of themes. Themes may strive to lower the enemys morale and make him more susceptible to tactical propaganda when he reaches the front lines. In these cases, leaflets stress such points as the uns stand against aggression. The historic friendship between the United States and the people of china and korea. The unfulfilled promises of communist leaders. And the horror of death away from home and family. Along with the mounting numbers of communist casualties. Leaflets also stress the humane treatment of prisoner of war. And finally, the methods of surrender. In the selection of a theme, many factors must be considered. Does it capture the interest of the audience . Does it hold that interest . Above all, does it establish confidence in what were saying . A theme has been selected. The theme is needless death. First, an artist prepares a dramatic piece of art and the theme comes to life with a griefstricken mother, visualizing the pointless death of her soldier son. Two versions are prepared, one for the koreans and one for the chinese. By using overlays, special care can be given to the varying details of the soldiers gun in uniform. Even a small inaccuracy may create a wave of ridicule among the enemy and destroy the effective months of previous propaganda. The text that goes with the picture is first written in english. With the help of an interpreter, it is then translated into korean and chinese. Short, punchy words make their point quickly and fan the soldiers feeling of despair. He feels he will soon join the victims of needless death. The final draft is then reviewed, carefully checked for errors. In many red units, offenders found reading un literature have been shot by the firing squad while their comrades were forced to look on. And finally, the leaflet is approved for production. One index of the leaflets effectiveness is the elaborate effort the enemy spends in guarding against it. As a weapon of psychological warfare, the leaflet is invaluable. Chinese and korean soldiers are especially impressed by realistic drawings and photographs. Moreover, the leaflet is far more permanent than the spoken word where it can be read and reread. After copy and artwork are okayd, theyre photographed and processed. Plates are then mounted on the presses. Although they are worn by their leaders, the un leaflets are impregnated with germs and will rot their hands or make them blind. Many prisoners of war have been found to carry them secretly. And the size of the leaflet is such that it can be easily concealed. Leaflets are then packed in rolls so that the maximum number can be carried in one load. They are then placed into bombs. Normally each bomb accommodates about 22,500 leaflets of lightweight paper. Bombs are systematically loaded into trucks and transported to the airfield. This b29 is about to range deep into Enemy Territory. It is a fighting craft equipped to take care of itself against enemy attack. We can only estimate roughly how many airmail copies of needless death will reach the individual enemy. Nevertheless we do know that leaflets will scatter the seeds of desengs, unrest, and possibly surrender. In korea, tactical propaganda is handled by the psy war section g38th army. Operating under this section in seoul is the first loud speaker and Leaflet Company. A large share of intelligence is gained by interrogating prisoners of war, done by g2 teams. Special psy war teams conduct investigations of the the prisoners. Often they speak freely and offer important facts about the conditions they left behind them on their own front lines. This information, when evaluated and interpreted, indicates how effective or past propaganda effort has been. It supplies the the basis for further broadcast and leaflet themes. Since themes are often individually taylored to meet an existing front line situation, the l l company must meet that situation before it changes so our propaganda can take care of the psychology of the hour. Theyre ran off the companys own presses which can operate in buildings or in vans. Leaflets are disseminated in two ways, first by air as we have seen, and second by artillery shells. Specifically adapted, these 105 millimeter shells can pinpoint selected targets and reach troops in the most localized areas. Leaflet shells can also strike in combat zones. These message filled missiles are able to penetrate densely wooded areas. Leaflets are printed in color in vivid contrast to the terrain theyre aimed at. They are best fired in twilight since it is still light enough for the enemy to see where to land yet dark enough to cover up the literature which is coming to him air express. The loud speaker platoon of the loud speaker and Leaflet Company operates directly with the front line unit. These loud speakers are used to get across timely messages to the enemy in close proximity. Furthermore illiteracy is prevalent among the chinese and north koreans, so the spoken message makes our meaning clear. When more mobility is desired, loud speakers are mounted on tanks. The physical force of the tank coupled with the psychological force of the speaker is an ideal performance. A similar combination is the airborne loud speaker. It can reach Enemy Territory inaccessible to ground loud speakers and it can cover both civilian control and guerilla areas. If a woman can fly over, the communists must be losing the war. In the time that lies ahead, still newer methods of propaganda are growing out of research and experimentation. For psy war and its immediate y media of expression are dynamic, always learning surer ways of breaking the spirit of the enemy. These are the psy war soldiers. They alone do not win victorys in combat, but they have a potent weapon which they use to the utmost to support the infantrymen, the gunner, and the tanker in inflicting decisive defeat upon the enemy. Tonight on American History tv beginning at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, a night of programs on espionage. We begin with paul kix talking about his book the saboteur the aristocrat who became frances most daring antinazi commando. Watch American History tv tonight and over the weekend on cspan3. American history tv on cspan3, exploring the people and events that tell the american story every weekend. Coming up this weekend, 60 years ago, four africanamerican students protested segregation at a woolworth lunch counter in greensboro, north carolina, which began the lunch counter sit ins of the civil rights movement. On sunday at 9 00 p. M. Eastern live on American History tv and washington journal, well discuss the sit ins and desegregation in the 1960s with tracy parker, author of Department Stores and the black freedom movement. Then at 4 00 p. M. On real america, two films on the civil rights movement, february one the story of the greensboro four and American Revolution of 63. And at 7 00 p. M. Eastern, an interview with former Bennet College president esther terry and her role in the 1960 lunch counter sit in protest in greensboro. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv this weekend on cspan3. Now on American History tv, a Defense Department film for soldiers assigned to south korea. The film gives a brief history of korea and details the events that led to the korean war. Korea, ko meai
comparemela.com © 2020. All Rights Reserved.