Psychological Warfare in World War 1

Presented
by: Ayesha
Ashraf
Asma Khan
Durrani
Aisha Sarim
Saman
Naseer
INTRODUCTION
• The start of modern Psychological operations in war is generally dated
to the WW1.

• WW1 saw Psychological Warfare transformed from an incident to a

major military instrument & later it was even called the weapon
which won the war.

• If Psychological Warfare is considered in broad sense ,its seems plain ,

that it was among the decisive weapons of 1914- 1918.
• The political decency of the allies ,the appeal of President Wilson’s
Fourteen points, the resurgence of polish, Baltic, Finnish,
Czechoslovak and South Slav nationalism , all these played a real part
in making Germany surrender in 1981.

• Propaganda came to prominence in war because the nations involved

had made mass communications part of their civil lives.

• By that point ,Western societies were increasingly educated and

urbanized ,& mass media was available in the form of large circulation
newspaper and posters.
• It was also possible to transmit propaganda to the enemy via the use of
airborne leaflets or through explosive delivery systems like modified
artillery or mortar rounds.

• At the start of the war , the belligerents, especially the British and Germans,
began distributing propaganda ,both domestically and on the western front.

• The British had several advantages that allowed them to succeed in the
battle for world opinion,

• They had one of the most reputable news systems, with much experience in
international & cross cultural communication ,and they controlled much of
the undersea cable system then in operation.These capabilities were easily
transitioned to the task of warfare.
• The American Psychological Warfare effort of 1917-1919 also drew
heavily on familiar skills: the American press, second only to that of
the British at the time & wealth of private clubs which flourish under
our liberal system of laws and usages.

• The Japanese were skillful, but even at that time they were confused
by the mix up of trying to be civilized power but simultaneously
expansionist.

• The French also showed high professional skill in adapting their

military and diplomatic personnel to propaganda tasks.
Allied and Axis
Psychological
War Efforts in
WW1
presented by Asma Khan Durrani
 Major Belligerent states
German-Austro
Britain and United States of
Hungarian
France America
Empires
 Introduction
• The First World War witnessed the
wholesale mobilization of the
masses to an extent that had never
been seen before
• As in all the belligerent countries,
targeted propaganda became an
important element of warfare.
• Men and women, young and old,
the front line and the hinterland all
were the players in the great war
• The targeted use of state
propaganda took warfare to a new
level. Intense personal commitment
led to professionalization of official
propaganda, creating public
criticism and doubt in the enemy.
• Propaganda was used to persuade
the population of a particular view
of the war and to mobilize the total
forces of the land in support of the
war aims.
 Introduction

The political leadership invoked the unity of the state and the emotional loyalty of
The political leadership invoked the unity of the state and the emotional loyalty of
the people. Likewise, anybody who doubted the official version of events was
the people. Likewise, anybody who doubted the official version of events was
stylized as a traitor to the common cause.
stylized as a traitor to the common cause.

Propaganda was utilized to extend the reach of warfare to the population of enemy
Propaganda was utilized to extend the reach of warfare to the population of enemy
states. The aim was not merely to defeat the adversary on the battle field but to
states. The aim was not merely to defeat the adversary on the battle field but to
demoralize the population in the hinterland through the use of targeted propaganda.
demoralize the population in the hinterland through the use of targeted propaganda.
The warring powers sought to defend their position by engaging in counter
The warring powers sought to defend their position by engaging in counter
propaganda.
propaganda.
 ALLIED PSYOP OF WWI
• The British War Propaganda Bureau for military Psyops

• British morale leaflets. The Military Psyops centred on

leaflet production. Since radio did not exist till then.

• The Ministry of War Info carried civilian psychological

warfare outside Britain.

• War Aims Committee carried Psyops with in Britain.

• Political Warfare with news Propaganda

 ALLIED PSYOP OF WWI
• The British used unmanned balloons to drop leaflets.

• The Military Psy ops centred on leaflet production.

Since radio did not exist till then.

• Demoralizing leaflets such as this ‘thanklessness’

• Morale leaflets incorporated anti militarist, pro

democratic sentiments.

• The autocracy and of the German government

provide excellent targets.
 ALLIED PSYOP OF WWI
• The leaflets urged the German soldiers to rebel against
the general nobles.

• Kaiser walking on parade with his six sons, they traverse a

pathway flanked by black death figures, our family which
hasn’t lost a single member.

• Discouraging leaflets portraying death. Deutschland

engulfed by defeat.

• The leaflets encouraged men to desert.

• Soldiers would desert when they saw leaflets saying they

will not by shot
 ALLIED PSYOP OF WWI
• The British nailed the German Propaganda as
‘propaganda’ while circulating their own as news,
cultural relations and literature.

• The British used Political Propaganda as a

precursor of military.

• Road to Paris strewn with dead German Soldiers.

• German mother sending her son off to war, whilst

already suffering losses.
 ALLIED PSYOP OF WWI

• American Psy Ops relied heavily on American Press.

Considered only second to the British at the time.

• The Propaganda Branch, Intelligence Division based in

Pentagon Published a report titled ‘A syllabus of
Psychological Warfare.’ Prepared to give quick answers to
the enemy propaganda.

• This tactic succeeded in causing many of the enemy to

surrender.

• Offices OWI and OSS were further made.

 AXIS PSYOP OF WWI
• The Germans conducted a patriotic propaganda campaign at
home to keep the morale of the German people and troops
high. The Kreigespresseamnt (War Press Office).

• Also the ‘National Instruction for Troops’ by army High

command was made for the dissemination of patriotic
instruction amongst troops.

• The German had a printing press that published the Gazette des
Ardennes which was intended to demoralize the French Soldiers.

• German Leaflets over American soldiers in Bern on the French

front, ‘Never Say Die’ advised the US troops to return home and
not to dies for foreign countries.
 AXIS PSYOP OF WWI
• When allies seriously weakened German morale.
‘Strong opposition to all propagandists’ was an
order issued by the German govt.

• Counter propaganda by the Germans focused on

portraying the British as innately fiendish capitalists.

• German retaliated by sawing that deserters if

caught will be put to death by execution squads.

• Also leaflets were infected with germs to discourage

the soldiers from reading them.
American Propaganda
During World War-1
By Aisha Saram
American Agencies:
• The fabulous propaganda of which the Germans were fearful was the
work of two American Agencies:
1. The Creel Committee
2. General Pershing`s Headquarters
Creel Committee (April 14, 1917-June 30,
1919):
• The Civilian agency;
• Also known as Committee on Public Information or the Creel Committee;
• Independent agency of the government of the United States;
• Created to influence public opinion to support US participation in World
War 1;
• In just over 26 months, it used every medium available to create
enthusiasm for the war effort and to enlist public support against the
foreign and perceived domestic attempts to stop America`s participation
in the war;
• It used mainly propaganda to achieve its goals.
Cont……..
• President Woodrow Wilson established the Committee;
• George Creel was the Chairman of this committee;
Cont………..
• The first state bureau covering propaganda in the history of the US;
• Creel set out to systematically reach every person in the US multiple times with patriotic
information about how the individual could contribute to the war effort;
• Creel set up divisions in his new agency to produce and distribute countless copies of
pamphlets, newspaper releases, magazines, advertisements, films, school campaigns, and
speeches of the Four Minute Men.

• The four minute men were a group of people of volunteers authorized by the US President
Woodrow Wilson, to give four-minute speeches on topics given by the CPI.
Cont…………
• Hence communication with the enemy had to be through print, leaflets were basic;
• The Americans concentrated on morale and surrender leaflets;
• Americans used British and French experience in applying techniques of leaflet
distribution;
• Balloons and the airplanes were the chief methods for air distribution;
• Americans produced limitless appeals promising the Germans first-class American
food when the surrendered;
• Emphasis was indeed on all surrender themes--- good food, human care, privileges
under International Law, patriotic value of remaining alive, opportunity to return to
loved ones, and so forth;
• In 1918, the German command pointed out that enemy leaflets were propaganda.
General Pershing`s Headquarters:
• The military agency;
• Propaganda section, General Headquarters, American Expeditionary Forces, under
Captain Heber Blankenhorn;

• Headquarters run psychological warfare;

• Centered on leaflet production, as radio did not exist as a means of mass
communication, radios invented in 1920s;
Cont…………
• Hence communication with the enemy had to be through print, leaflets were basic;
• The Americans concentrated on morale and surrender leaflets;
• Americans used British and French experience in applying techniques of leaflet
distribution;
• Balloons and the airplanes were the chief methods for air distribution;
• Americans produced limitless appeals promising the Germans first-class American
food when the surrendered;
• Emphasis was indeed on all surrender themes--- good food, human care, privileges
under International Law, patriotic value of remaining alive, opportunity to return to
loved ones, and so forth;
• In 1918, the German command pointed out that enemy leaflets were propaganda.
The Bolshevik and Chinese PSYWAR in
WW1
• Saman Naseer
 The Bolshevik and Chinese Revolution
•The Russian revolution began as reaction to an adverse military situation, disesteemed
leadership, economic hardship, and long overdue reforms.
•The majority group of the Russian Socialists interpreted the Marxist philosophy to mean
that the end is justified by the means. They believed that they had developed a system of
politico-economic forecasting.
•This abstruse doctrine of Hegelianism and Marxism were used by majority-Socialist
known as Bolshevik.
•Lenin had no use for democracy as it was known in America.
•The Bolsheviks despised their opponents, desiring to liquidate them. They were so
antagonistic to the capitalist world that they hated God , patriotism, national history,
churches, money, private property, chastity, marriage, and verse that rhymed, all with
equal intensity.
• Hatred for the capitalist world enabled the Bolsheviks to throw Russian Czarist patriotism
into discard.

• The Russian devil-may-care attitude toward all established forms of society was perfectly
characterized by Trotzky flip but deadly answer to the German military negotiators at the
Brest-Litovsk negotiations.

• The German insisted that if the Bolsheviks did not sign the dictated peace terms the
German army would make more war.

• This stopped the Germans in their tracks. They did not want to send their troops into a
starving country that roared with subversive doctrines.

• The Russian finally signed the surrender treaty but in point of fact, the German division on
the Eastern fronts were contaminated by Bolshevism and when they came back across
Germany they brought the message of freedom and peace with them.
• For five more years the Bolshevik leaders held their country together with wretched
industrial production, poor, food, bad weapons.

• The Bolshevik propaganda was probably the finest propaganda effort ever known in the
history.

• In every nation of the world there was to a greater or less degree a “Red scare”;the
propaganda of the Bolsheviks was regard as having mystical subversive power which no
other operations could match.

• Much of the magic of Bolshevik propaganda arose from its taking up where British, French
and American propaganda left off.

• The psychological warfare of the Allies had made the sad mistake of promising a new, a
better world to everyone on the earth.
• This does not mean that the Bolshevik propaganda of the 1920s was not good. It
was good technically, psychologically, politically. But good in terms of achieving an
immediate scare at the cost of long range confidence.
• The Bolshevik propaganda was carried by:
1. Russian government channels.
2. Communist party channels.
3. Individual subversive operators.
4. Trade union.
5. Cover organizations.
6. Trade, consular and other official missions.
7. Leaflets in the mail.
8. Posture, books and other literature.
9. Films.
10. Radio.
• The Communist leaders unwittingly made a tremendous mistake
between 1922 and 1927. They invited the military and political staff of
the Chinese Nationalists to cooperate with them.

• The Russian revolution of 1917-1922 and the Chinese revolution 1922-

1927 represent the situation created by Communist psychological
warfare.