fm 33-5 - psychological warfare in combat operations

120 Pages·2017·31.17 MB·English

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY FIELD MANUAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL
WARFARE
IN COMBAT
OPERATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY . AUGUST 1949
FM 33-5 PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE IN COMBAT OPERATIONS
www.psywar.org
MMXVIII
D E P A R T M E N T OF THE A R M Y F I E L D M A N U A L
F M 3 3 - 5
PSYCHOLOGICAL
WARFARE
IN COMBAT
OPERATIONS
DEPARTMENT OF THE A R M Y * AUGUST 1949
RESTRICTED, d issem ination of restricted matter___N o
person is entitled so le ly b y v irtue o f h is ftrade o r p o s it ion to
k n o w le d ge o r p o sse ss io n o f c la ss ified matter. Such matter
is entrusted o n ly to those in d iv id u a ls w h o se official duties
requ ire such k n o w le d g e or p o sse ss io n . (See a lso A R 3 8 0 -5 . )
United States Government Printing Office
Washington : 1949
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARM Y
W ash in g to n 25, D . C., 26 August 19J+9
FM 33-5, Psychological Warfare in Combat Oper­
ations, is published for the information and guidance
of all concerned.
[AG 300.7 (15 Dec 48 )]
B y order of th e S ecretary of th e A r m y :
O f f ic ia l : J. LAWTON COLLINS
Chief of Staff,
United States Army
EDW ARD F. W ITSELL
Major General
The Adjutant General
D istribution :
Tech Sv (2)-^ Arm & Sv Bd (2) ; AFF (40);
OS Maj Comd (2) ; Base Comd (2 ); MDW
(10) r A (2)-; C H Q I2 ); D (3 ); B (2 ); R (3) ;
Bn (2 ); C (1) ; FC (2) ; HD (2) ; PE (2) ;
OSD (5 ); Sch (50 ); PMS & T (1) ; SPE­
CIAL DISTRIBUTION.
For explanation of distribution formula, see
SR 310-90-1.
FOREWORD
As a military weapon, psychological warfare is
no newer than the rumors whispered about Hannibal,
the wave of terror spread in advance of the armies
o f Genghis Khan, Philip of Macedonia, and Attila
the Hun, and the methods used by George Washing­
ton to increase desertion among the Hessians. What
is new about psychological warfare is the manner
in which it recently has been systematically organized
and used as an integral part of military operations.
Experience has demonstrated conclusively that
psychological warfare is a highly effective weapon
which can be used to minimize expenditure of human
life and destruction of property. It is not a substi­
tute for battle, but a supplementary means of combat
which can facilitate and exploit success on the battle­
field.
Psychological warfare has limitations and disad­
vantages. One American army commander who
achieved outstanding success in World War II
expressed this idea when he said, “Psychological war­
fare had an important place in the European Cam­
paign. It can accomplish much good. It can also
be extremely harmful.” It is the duty of command­
ers to understand how to secure the beneficial effects
and to avoid those which are harmful.
iii
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.
Section I. Purpose and definitions_______ 1-2 1
II. Psychological warfare_______ 3-7 5
CHAPTER 2. BASIC PRINCIPLES___________ 8-15 9
3. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL W AR­
FARE OFFICER_________ . . . 16-22 24
4. DEPARTMENT OF THE ARM Y
AN D THEATER LEVELS.
Section I. General_______________________ 23-24 31
II. Responsibilities and procedures
of theater psychological war­
fare division________________ 25-26 32
III. Organization and functions of
theater psychological war­
fare division________________ 27-32 36
IV. Other headquarters___________ 33-34 46
CHAPTER 5. P L A N N IN G , PROCEDURES,
A N D M E A N S WI T H I N
AR M Y GROUP____________ 35-43 48
6. INTELLIGENCE_______________ 44-48 64
7. DEFENSE AGAINST ENEMY
PSYCHOLOGICAL W AR­
FARE.
Section I. General_______________________ 49-50 70
II. M ethods______________________ 51-56 71
CHAPTER 8. TRAINING____________________ 57-60 75
APPENDIX I. THE PSYCHOLOGICAL W AR­
FARE PLAN AN D AN NEX_______ 81
II. DISSEMINATION OF LEAF­
LETS BY AIRCRAFT_______________ 84
III. DISSEMINATION OF LEAF­
LETS BY ARTILLERY______________ 88
INDEX------------------------------------------------------------------------ 92
RESTRICTED
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Section I. PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS
1. PURPOSE. This manual is a guide to commanders
and their staffs in the conduct of psychological war­
fare. It covers the nature, capabilities, and limita­
tions of psychological warfare; outlines Department
of the Army policies and principles relative to its
conduct in the field; and provides a guide to methods
and principles of training therein. The technical
details of the conduct of operations will be found in
manuals covering the employment of the various
means (such as artillery, aircraft, and radio) used in
psychological warfare activities.
2. DEFINITIONS, a. Political warfare. Political war­
fare is the employment of political (diplomatic and
other nonmilitary) means to defeat an enemy. It
makes use of propaganda coordinated with foreign
policy, either in the direct political relations with
other governments or with groups of people possess­
ing political organization. The conduct of political
warfare is not a function of the armed forces. It
may be planned in coordination with military opera­
tions and its execution may affect a military situation
or require auxiliary military action.
i
b. Information services. Information services as a
general term, covers all the means and agencies ordi­
narily used to disseminate information to the public.
They include press, radio, films, books, pamphlets,
and posters.
c. Psychological warfare. As used in this manual,
psychological warfare consists of activities, other
than combat, which communicate ideas and informa­
tion intended to affect the minds, emotions, and
actions of the enemy, and which are conducted by
a military command in conjunction with its combat
operations, for the purpose of reducing the enemy
morale and will to fight. Such activities are con­
ducted in consonance with policies announced
through command channels. The most important
weapon in the arsenal of psychological warfare is
propaganda.
d. Propaganda. Propaganda is any organized ef­
fort or movement to spread a particular doctrine or
information. It consists of news, information, spe­
cial arguments, or appeals designed to influence the
thoughts and actions of any given group. The popu­
lar conception of the term propaganda as implying
falsehood or deception is not valid. Derived from
the Latin term “prof ago,” propaganda implies lit­
erally “ that which must be spread.” While mate­
rials used must be selected with a specific purpose
in view, truths and facts which the enemy will accept
or easily can verify achieve particularly effective
results.
(1) Having reference to its source, propaganda
may be classified as overt, covert, or grey.
{a) Overt (“xohite” ) propaganda. O v e r t
propaganda emanates from a stated and
2