You Can't Fight Tanks With Bayonets: Psychological Warfare Against the Japanese Army in the Southwest Pacific (Studies in War, Society, and the Military)

Rating:
Summary: Invaluable Guide into Psychological Operations
Review: As a former US Psychological Operations (PSYOP) specialist, I found Allison Gilmore's study of the US PSYWAR efforts against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War not only historically interesting but also invaluable. Psychological Operations is often misunderstood as "mind-control" and evoke a dark image of disseminating lies through Tokyo Rose and Bagdad Betty. Although such kinds of "grey" or "black" PSYOP is practiced, it represents a small aspect of PSYOP. Especially in the US PSYOP, truth is held to be the most important weapon in persuading and convincing enemies to give-up resistence. A prime example is the Gulf War, in which the US PSYOP campaign was credited with contributing to the massive surrender of the Iraqi troops: US PSYOPers provided essential news and battle situations information to convince the Iraqi's of their inevitable defeat. Gilmore describes the evolution of Allied PSYOP efforts from the beginning to the end. Contrary to the widely-held view during the war in the US that the Japanese soldiers were impervious to any kind of persuation to give-up their fight because of their dedication to their Emporer, superiors, and their nation, Gilmore delineates, step-by-step, how the Allied PSYOPers analysed impact of battle conditions on the average Japanese soldiers, sorted-out psychological "weaknesses," and formulated proper messages to exploit those weaknesses and evetually defeat the Japanese "psychologically." In a sense, this book provides "how-to" knowledge and dispels myths surrounding PSYOP. As the saying goes, "honesty is the best policy," in PSYOP, verifiable truths, rather than lies, will win-over your enemies. Anyone interested in learning more about PSYOP or Pacific War, "You Can't Fight Tanks with Bayonets" should be an essential part of their reading.

Rating:
Summary: A great book on psychological warfare.
Review: The book follows the development of psychological warfare, at first with a little history and then getting into details about its use against the Japanese. The author points out that the use of propaganda was not very effective till the Japanese started to lose and till the Allies learned what did and did not work. Getting to know the enemy and finding his weak points is as important as selecting the right words to use and finding out if it's working. Truth is VERY important as you want the reader to trust you as a source of REAL information, information he/she can see as observable facts or can be checked on later.
The author breaks down the basics of GOOD psywar operations with a number of general conclusions near the end. A must for anybody interested in military history or the Pacific Theater during World War Two.

Rating:
Summary: A great book on psychological warfare.
Review: The book follows the development of psychological warfare, at first with a little history and then getting into details about its use against the Japanese. The author points out that the use of propaganda was not very effective till the Japanese started to lose and till the Allies learned what did and did not work. Getting to know the enemy and finding his weak points is as important as selecting the right words to use and finding out if it's working. Truth is VERY important as you want the reader to trust you as a source of REAL information, information he/she can see as observable facts or can be checked on later.
The author breaks down the basics of GOOD psywar operations with a number of general conclusions near the end. A must for anybody interested in military history or the Pacific Theater during World War Two.