What effect did awareness of devastating bombing at home have on the fighting spirit of German troops on the Eastern front?
Upvote:11
It should be a more demoralizing effect overall, but there aren't data for Operation Barbarossa. First off, according to the US Strategic Bombing Survey, civilians in the most heavily bombed areas saw a drop in support for the Nazi Party and felt their personal morale drop 14% of the time. This is surprisingly small, but it means that eventually, the bombings were causing morale to decline. These measurements are after the war ended though, so during the period 1941-1944, morale was likely much higher, despite bombing. In other words, for our purposes, we should consider bombing to have had no significant effect on morale only.
The troops in Operation Barbarossa were subject to propaganda and false information about the bombings, though, not the bombings themselves. The Nazis would have controlled information to provide a more positive view. The British Political Warfare Executive had great success with its Whisper Campaign during the planned invasion of the UK, Operation Sea Lion, by the Nazis, and continued the campaign against troops invading Russia. Some of the rumors it spread are still believed by members of the British public today. For example, many people believe that the Nazis attempted to invade the island nation, and a small invasion force was repulsed off-shore, causing charred bodies to wash up on the beaches of Great Britain.
The Whisper Campaign often spread awful and sometimes graphic rumors (some true) about enormous deaths, and exaggerations about the Nazi's inability to protect civilians through defense measures (e.g., all the concrete is needed for the war effort, so no more bomb shelters will be built; all the doctors are killing the elderly and the disabled due to shortages). The campaign also tried to instill animosity against the Nazis by making them seem corrupt (Mr. Nazi is having food imported). The wartime control of information, including constant propaganda, made rumors seem more true.
Unfortunately, the PWE didn't collect data on its effects during the war, so we don't know if the troops were demoralized. But it seems likely. "Disinformation" tactics are typically very effective and still used today in warfare to demoralize troops. Even though the fact of the bombings didn't change, the way the troops viewed them would have.
Reference: The United States PSYOP Organization in Europe During World War II http://www.psywarrior.com/PSYOPOrgWW2.html Lee Richards. The British are Coming! British Aerial Propaganda to Germany, 1940–44 http://www.psywar.co.uk/psywar/reproductions/day.pdf
More post
- 📝 Help identifying this WW1 badge
- 📝 Was there a semi-professional soldiering class in Early Middle Ages Europe?
- 📝 When did the Chinese begin using night soil as fertilizer?
- 📝 How and why did e.g. Chechnya differ in status from entities like Armenia?
- 📝 Did Christians ever use crucifixion as punishment?
- 📝 When did it become acceptable to campaign for yourself for US President?
- 📝 In the early Roman Republic, did every patrician family have at least one consul?
- 📝 What exactly is a Tang dynasty 壺 (pot)?
- 📝 Did US soldiers typically keep an official journal or log during the Civil War era?
- 📝 Bears on Bicycles - What are early examples of photographs or paintings showing bicycles used with animals in circus acts?
- 📝 What effect did awareness of devastating bombing at home have on the fighting spirit of German troops on the Eastern front?
- 📝 Which year in history had the highest ratio of non-natural deaths?
- 📝 What did women wear during the Rashidun era?
- 📝 What does "the purpose of history is ideological" mean?
- 📝 How did Leonardo plan on moving his tank?
- 📝 Why did the church attack Mainz for printing books?
- 📝 Before iron was common, what did common people use for door hinges?
- 📝 What was the criminal charge of "pretending sodomy" in 1719 England?
- 📝 How does it arise that there are two Colorado rivers, and how does one distinguish between them?
- 📝 Who named San Andreas, California?
- 📝 How was religious diversity represented in the Thirteen Colonies?
- 📝 What is the origin of the subdivisions of Heaven and Hell?
- 📝 What does this Italian soldier's 1930’s uniform tell us about his job and rank?
- 📝 Where can I find annual population estimates for each US state, from 1865-1899?
- 📝 Why were some German and Japanese cities bombed more than others during WW2? Is there a scientific consensus?
- 📝 What was the Orthodox Church's role in Russian expansion?
- 📝 Who stood for the Roman consulship in absentia?
- 📝 Who were some famous Vietnam War Hawks and Doves?
- 📝 What was the personal philosophy of Alexander the Great in his youth?
- 📝 What was the point of horse armour?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What effect did awareness of devastating bombing at home have on the fighting spirit of German troops on the Eastern front?
- 📝 What effect did the Attack on Mers-el-Kébir have on Great Britain's international relations during WW2?
- 📝 What effect did the Bronze Age collapse have on India?
- 📝 What effect did the Mafia have during World War 2?
- 📝 What effect did the execution of Louis XVI have on French foreign policy?
- 📝 What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
- 📝 What reasons did the Confederacy have for believing they would have a quick victory?
- 📝 What did the top minds of the late 17th century have to say about Salem witch trials?
- 📝 To what extent did the CPC avoid fighting with the Japanese?
- 📝 What role did the media have in the outcome of the "Arab Spring" revolt in Tunisia?
- 📝 What impact did the Seven Years War have on the American Revolution?
- 📝 What impact did Trotsky's armoured train have on the Russian civil war?
- 📝 Did the Germans have enough bombers to conduct "strategic" bombing of the Soviet Union?
- 📝 At what point did the United States have a truly federal army?
- 📝 What alternate north-south supply routes did the Soviet Union have when the Volga and Stalingrad were under attack?
- 📝 What literary or philosophical works did the ancient Egyptians have that have influenced ancient civilizations or the modern word?
- 📝 How did the news of the reality Nazi concentration camps reach the United State's mainstream? What were the waves of awareness and when?
- 📝 What did the Japanese military do to maintain their fighting edge during the Edo era/Bakufu (1603-1868)?
- 📝 What did sectionalism have to do with the American civil war?
- 📝 What access did people in the Warsaw pact countries have to Western television and radio?
- 📝 What rights did women have in Switzerland in the first few years of the 20th century?
- 📝 What effect did tanks have on warfare strategies upon their introduction?
- 📝 What intelligence successes did the Axis have in WW2?
- 📝 What kind of heating did Moscow have in the early Soviet Union (1917 - 1930)?
- 📝 Did West Russia really have a rock shortage in WW2? And if so, what was the cause?
- 📝 What specifically did Einstein have in mind when he called the Israeli Freedom Party fascistic?
- 📝 What authority did the Catholic Church have over European monarchs from 900–1450?
- 📝 What involvement did Jonathan Edwards have with the Conspiracy of 1741?
- 📝 What economic incentives (if any) did France have to aid the American army during the revolution?
- 📝 What impact did the migration of Germanic tribes have on languages in the rest of Europe?