João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Mar 7, 2024

"Mens sana in corpore sano". This quote in Latin, originally from the Roman poet Juvenal, is often used in its Portuguese version, "Sane mind, healthy body," to remind us of the importance of taking care of our psychology. The stress of everyday life, that tiredness that only increases, and the bills that multiply at the speed of light undermine our health a little when they keep pounding in our minds all day, right? I will tell you cases in which psychology was used as a combat weapon in the many wars fought.

Psychological warfare tactics are nothing new and have been used since ancient times. The Persians, led by commander Cambysses II, used cats to win a battle against the Egyptians, led by Pharaoh Psametic III. Upon learning of the animals' awe in Egypt, the Persian commander ordered that his army's shields be painted with images of cats and that hundreds of these animals be gathered in front of his troops. Upon seeing a considerable troop of cats heading towards them, the Egyptians refused to fight for fear of hurting the animals, which caused their defeat and the loss of the territory of Pelusium on the upper Nile.

The pamphlet that the Japanese sent to Allied troops on the Pacific islands

Speaking of more modern times, we also have various psychological approaches to War. One of the primary means used was leafleting. Airplanes passed by and distributed thousands of leaflets in the enemy's language, encouraging them to desert on the verge of a fierce attack. Little is said, but days before the operations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities were bombarded with leaflets stating that a new American weapon would destroy them and that civilians should evacuate the area as soon as possible. Of course, amidst so much propaganda, no one ran away.

American pamphlet informing about the imminent attack on Hiroshima

Leaflets that the Germans sent to Brazilians in Italy.

It is worth mentioning here that this strategy was and still is used by all sides in a war. The Germans even carried out this campaign against the Brazilians in the Italian campaign during the Second World War. The objective was to lower troop morale and undermine trust between American and Brazilian troops. German, really? Up on us, Brazilians? You've got to be kidding?

In the War in Afghanistan, American troops debuted a new way of reaching the enemy's psyche: music! Reports say that as they approached villages and places with suspected Taliban soldiers, the first vehicle in the convoy was a Humvee packed with speakers playing Metallica at total volume, followed by messages in Arabic warning that if they confront the Americans, they will die. It will be suitable for them. The sound of metal was not very common and much less appreciated by the local population. It would probably cause fear and anger in enemies, leading them to make mistakes.

The Polish Winged Hussars

During the Vietnam War, Americans used the Viet Cong's beliefs against themselves, as most enemies believed that troubled souls could wander the world. Based on this, they created an audio tape with sounds of ghost voices lamenting about dying in combat and leaving their family instead of surrendering to the Americans. These tapes were played by robust radios installed on small American boats that sailed on the rivers of Vietnam in the middle of the night in the dark forests of the region. Imagine the fear of hearing that! Mixing fear and sounds was also the strategy of the Polish Winged Hussars in the 16th century. Their armor contained a tangle of feathers that projected wings, giving a visual grandeur and producing a typical sound during their rides. This sound served to frighten their enemies.

And that's where the Trumpets of Jericho come in. In World War II, the Germans developed a plane known to all aviation lovers: the Stuka. Created to be a dive bomber, the Stuka was initially used by the German Condor legion in the Spanish Civil War. It later became one of the Luftwaffe's principal planes in the air raids that supported the rapid war operations that Germany conducted in Germany. The first half of the War. However, more than the damage (which was not little) that the Stuka produced, its sound became an icon of psychological warfare. Taking advantage of the plane "diving" in the air towards the target, sirens were installed with a propeller measuring more than 70 centimeters, producing a unique howl with each dive. The sound soon became known among enemy troops and also among civilians. Many knew that that was the sound of death, as a bomb would indeed explode afterward. The name "Jericho trumpets" was given due to a biblical passage where the City Walls of Jericho were torn down to the sound of trumpets played by priests. The Stuka gradually became outdated and even its deadly siren was removed to gain more attack speed. Still, the new British and Soviet fighters almost completely removed Stukas from battle. At the end of the War, only two planes remained. More than 5,500 aircraft were manufactured.

The noise was so characteristic that the idea was replicated in some bombs by the Germans. Many later films and series adopted the sound of "trumpets" in their filming for any type of combat aircraft, thus immortalizing one of the best-known psychological warfare weapons the world has ever seen.