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He could have used artillery...

One should keep in mind how things worked out.
Thing were so bad under the Soviet regime that the invading Germans were initially welcomed as liberators.
The Soviets put NKVD (secret police) units behind the Soviet Army units in attack or defense to capture or kill people moving away from the front.
The Germans raised the equivalent of several divisions of volunteer troops to assist them in their fights.
Soviet prisoners had a high mortality rate in German camps from substandard and abusive treatment and substantial percentages of them died.
German prisoners in Soviet hands didn't fare well either. In some camps things were so bad that the prisoners turned to cannibalism and the Soviets had to form special anti-cannibal patrols.
About 60% of German POWs in Soviet hands died.
German units fought their way past Soviet units in order to surrender to the western Allies.
Only about 1% of prisoners from the western Allies dies in German hands.
Only about 1% of German prisoners died in captivity by the western Allies.
Allied propaganda was an easier sell to the Germans.

THE ALLIED "PASSIERSCHIEN" SAFE CONDUCT PASSES OF WWII

. . . The final version of the "passierschein" has been called the most effective single leaflet of the war. It was considered so powerful that in 1944 the Allied Supreme Headquarters issued a directive forbidding reproduction of the safe conduct pass on other leaflets. They wanted to protect the authenticity of the document. . . .

Within a very few months after the landings In Normandy, American and British PW Interrogators were able to gather plenty of evidence to show that SHAEF appeals, by voice and leaflet, were getting results. In October 1944, it was officially reported that 77% of prisoners taken by the Allies had read one or more of the leafletsAbout 80% of the prisoners taken on the Brest peninsula had leaflets in their Possession. On one occasion, three Germans surrendering had only one leaflet for the trio. They gave themselves up, each with one hand held high and the other clutching a corner of the precious documentAnother German gave himself up with the statement that he had "a document bearing General Eisenhower's personal signature." In one day 44 men of the 256th Volksgrenadier division deserted to a Third Army unit and nearly all carried the Safe Conduct surrender pass.

In 1983, the US Army Institute for Professional Development considered TV and Radio to be the second and third most effective means of propaganda after face-to-face interaction. (Nowadays internet and social media would probably be high on the list too.)

What did you check to determine that TV is a "piss-poor way to attempt to shape society"? Did you look at yourself and go "I don't feel like I've had my opinions or feelings manipulated by TV, so it clearly doesn't work"? Many (most) people don't think they are affected by advertising either, yet advertising is so profitable that it is almost everywhere. Our minds have known vulnerabilities in the form of appeal to emotion, subconcious association of unrelated things, etc,, and of course these are being exploited. Sadly, we can't fix these vulnerabilities like we can with software, but at least it helps to be aware of the ways we're being influenced.

I've got exactly what you need! Tinfoil hats are cheap. They are easy, to make too, it takes less than two minutes. Don't believe the MIT study that debunks the time honored tinfoil hat, it's a government conspiracy you know!

Don't worry, there are support groups for conspiracy theorists! Now I know like any number of other conspiracy theories those pesky facts might get in the way. However, learn from Joseph Goebbels and don't ever let logic, facts or reality get in your way. I know you look like a raving lunatic to any rational person, but not to worry, there is someone even crazier will soon show up to defend you, so cheer up!

I've got exactly what you need! Tinfoil hats are cheap. They are easy, to make too, it takes less than two minutes. Don't believe the MIT study that debunks the time honored tinfoil hat, it's a government conspiracy you know!

Don't worry, there are support groups for conspiracy theorists! Now I know like any number of other conspiracy theories those pesky facts might get in the way. However, learn from Joseph Goebbels and don't ever let logic, facts or reality get in your way. I know you look like a raving lunatic to any rational person, but not to worry, there is someone even crazier will soon show up to defend you, so cheer up!

You are absolutely right. The Viet Cong moved thousands of tons of supplies by bicycle under horrendous conditions including air attack.

http://www.psywarrior.com/BicycleSuppliesTrail.jpg

http://www.travelersdigest.com/war_pics/bikes.jpg

http://www.country-data.com/frd/cs/vietnam/vn01_07h.jpg

They walked the bikes so they could carry more, but a modern bicycle trailer would also work well.

Time to set up ranks of inflatable tanks, buildings, and such and move them every week. By the time they pinpoint the tanks, they will find nothing.

Here is an article on the art of deception. I would love them to waste ammo and troups attacking the empty tents in the compound where all those inflatable tanks are.
http://www.psywarrior.com/DeceptionH.html

http://www.psywarrior.com/rockmusic.html

Well, Goebbels was on the losing side, wasn't he?

I think the III. Reich lost the propaganda war as well as it lost on the other fronts in the war. Allied propaganda was less blatant and less obtrusive, and therefore attracted less attention; but as far as I know it was far more effective. Throughout Europe people risked their life, including Germans, to listen to the BBC. Especially British propaganda, both "white" and "black", evolved into something much more effective than anything Goebbels produced -- although starting from very crude beginnings indeed.

Allied propaganda produced newspapers for axis soldiers, provided them with sewing kits and other useful items carrying anti-war slogans, and printed Passierscheine encouraging surrender that were reportedly even sold on the (Italian) black markets.

The reality was that Goebbels was unable to repress all external sources of information, and that showed his construction to be the house of cards it really was. By 1945 his propaganda had become a subject for cynical jokes --- "Don't worry; Groefaz will save us."

Lies can buy time; but Lincoln was right -- you can't fool all people all the time.

>at once point (probably a while ago) we did "capture" a MiG or whatever

Yes, there was a Russian pilot who defected by flying his jet to Japan.

* On 6 September 1976, a Soviet pilot, Lieutenant Viktor Belenko, decided to defect to the West. He flew his aircraft, a Mikoyan "MiG-25" interceptor, from Siberia to Japan. The "Foxbat", as it was known in the West, was one of the most advanced aircraft fielded by the USSR to that time, and it had figured prominently in the nightmares of Western military officials.

http://www.vectorsite.net/avmig25.html

There was also this program that attempt to steal a combat-ready Russian MiG-15 Fighter for one hundred thousand dollars

http://www.psywarrior.com/Moolah.html

The canopy opened, and from the plane stepped a cocky young lieutenant in a blue flying suit. While the American pilots watched in open-mouthed wonder, the Red pilot tore up a photograph of North Korean dictator Kim il-Sung, and handed his pistol to a nearby F-86 pilot in a jeep on the way to the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing Headquarters. Early reports were that he had torn up a picture of his girlfriend, but North Korean pilots were not allowed to have girlfriends during the war. They were warned that many girls were South Korean spies.

After a few moments of shock, the defector was rushed to intelligence while his MiG Fighter was placed in a well-guarded hangar. The North Korean Lieutenant, No Kum-Sok, explained his motives to the officers assigned to interrogate him.

During World War II, the English had invented a device to literally set the English Channel on fire to prevent the island from being taken by Nazi forces. There were limited tests, but no widespread deployment. It is said that one of the many reasons the German forces did not invade England was for fear of a flaming death. Here is an interesting website about it with a few pictures.

Kings says the Navy upgraded the Constellation's printing capabilities before its current deployment by purchasing two high-speed printers for $17,000 apiece. Together, the printers can churn out half a million leaflets in 24 hours. In the past, the Army would have designed and printed the leaflets and shipped them from Ft. Bragg, N.C., to sea. Now, the Army simply e-mails leaflet designs to the Constellation for printing.
"Within 24 hours we can go from printing to dropping," says Mole. If the test of the on-board printing operation continues to be successful, other carriers are likely to get high-speed printers to make their own leaflets. Now other carriers in the region receive their leaflets from the Constellation.

Kings says the Navy upgraded the Constellation's printing capabilities before its current deployment by purchasing two high-speed printers for $17,000 apiece. Together, the printers can churn out half a million leaflets in 24 hours. In the past, the Army would have designed and printed the leaflets and shipped them from Ft. Bragg, N.C., to sea. Now, the Army simply e-mails leaflet designs to the Constellation for printing.
"Within 24 hours we can go from printing to dropping," says Mole. If the test of the on-board printing operation continues to be successful, other carriers are likely to get high-speed printers to make their own leaflets. Now other carriers in the region receive their leaflets from the Constellation.

Propaganda to the home front must create an optimum anxiety level.
Propaganda must reinforce anxiety concerning the consequences of defeat.
Propaganda must label events and people with distinctive phrases or slogans.
They must evoke desired responses which the audience previously possesses.
They must be capable of being easily learned.
They must be utilized again and again, but only in appropriate situations.

I would propose making monsterously huge speakers and blasting this into Iraq, but in my oppinion it would be a violation of the Geneva Convention.

Actually, we've done stuff like that before

GMD