Chinese Tactics > PART ONE: People’s Liberation Army Forces > Chapter 5: Tactical Information Operations > Psychological Warfare Tactics
5-39. The PLA divides campaign psychological warfare into attack and protection, similar to IW. These two aspects result in discrete but mutually supporting operations, and they should be tightly integrated in order to achieve a combined arms effect.
Psychological Attack
5-40. Psychological attack contains those activities that target an enemy’s situational understanding, conviction, will, and morale. The goal of psychological attack is to control the enemy’s awareness and fighting spirit such that its combat power is weakened. The PLAA views this as a supporting effort to information attack, although psychological attack is necessarily broader and less technical in nature. There are two primary methods by which psychological attack is carried out: attacking psychology of understanding and attacking psychology of conviction. Psychology of understanding attacks target the enemy’s situational understanding, and they can include everything from camouflage and concealment, to feint attacks or demonstrations, to disinformation efforts. The general objective of these attacks is to lead the enemy into an information trap, a situation wherein enemy leaders and planners make erroneous, faulty, or inefficient decisions due to faulty, insufficient, or misleading information. This can be described as getting inside of the enemy’s decision-making cycle, and it is considered one of the most difficult and valuable operational arts in all of warfare. Examples of psychological attack at lower echelons include the use of loudspeakers, simulated smoke or fire, decoys, and unmanned equipment to distort the enemy’s situational understanding. Individual soldiers may also be targeted with physical pamphlets or digital messaging in order to upset morale and cohesion.
5-41. Deception is the activity at the heart of psychology of conviction attacks. Practically every PLAA operation places as high a premium on deceiving the enemy as it does maneuver or firepower. Attacks against psychology of conviction target the enemy’s fighting spirit, will, and morale. At political echelons, this involves broad campaigns to convince or coerce enemy civilians and politicians to abandon support for the conflict. At tactical levels, the PLAA takes a notably Marxist approach. It seeks to create division between lower ranks and senior ranks by encouraging antiwar sentiments, homesickness, and fear among the enemy’s soldiery.
Psychological Protection
5-42. Psychological protection encompasses those activities that attempt to blunt, minimize, or neutralize enemy psychological warfare activities. Psychological protection is divided into two subtypes in much the same way as psychological attack: protecting psychology of understanding and protecting psychology of conviction. Protecting psychology of understanding involves attempting to defeat enemy deception or concealment activities or to minimize enemy disinformation efforts. The objective is to give commanders a clear and accurate picture of the battlefield, enabling quick and accurate decision making, and keeping the enemy out of the friendly decision cycle.
5-43. Protecting psychology of conviction includes those activities that maintain friendly cohesion, morale, and will to fight. It includes defeating broad enemy propaganda efforts or more-direct attacks against friendly soldiers. It also includes political education efforts and other measures designed to enhance esprit de corps, and mental strength and resiliency measures put in place to protect and enhance the individual soldier’s psychological well-being. Political officers are also charged with ensuring support and compliance from local civilian populations, thus protecting PLA forces from the impact of political ill-will.