VRIL ops / VRILOPS

Perhaps one of the earliest examples of Psychological Warfare was attributed to “Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Alexander had conquered most of the known world during his reign. With each region he conquered he left behind soldiers to keep control of the newly conquered area. Eventually, there came a point when Alexander realized that he had stretched his army too thin and was now in danger of losing to a large opposing force. Alexander’s only option was to retreat and regroup forces with the armies he left behind. However, to do so would certainly incite the opposing force to pursue him and very possibly capture or defeat his now smaller army. Alexander knew that if he could intimidate the opposing force they would be scared to follow his army. Alexander instructed his armorers to make several oversized armor breastplates and helmets that would fit “giants”, men 7 to 8 feet tall. As Alexander and his forces withdrew during the night they left behind the oversized armor. The oversized armor was of course found by the opposing force who then believed that they had come close to engaging in a battle with giants. A battle that they surely would have lost. The oversized armor coupled with the stories they had heard from travelers of the savagery of Alexander’s army caused enough doubt and fear that they elected not to pursue Alexander’s army.

In 525 B.C. the Persian and Egyptian armies were engaged in a fierce battle for the city of Pelusium. It is said that the inhabitants of Pelusium worshiped cats as gods. Their enemy knew of this belief and took advantage of it. The Persians deployed their forces to the villages and towns of the surrounding countryside, capturing as many cats as they could lay their hands upon. Once satisfied with the number of animals they’d collected, the Persian army returned to the city of Pelusium. The Egyptians immediately attacked, but were frozen in their tracks as hundreds of panic-stricken cats were released onto the battlefield. Confusion spread through the Egyptian ranks. The Persian forces then advanced, each of the Persian soldiers holding a cat. The Egyptian soldiers dared not engage the enemy or shoot their arrows, fearing that to do so might endanger the lives of the cats. The Persians quickly scattered their enemy and their city defenses as Cambyses hurled cats over the walls of the city. After the taking of the city Cambyses showed his contempt of the Egyptians by carrying a cage of cats in front of him upon his horse, and hurling them with insulting taunts and laughter, into the faces of his foes.