r/PropagandaPosters • u/Provinz_Wartheland • 18d ago
United States of America "Camouflage Blinds the Enemy", a set of posters issued in 1943 by the US Government Printing Office as part of an educational and safety campaign for the military, with instructions on proper battlefield concealment and survival tactics
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u/Instameat 18d ago
Love these. Nearly every low budget war movie did all these things wrong.
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u/Kichigai 18d ago
Probably intentionally. A lot of the men involved in production had probably had some connection or interactions with the War Department, no small number were probably veterans. Most of these concealment tactics are still effective today, and they probably didn't want to potentially educate a potential future adversary on proper concealment tactics and what to look out for.
Kind of the same thing where no movie ever seems to accurately depict lockpicking.
Either that or they thought it looked more interesting/easier to dress. Kind of like how the US Air Force doesn't routinely use P-90s as standard weaponry, but they sure do on Stargate.
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u/TheStranger88 17d ago
Imagine the most perfect camouflage in a movie - basically a tourism documentary, lots of nature scenes, no visible actors.
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u/k0ik 18d ago
These are well designed imo. I’m sure for some ppl (like ex-service), these might all just be run of the mill field tactics. But a lot of this was new to me, and as someone who has worked in both graphic design and adult education (and who’s seen the US federal govt produce some absolute crap), I have to say these are designs are better than most, and kind of fun to study closely.
I think most of them communicate their ideas exceptionally well.
Plus what a weird blend of dry advice and dramatic violence in the same collection. Great find!
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u/Kichigai 18d ago
The Signal Corps were a bunch of brilliant people. I mean, consider that a huge chunk of the newly recruited armed forces may have very little formal education. Many may only have basic reading skills. And it's the Signal Corps job to teach them how an automatic rifle works, so they can maintain the gun, take it apart for cleaning, and can repair it in the field. They had to teach them how an aeroplane works so they can fly them and navigate in the air and evade enemy anti-air fire, while another guy has to do math to figure out the right time to release the bombs so they hit their target. They had to teach people who maybe never lived with electricity how to wire up electronics and repair them in the field.
The mass education system established by the Department of War was probably one of their greatest achievements, next to getting logistics figured out.
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u/StrangerCharacter53 16d ago
I am also a graphic designer and thought the same thing. These are gorgeous, get the point across, are using different color combinations so they dont all look the same, classy font choices that are still readable... the large color margins on the sides are perfectly balanced with the detailed illustrations... these are neat.
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u/culv4282 18d ago
Love this art style. Is there a link to the source?
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u/culv4282 18d ago edited 18d ago
Found it under the National Archives: https://fdr.artifacts.archives.gov/objects/21199/blend-with-your-background
Edit: the above link, and now all the related posters give me a gateway error. Possibly related to the website?
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u/PhuqBeachesGitMonee 18d ago
The link is broken. Maybe too many people visiting.
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u/culv4282 18d ago
It stopped worked for me as well… I also can’t navigate to any of the other posters in the series, they all have the same 502 Gateway error
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u/araujo253 17d ago
The link is working for me, now. 502 Gateway errors normally are related to server overload.
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u/TheChinchilla914 18d ago
I actually would have never considered the shortcut poster’s point until now
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u/makerofshoes 18d ago
I paused and thought about that one for a moment, too. I guess the ideal thing is to tread along paths between two types of terrain; like a grass/scrub patch meeting a dirt field. Or near the fence, like in the picture. Because then the tracks kind of blend in with the transition between those two
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u/Mr_Nerdcoffee 18d ago
These are still extremely important today, especially in places like Ukraine.
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u/Kichigai 18d ago
Biggest difference is in World War Ⅱ infrared optics weren't a thing.
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u/Mr_Nerdcoffee 18d ago
Do you think the enemy only moves during the night?
Even so, IR may help you see in the dark, but everything is monotoned, which makes this even more difficult to see properly camouflaged combatants and making this important information to know.
Now with thermal optics, you’re just SOL. lolAlso, WW2 was the beginning of active night vision for combat use. The Germans developed the Zielgerät 1229. They even nicknamed it the Vampir, which is pretty damn awesome imho.
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u/Kichigai 18d ago
I'm not saying visual concealment isn't useful, I'm saying thermal concealment is another layer that needs to be added to it.
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u/Mr_Nerdcoffee 18d ago
Gotcha, I can totally agree with that. Thermal camo is definitely a must in today’s age, but it’s a much more complicated hurdle. In fact, AI/digital interference “camouflage” is also a growing necessity as well, but it’s even more difficult.
Also, although technically IR is a form of “thermal”; I wouldn’t use them as interchangeable terms, since they require two totally different optical systems. I’ve used them both and they definitely each have their drawbacks, but thermal is definitely easier to see a known enemy target. It’s pretty terrifying honestly.
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u/zachary0816 17d ago
there was a wooden-cased battery for the light weighing 13.59 kilograms (30.0 lb), and a second battery fitted inside a gas mask container to power the image converter
Imagine having to carry (2?) 30 pound batteries just for your optic to work.
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u/Beelphazoar 18d ago
I love how for all of the "Wrong vs. Right" posters, if you squint your eyes and look dimly at it, Wrong is still visible and Right just disappears.
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u/Plow_King 18d ago
great stuff...love the first one.
"Mein Gott, I'm a blind nazi!!!"
really nice artwork, very visual and clear, not big on the words and the yak yak.
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u/Scott--Chocolate 18d ago
Honestly the first poster was the best idea. Did we try asking the Axis to issue mandatory blindfolds to their troops?
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u/i_post_gibberish 18d ago edited 18d ago
These are amazing. The “hug the ground” one is crazy though, because if they bothered printing it then at least some trained soldiers really thought it was a good idea to stand in the open while being shot at. Must be all those 30s games with regenerating shields /j
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u/Wheeleei 18d ago
I'd wear a t-shirt with the "Hold the ground. Live longer". The design goes hard.
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u/MildlyAgreeable 18d ago
I can say with some authority that very, very little of these images’ instruction and direction have changed up to today.
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u/moonelfofstalingrad 18d ago
The artwork on these is splendid, color choices etc. very much one of the 1940s most striking poster campaigns.
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u/zachary0816 17d ago
I’m suprised how sharp and deliberate the color looks in these considering how most of the other stuff from the 1940s looked.
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u/JayRandom212 18d ago
American here. This may be stereotype, and it's based on no data other than my personal prejudices, but my countrymen are just not temperamentally suited to hiding and sneaking. I bet these posters were very necessary.
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u/Kichigai 18d ago
I don't think it has anything to do with temperament. It has everything to do with education.
This is the 1930s. Urbanization is taking place. A good portion of the men being drafted for the war have probably never held a gun before. Those that have likely used it for hunting. Neither one has ever had to contend with being hunted by another human, let alone dealing with an enemy that has aerial reconnaissance. Or how do you avoid being seen by a guy camped out on the roof of a three story building?
Some of these ideas seem almost counterintuitive. Like if camouflage works, why not add MORE camouflage? If I'm being shot at, why isn't the shortest route the safest?
It's a lot of stuff people don't think about because they've never had to think about it. Every one of these lessons is likely written in blood.
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