Global Security and Intelligence Studies Volume 5, Number 1, Spring / Summer 2020 | Page 38

Global Security and Intelligence Studies
Genghis Khan is known as the
man who conquered more land than
anyone else in history. Part of his overwhelming
success can be attributed to
his ability to utilize psychological tactics
in order to gain advantage over
his adversaries. When Genghis Khan
set his sights on a new territory, he offered
sovereign leaders the opportunity
to surrender and to meet all of his demands
for tributes. If the other territory
refused to give in, the Mongol armies
slaughtered the majority of the population
and only left behind a few storytellers,
with the intent of having them
tell this tale of terror to neighboring
regions (Al-Khatib 2015). The message
sent by these actions was for sovereign
leaders to comply or face a horrific fate.
This served to build up Genghis Khan’s
reputation, likely leading to him being
able to conquer more territory without
bloodshed than he otherwise would
have been able to conquer. Without
his ability to understand and manipulate
the human psyche, Genghis Khan
would have had to spend more time
and resources in battle, rather than having
leaders surrender without a fight.
Psychological warfare practitioners
understand the importance
of a target audience analysis, which
is a study of a specific population that
practitioners conduct in order to determine
the best way to change a behavior.
Cambyses II, leader of the Persian
Army in the battle of Pelusium, 525
BCE, demonstrated the idea of understanding
culture in order to evoke a
specific response. The ancient Egyptians
considered cats to be sacred, and
even worshipped a goddess with the
head of a cat: Bastet. The Egyptians
viewed cats as Bastet’s representation,
and it was against the law for citizens to
kill cats. Cambyses II had his soldiers
capture as many cats as possible, and
his troops gathered to try to take the
city of Pelusium. Once the Egyptians
attacked, the Persian Army released
cats onto the battlefield. However, the
confusion this induced was not enough
for Cambyses II, who ordered the Persian
soldiers to advance while they held
cats or had them tied to their shields.
The Egyptians, already confused and
concerned because of the cats running
everywhere, were afraid to shoot arrows
at the enemy for fear of killing the cats
and angering Bastet. The Persian army
hurled cats over the wall of the city, inducing
panic and confusion in the civilian
population as well. Lastly, upon taking
the city, Cambyses II kept a cage of
cats and threw them in the faces of his
enemies, showing his contempt and hatred
for his enemies (Rouse n.d.). While
Cambyses II may have won this battle
even without this exploitation of Egyptian
beliefs, his knowledge of Egyptian
culture and religion certainly helped
enable his victory in the battle of Pelusium.
This highlights how understanding
a population’s culture and motivations
can lead to success on the battlefield.
MILDEC is another method that
militaries use that involves understanding
the minds of the adversary. One example
of this in antiquity is the tale of
the Trojan Horse. While the tale of the
Trojan Horse is likely more myth than
reality, it is a classic example of using deception
in warfare. This tale, described
in Homer’s Iliad, involves a frustrated
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