[Propaganda] German leaflets dropped on 9th Division at Alamein

9th Division specific propaganda leaflets dropped by Germans over Alamein

In a follow up to their unsuccessful leaflet drop on Australian 9th Division troops at Tobruk the Germans again produced, printed and distributed via air drop thousands of leaflets aimed at demoralising the Australians.

Like their effort at Tobruk, Australian troops found this very amusing and reinforced the perception that their efforts had damaged the German attempts to take North Africa. In these examples a crude representation of the 9th Division symbol of Platypus and Boomerang can be seen at the top. Underneath are the messages designed to demoralise. On one a message advises that American troops are having a great time in Australia presumably with their wives and girlfriends while the 9th Division sits in the sand. Of all the messages dropped by the Germans this one is probably the most effective against the Australian soldier. Like before, however, most troops kept them as keepsakes or for the laugh value.

I think it took the Germans a long time and a lot of men to work out the Australian sense of humour.

image 025015 Australian War Memorial