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Originally Posted by Philip,ABRG  Oke thanks for that link, were the leaflets in the artillery shells, the same that were used to drop by planes? |
Good question! Yes and no, generally no.
This needs a long answer about the organisation of the various propaganda agencies.
The main British PsyWar organisation was called the Political Warfare Executive (PWE). This was one of the secret Government civilian agencies (like SIS, MI5, MI9, etc). PWE was based in the UK. Their London offices were at the BBC's Bush House (on the Strand). But they mainly worked in and around the Woburn Abbey area. Leaflets were designed there and printed at the large printers based at Watford, Luton and London. These leaflets when then dropped over Europe by UK-based bombers of RAF Bomber Command and the USAAF.
The US equivalent organisation was called the Office of War Information (OWI). They shared PWE's printers and dissemination facilities.
Then there was the Psychological Warfare Division of SHAEF (PWD/SHAEF). This was a military organisation under Eisenhower and was staffed with people from PWE and OWI as well as regular military personnel. After D-day they increasing took over the work of PWE and OWI and were responsible for the leaflets with code numbers ZG, WG, XG and others. These continued to be printed in the UK and dropped by UK-based aircraft.
However, they also had field units attached to each of the Armies. These units had mobile printing facilities and disseminated their leaflets by artillery shells. 21st Army Group field unit produced leaflets with the AgG code number for example. They also used printers in liberated Europe.
So most of the artillery fired leaflets were produced locally by the field units. However, some of the UK printed and disseminated leaflets were sent to Europe for dissemination by artillery as well. Often these were printed in a smaller size especially for artillery dissemination - they have the letter "A" at the end of the code number.
For example leaflet ZG.61 was printed in the UK on behalf of PWD/SHAEF and dropped by UK-based aircraft.
ZG.61K was the same leaflet but printed by PWD/SHAEF in Paris and disseminated either by artillery or TAF aircraft.
ZG.61A was printed in the UK but in a smaller size and sent to Europe for dissemination by artillery field units.