Forensic Research Archive of Manipulation and Exploitation
British Field-Guns Smash a German Tank Attack at Point-Blank Range in Libya - Back Them Up!, 1941 UK poster: A painted scene

British Field-Guns Smash a German Tank Attack at Point-Blank Range in Libya - Back Them Up!

A painted scene shows British gun crews firing from sandbagged positions under camouflage netting while a German-marked tank burns and two figures raise their hands. The caption claims the guns 'smash' a tank attack and the slogan asks for production support; the tell for card-stacking is that only the success is shown, with no losses on the British side.

Propaganda techniques used in this poster

Card stacking
Date
1941
Period
Second World War
Made by
UK government (imprint: printed for H.M. Stationery Office by James Haworth & Brother Ltd., London); artist Harold Pym
Region
Western and Central Europe
Country
United Kingdom
Medium
Poster
Issuer type
State
Regime
Churchill Government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Audience
Domestic public
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Themes
War and the military, Home front
Event
World War II
Regime
Churchill wartime government
Leader
Winston Churchill
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Foreign Posters, retrieved October 3, 2026
Rights
Public domain (UK Crown copyright, 50 years from publication, expired before 1996; no URAA restoration)
UK government (HMSO); artist Harold Pym; printer James Haworth & Brother Ltd. Via U.S. National Archives, RG 44.

Text on the object

Original (English) · read from the image, not independently checked

HAROLD PYM

British field-guns smash a German tank attack at point-blank range in Libya

BACK THEM UP!

PRINTED FOR H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE BY JAMES HAWORTH & BROTHER LTD., LONDON 51/2400

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