An elephant bridge, in the sense of a bridge built largely by elephants working under skilled human supervision, is a bridge whose structure consists primarily of logs, that are both carried to the site and put in place, by domesticated Indian elephants. Typically they are built in conjunction with logging operations in South and Southeast Asia. [1]
Elephant bridges were built for military purposes in World War II by the Allies in the China Burma India Theater, and operations behind the lines of invading Japanese troops were undertaken to move elephants and elephant handlers to behind Allied lines. The native personnel involved, and the elephants, were, before the arrival of Japanese forces, largely engaged in the logging of teak for export. The British soldier James Howard "Elephant Bill" Williams, who oversaw the evacuation, had worked in the Burma teak trade; the success of the operation is said to have hinged on his long-standing personal relationship with one particularly large elephant. [1]
Further reading
- Croke, Vicki Constantine, Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II, Random House, 2014 [2]
References
- ^ a b Croke, Vicki, and Nancy Lopez, "Bandoola", National Public Radio Snap Judgement, August 22, 2014
- ^ Price, Matthew, Boston Globe, [book review] "‘Elephant Company’ by Vicki Croke"
 | This architecture-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about transport in Myanmar is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |