Military animals are
trained animals that are used in
warfare and other
combat related activities. As
working animals, different military animals serve different functions.
Horses,
elephants,
camels, and other animals have been used for both transportation and
mounted attack.
Pigeons were used for communication and photographic espionage. Many other animals have been reportedly used in various specialized military functions, including
rats and
pigs.
Dogs have long been employed in a wide variety of military purposes, more recently focusing on guarding and
bomb detection, and along with
dolphins and
sea lions are in active use today.[1]
The
horse was the most widely used animal throughout the recorded
history of warfare. Early mounts could pull a
chariot or carry lightly armored
skirmishing forces. With the appearance of heavier mounts and the invention of the
stirrup, the horse-mounted
cavalry became the most prestigious
combat arm in
Europe for several centuries. A knight's
warhorse was trained to bite and kick.
The combination of the horse-mounted warrior armed with a
bow made the
steppe people's armies the most powerful military force in
Asian history. Horse-drawn
war wagons were used by the
Hussites during the
Hussite Wars.[citation needed] With the appearance of modern
ranged weapons and
motor vehicles, horse use for military purposes fell into decline. However, horses and mules are still used extensively by various armies today for transport in difficult terrain.
While
elephants are not considered
domesticable, they can be trained to serve as mounts, or for moving heavy loads.
Sanskrit hymns record their use for military purposes as early as 1,100
B.C. A group of elephants was employed by
Hannibal during the
Second Punic War. They were employed as recently as
World War II by both the
Japanese and
Allies. Elephants could perform the work of machines in locations where vehicles could not penetrate, so they found use in the
Burma Campaign.[4]
Camels have typically seen use as mounts in arid regions (
camel cavalry). They are better able to traverse sandy
deserts than horses, and require far less water. Camels were employed in both
world wars. Camels are used by the
Indian Army and
Border Security Force for patrolling in the desert regions of
Rajasthan.
In
World War II, many military units of the Soviet
Red Army, sometime after the
Battle of Stalingrad, took to using
camels in the southern theatre of the war in order to transport ammunition, fuel for tanks and aircraft, food, water for kitchens, fuel, and even wounded Red Army soldiers. The use of these animals as means of transport was made necessary by the
Kalmyksteppes' open terrain, its primitive roads and lack of water, as well as a shortage of adequate auxiliary vehicles in the Soviet armed forces.[5] A case that became famous was that of the
Bactrian camel named Kuznechik ("
grasshopper") that followed the Soviet
Red Army in practically all its
advance towards Germany.
It was necessary to have fifteen (15) mules attached to the (Tank) battalion for the purpose of transporting ammunition and gasoline to tanks which were impossible to service with any type of vehicle this battalion possesses. However, this is far from a satisfactory arrangement due to the limited amount of mules and the amount of supplies needed in the positions
After action report, 751st Tank Battalion., February 1945, Section IV - Supply (page 190 of 242)[6]
Oxen have been used widely in war as beasts of burden, especially to transport heavy or siege
artillery through heavy terrain.
Both
Sweden and, later, the
Soviet Union, attempted to utilize
moose as deep-snow cavalry. Moose were discovered to be unsuitable for warfare, as they easily contracted livestock diseases, were difficult to feed, and fled the battleground. The Soviets later trained moose not to be gun-shy, but were unable to make use of their cavalry because of the
Soviet-Finnish War and World War II.[7]
Dogs were used by the
ancient Greeks for war purposes, and they were undoubtedly used much earlier in history. The
Roman Empire, starting with
Marcus Aurelius, also used dogs in combat. The Romans trained the
Molossian dog (or Canis Molossus) specifically for battle, often coating them in protective spiked metal collars and mail armour, and arranging them into attack formations.[8] During their conquest of
Latin America, Spanish
conquistadors used
Alaunts to kill warriors in the
Caribbean,
Mexico and
Peru.
Mastiffs, as well as
Great Danes, were used in England during the Middle Ages, where their large size was used to scare horses to throw off their riders or to pounce on knights on horseback, disabling them until their master delivered the final blow.
Pliny the Elder wrote about the use of
pigs against elephants. As he relates it, elephants became scared by the squeal of a pig and would panic, bringing disaster to any soldiers who stood in their path of flight.[10][11]
It is unsubstantiated that
rhinoceros were used for war functions. By analyzing
Albrecht Dürer's famous 1515 woodcut
Dürer's Rhinoceros, it is possible that the liberties taken with the rhino's design[clarification needed] were in fact designs for a suit of armour created for the rhinoceros's fight in Portugal.[12] However, rhinos' apparently 'thick' or 'plated' skin is actually susceptible and the animals have poor eyesight, heavily limiting their ability to run in a specific direction. Their overly aggressive nature would make them unsuitable for use in mounted combat.
Cattle, in some instances, saw use in battle through manmade stampedes of panicking herds that were driven towards the enemy. This was often a dangerous tactic to those that released them, especially following the invention of gunpowder. In both the
Battle of Tondibi and
Henry Morgan's siege of Panama, herds of cattle were released onto the battlefield, but stampeded back into their own army's lines due to gunfire from the opposing army.
During the
Warring States period of Chinese history,
Qi general
Tian Dan is said to have had 1,000 oxen dressed and painted like dragons, then their tails lit on fire and sent against the opposing
Yan army.
As living bombs
Historical accounts of
incendiary pigs were recorded by the military writer
Polyaenus[13] and by Aelian.[14] Both writers reported that
Antigonus II Gonatas' siege of
Megara in 266 BC was broken when the Megarians doused some pigs with combustible pitch, crude oil or
resin, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy's massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming, squealing pigs, often killing great numbers of their own soldiers by trampling them to death.[15][16]
According to Pr. Shi Bo, monkeys were used in the beginning of the
Southern Song Dynasty, in a battle between rebels of the Yanzhou (Yasuo) province and the Chinese Imperial Army, led by
Zhao Yu. The monkeys were used as live
incendiary devices. The animals were clothed with straw, dipped in oil and set on fire. They were set loose into the enemy's camp, thereby setting the tents on fire, and driving the whole camp into chaos.[17]
In 1267, the sheriff of Essex was accused of plotting to release flying
cockerels carrying bombs over London.[18]
Anti-tank dogs – a Soviet, World War II weapon that had mixed success. Canines with explosives strapped to their backs were used as anti-tank weapons.
Project Pigeon – a proposed U.S. World War II weapon that used pigeons to guide bombs.
Animal-borne bombs have been used by modern terrorists and insurgents in the
Middle East, who have affixed explosives to animals, sometimes left wandering alone,[19] and other times ridden by
suicide bombers, in modern insurgent attacks in the
Middle East.
To conceal explosive devices
Exploding rat – dead
rats were prepared for use by the British
Special Operations Executive in
World War II against
Germany. Rat carcasses were filled with
plastic explosives, to be left in locations such as factories where, it was hoped, the
stoker tending a boiler would likely dispose of the unpleasant discovery by shoveling it into the furnace, causing it to explode.[20] The rats contained only a small amount of explosive; however, a puncture of a high-pressure boiler could trigger a devastating
boiler explosion.
In the
Battle of Ager Falernus (217 BCE),
Hannibal Barca had torches attached to the horns of bulls before being set alight during nightfall and allowing them to run amok. The
Romans, believing the torchlight was from fleeing
Carthaginian soldiers, pursued the cattle and were caught in an ambush.
In communications
Homing pigeons have seen use since medieval times for carrying messages. They were still employed for a similar purpose during
World War I and
World War II. In World War II, experiments were also performed in the use of the pigeon for guiding missiles, known as
Project Pigeon. The pigeon was placed inside so that they could see out through a window. They were trained to peck at controls to the left or right, depending on the location of a target shape.
Some dogs also saw use as messengers.
For morale
There is a long-standing tradition of
military mascots – animals associated with military units that act as emblems, pets, or take part in ceremonies.
For espionage
In the years before the First World War
pigeon photography was introduced to military intelligence gathering. Although employed during major battles like at Verdun and Somme, the method was not particularly successful. Various attempts in this direction were made during the Second World War as well. A CIA pigeon camera dating from the 1970s is displayed in the
CIA Museum; details of CIA missions using this camera are still classified.[21]
The
Acoustic Kitty was a CIA project to use surgically modified
cats to spy on the Kremlin and Soviet embassies in the 1960s. Despite expenditure of around $10 million, the project failed to produce practical results and was cancelled in 1967. Documents about the project were declassified in 2001.[22][23]
In 2006, The Independent ran a story that the "Pentagon develops brain implants to turn sharks into military spies".[24][25]
In 2007, Iranian authorities captured 14 squirrels, which were allegedly carrying spying equipment. The story was widely dismissed in the West as "nuts".[26]
A number of spying scares in the Middle East involved birds. According to Israeli ornithologist Yossi Leshem, Sudanese authorities detained an
Egyptian vulture in the late 1970s, and a
white pelican in the early 1980s, both carrying Israeli equipment used for
animal migration tracking. A more mediatized event was the 2011 capture by a Saudi farmer of a
griffon vulture, which was eventually released by the Saudi authorities after they determined that the Israeli equipment it carried was used for scientific purposes. This was followed by international mockery and criticism of the Arab media outlets which uncritically had reported on the bird's alleged role in espionage.[27] In 2012, a dead
European bee-eater tagged with an Israeli
leg band was found by villagers near the south-eastern Turkish city of
Gaziantep. The villagers worried that the bird may have carried a micro-chip from Israeli intelligence to spy on the area. Turkish authorities examined the corpse of the bee-eater and assured villagers that it is common to equip migratory birds with rings in order to track their movements.[28]
For locating hazards
Dogs have been used for detecting mines; they were trained to spot trip wires, as well as mines and other booby traps. They were also employed for sentry duty, and to spot snipers or hidden enemy forces.
Chickens were used during the Gulf Wars to detect poisonous gases in an operation called Kuwaiti Field Chicken (KFC); the designation of the
US Marines for chickens used in this role was Poultry Chemical Confirmation Devices.[31] The plan was put on hold after 41 of 43 chicken used for such purposes died within a week of arrival in
Kuwait.[32]
During the
Spanish Civil War (1936–1939),
Nationalist pilots attached fragile supplies to live
turkeys, which descended flapping their wings, thus serving as parachutes which could also be eaten by the defenders of the monastery of Santa Maria de la Cabeza.[33]
Furthermore, use of military
chickens was proposed in the British
Blue Peacock project. The scheme involved burying nuclear bombs in the ground for later detonation should occupied (West) Germany be overrun by
Warsaw Pact forces. The primitive electronic devices of the 1950s were unreliable in frozen ground, and the chickens were considered as a source of biogenic heat. This story has often been reported as an
April Fool's joke, but when it was declassified and proven to be a true story on 1 April 2004 (April Fool's Day), the head of education and interpretation at the
UK National Archives said, "It does seem like an April Fool but it most certainly is not. The Civil Service does not do jokes."[34]
^Geist, Valerius (1998). Deer of the World: Their Evolution, Behaviour, and Ecology. United States of America: Stackpole Books. pp. 241–242.
ISBN0811704963.
^Suggested by Glynis Ridley (2004), Clara's Grand Tour: Travels with a Rhinoceros in Eighteenth-century Europe, Atlantic Monthly Press,
ISBN1-84354-010-X, a study of
Clara the rhinoceros; however, there is no mention of this in Bedini.