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During the Second World War, the United States came up with the idea of a Bat bomb using the Mexican Free-tailed Bat as a
delivery system for incendiaries which the Americans would use on Japan. It was hoped that after dropping this bomb, the bats
would be released to fly into attics and other dark places in the Japanese cities.
After a set period of time the incendiaries would go off and burn down whatever buildings the bats had roosted in. The program
was halted because of the first atomic bomb test. They never saw operational service.
ccording to Pr. Shi Bo, in "Trente-six Stratagèmes Chinois", monkeys were used, in the beginning of the Southern
Song Dynasty, in a battle between rebels of the Yanzhou 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.
In World War II, the Soviets attempted to use anti-tank dogs.
In World War II, the USA attempted to use pigeons to guide missiles.
Anti-tank dogs, also known as dog mines, were starving dogs with explosives harnessed to their back and trained to seek food
under enemy tanks and armoured vehicles. By doing so, a small wooden lever would be tripped, detonating the explosives.
The dogs were employed by the Soviet Union during World War II, to be used against German tanks. The dogs would be starved,
then trained to find food under a tank. The dogs quickly learned that being released from their pens meant to run out to where
a tank was parked and find some victuals. Once trained, the dogs would be fitted with an explosive charge and set loose into
a field of oncoming German tanks. When the dog went underneath the tank where there was less armour the charge would detonate
and gut the enemy vehicle.
Realization of that plan was less successful. The Hundeminen, as they were called by the Germans, had been trained using
Soviet tanks, and would sometimes be loosed into a battle only to turn round and attack the Soviets' own forces. Other times
the dogs would spook at the rumble of a vehicle's engine and run away.
Military animals are creatures that have been employed by mankind for use in warfare. They are a specific application of working
animals. Generally these animals are domesticated creatures, such as the dog or horse; more exotic animals such as the elephant
and the pig have also seen use during wartime. Animals have even been awarded medals for their courage in battle.
The horse has been the most widely-used animal throughout the recorded history of warfare. Early mounts could be used to pull
the chariot or to 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 military arm in Europe for several centuries. The combination
of the horse-mounted warrior armed with a bow made the Mongol army the most powerful military force in Asian history.
'British Magazines during the Great War'
Pliny the Elder wrote about the use of war 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.
It is unsubstantiated that rhinoceros were used for war functions[citation needed]. Analyzing Albrecht Dürer's famous
1515 woodcut, it is possible that the liberties taken with the rhino's design were in fact designs for a suit of armour created
for the rhinoceros's fight against an elephant in Portugal.However, rhinos' apparent "thick" or "plated"
skin is actually very sensitive and the animals have poor eyesight, limiting their ability to run in any particular direction.
Their tendency to charge anything within 10 feet would make them impractical for domestication.
It is said that War Elephants were used by some African and Eastern nations in combat, such as Carthage and India.
Chips the dog was the most decorated war dog from World War II. Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Husky mix owned by Edward
J. Wren of Pleasantville, NY. During the war, private citizens like Wren donated their dogs for duty. Chips shipped out to
the War Dog Training Center, Front Royal, Virginia, in 1942 for training as a sentry dog. He served with the 3rd Infantry
Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. His handler was Pvt. John P. Rowell. Chips served as a sentry
dog for the Roosevelt-Churchill conference in 1943. Later that year, during the invasion of Sicily, Chips and his handler
were pinned down on the beach by an Italian machine-gun team. Chips broke from his handler and jumped into the pillbox, attacking
the gunners. The four crewmen were forced to leave the pillbox and surrendered to US troops. In the fight he sustained a scalp
wound and powder burns. Later that day, he helped take 10 Italians prisoner. For his actions during the war, he was awarded
the Silver Star and Purple Heart; however these awards were later revoked. His unit unofficially awarded him a Theater Ribbon
with an Arrowhead for an assault landing, and Battlestars for each of his eight campaigns. Chips was discharged in December
1945 and returned to the Wren family.
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| Chips ! |
Dogs have been used in war for a very long time. Some ancient civilizations that used war dogs included the Egyptians, the
Greeks, the Ancient Britons and the Romans. The Molossian 'Canis Molossus' dog of Epirus was the strongest known to the Romans,
and were specifically trained for battle by the military.
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Dog Soldiers: They have barrelled into the fiercest battles of history. They have risked their lives for fallen comrades.
They have remained loyal until death guarding, encouraging, fighting until all, but their spirit, was lost. Dogs have certainly
proved effective in battles throughout history. As weapons of wars they have been ferocious, courageous and intelligent. But
it is their spirit, that undying and ever-faithful spirit that has inspired men in arms and rallied them during historys bloodiest
battles. When their effectiveness as weapons of war past they continued contributing to the fight guarding the men, inspiring
them, helping them to communicate.
With the appearance of modern ranged weapons and motorised vehicles, the use of the horse for military purposes fell into
decline. However the horse was still used extensively by the German Army during World War II for transporting supplies and
equipment, including artillery. The U.S. Army also used pack horses during the war.
While elephants are 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 notably employed by Hannibal
during the Punic Wars. 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 considerable use in the Burma theater.
Perhaps it is their pack nature or willingness to please their human counterparts that have made them so essential in battle,
but since the dawn of warfare they have plunged headfirst into the fight. The Romans were not the first, but may very well
have used war dogs the most effectively. The Roman Army had whole companies composed entirely of dogs. They wore spiked collars
around their neck and ankles, made more dangerous by the large curved knives protruding from its ring. Sometimes they were
starved before battle, then unleashed on an unsuspecting enemy. Their dog of choice was the great Molossian dogs of Epirus,
specifically trained for battle. These dogs, halved starved and ferocious, helped spread the Roman Empire across the ancient
world. They dominated battles until they meet their match in the Britain, where powerful Mastiffs called Pugnaces Britanniae
had been born and breed.
Camels have typically seen use as mounts in arid regions. 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 & Border Security
Force for patrolling in the desert regions of Rajasthan.
Mules were used by the U.S. Army during World War II to carry supplies and equipment over difficult terrain. Pack animals
that are innately patient, cautious, and hardy, mules could carry heavy loads of supplies where Jeeps and even pack horses
could not travel. Mules were used in North Africa, Burma, the Philippines, and in Italy. They are also used for transporting
supplies in mountainous regions.
Oxen have been used widely in war as beasts of burden, especially to transport heavy or siege artillery through heavy
terrain.
Homing pigeons have seen use since the time of the French Revolution for carrying messages. They were employed for a similar
purpose during the World War I. In WWII, experiments were 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.
Dogs were used by the ancient Greeks for war purposes, and they were undoubtedly used much earlier in history. During
their conquest of Latin America, conquistadores used Mastiffs 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. More recently,
canines with explosives strapped to their backs saw use during World War II in the Soviet Army as anti-tank weapons. In other
armies, they were 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. Some dogs also saw use as messengers.
Beginning in the Cold War era, research has been done into the uses of many species of marine mammals for military purposes.
The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program uses military dolphins and sea lions for underwater sentry duty, mine clearance, and object
recovery.
On land, the Gambian giant pouched rat has been used with considerable success in demining, as its keen sense of smell
helps in the identification of explosives and its small size prevents it from triggering mines.
Cats were used in the Royal Navy to control vermin on board ships. Able seacat Simon of HMS Amethyst received the Dickin
Medal.
Simon was born probably in the latter part of 1947, on Stonecutters Island, Hong Kong, a busy naval dockyard at the time.
(A resident of Stonecutter's Island later tried to research Simon's parentage, but without success.) A few months later, early
in 1948, the Royal Navy's HMS Amethyst called there for supplies; she was based in Hong Kong, but had been on operations in
Malaya. One day Simon was found in the dockyard looking in need of a good meal by Ordinary Seaman George Hickinbottom from
the ship; he was a 17-year-old at the time and had joined in the previous November. The cats of Stonecutters Island were well
known for becoming ships' cats and George decided to smuggle the waif aboard. To avoid the man on watch, he concealed the
cat under his tunic and took him to his tiny space hardly a cabin that served as his accommodation. George had been appointed
'captain of the fo'c'sle', meaning that he had to ensure that everything there was kept shipshape and in good order. As such,
he was quartered close to the captain's cabin.
A war dog (or wardog) is a dog trained for war. Dogs have been used in wars since ancient times. Their jobs have varied over
the years, from being trained to track with their acute sense of smell, to bringing down infantry or even horses by biting
into the hamstrings of their targets.
The history of war dogs is long and detailed, stretching up to conflicts ongoing today. In ancient times, they disrupted
battle lines and frightened soldiers. Their use was much lessened as the ages drew on, however. Stubby, a war dog of World
War I, was promoted to the rank of sergeant. Chips, a German Shepherd mix, and Smoky, a Yorkshire Terrier, were honored for
service in World War II.
Gifts of wardog breeding stock between European royalty were seen as suitable tokens for exchange throughout the Middle
Ages. Wardogs were used by England against the Gaels in Ireland and by many European forces, such as Spanish Conquistadors,
in the New World.
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