Military animal

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.

Use

For transportation and hauling

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. 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. 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 Kalmyk steppes' open terrain, its primitive roads and lack of water, as well as a shortage of adequate auxiliary vehicles in the Soviet armed forces. 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. Mules were used by the U.S. Army, the British Army, and the British Indian 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, and in Italy. They are also used for transporting supplies in mountainous regions.

Wojtek (bear) From Egypt, the Polish II Corps was reassigned to fight alongside the British Eighth Army. Regulations for the British transport ship forbade mascot and pet animals. To get around this restriction, Wojtek was officially drafted into the Polish Army as a private and listed among the soldiers of the 22nd Artillery Supply Company. During the Battle of Monte Cassino, Wojtek helped his unit convey ammunition by carrying 45 kg (100 lb) crates of 10 kg (25 lb) artillery shells. While this story generated debate over its accuracy, at least one account exists of a British soldier recalling seeing a bear carrying crates of ammunition. This service also earned him promotion to the rank of corporal. Sergeant Reckless was an American horse in the Korean war. Her most significant accomplishment came during the Battle of Panmunjom-Vegas, when in one day 51 solo trips, carrying 386 recoilless rounds (over 4,000 kg (9,000 lb)) as well as several wounded men, covering over 55 km (35 mi). The whole Battle of Vegas lasted 3 days. She was wounded twice during the battle: once when she was hit by shrapnel over the left eye and another time on her left flank. For her accomplishments during the Battle of Vegas Hill, Reckless was promoted to corporal. When not on the front lines, Reckless packed other items for the platoon, and was particularly useful for stringing telephone wire. She could string as much wire as twelve men on foot. 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. Sled dogs have seen use in warfare as transportation and beasts of burden in cold, snowy regions of the world, particularly in Siberia and the Arctic. The French utilized imported Alaskan sled dogs to navigate the Vosges mountains in World War I. During World War II, the Alaska Territorial Guard used sled-dogs as its one of its most reliable means of transportation. The Danish military retains a dog sledding unit, the Sirius Dog Sled Patrol, for reconnaissance purposes in Greenland. Non-sled dog breeds have seen use as lesser beasts of burden, with the purpose of carrying small amounts of gear, such as ammo or first aid kits, or in pulling sledges of wounded soldiers away from the battlefield. Reindeer have seen military use for much the same roles as sled dogs, as beasts of burden in snowy regions of the world. A deer transportation battalion was utilized by the Red Army in World War II on the Karelian Front by the Finno-Soviet border. The indigenous Evens and Evenki peoples of Siberia were known to use reindeer as cavalry, though only for mounted archery.

As weapons

As fighters or mounts

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