This post is about animals that help a person to serve in the army or in general during hostilities.
On 10th we have bats).
Probably many people know that bats were especially carefully studied by military scientists. And not only to invent radar and similar devices. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, American scientists proposed using bats, attention!, as carriers of incendiary bombs. It was supposed to secretly equip the Japanese bats with incendiary bombs. The Americans even conducted a similar experiment. As a result, the fake Japanese village really burned down, but with it the car of the US Army General and one barracks))
9th place honorably occupies the camel cavalry regiment, which successfully coped with combat missions in North Africa. Such a regiment had many advantages. Firstly, camels are extremely hardy animals, able to endure hunger and thirst. Secondly, the enemy horses were wildly afraid of the smell of camels and were incapable of adequate action. Camels were last used during World War I
On 8th place got fighting bees. Angry bees were used by the ancient Greeks to confuse the enemy. Also, bees were used during the siege of cities. The defenders of the walls dropped hives with bees on the heads of the attackers. Smart-assed Turks used poisoned honey. The soldiers of the opposing army, greedy for sweets, ate a treat, and then toiled with their stomachs for a long time and, in general, lost all combat capability.
The Americans, as always, stood out. Instead of using the bees for their intended purpose, they began to teach them to find mines) Of course, unsuccessfully.
7th place- sea lions. It was the US Army that began to fully use marine mammals for their needs. Sea lions did enter the service in the US Navy as mine detectors and underwater reconnaissance. In this they really succeeded. The fact is that sea lions are perfectly trainable and at the same time they are able to dive to a depth of 300 meters, swim at a speed of 40 km / h, and in general, they are perfectly oriented in the sea. So, a rubber boat with two people and one sea lion can replace a whole boat to search for sea mines!
On 6th we have carrier pigeons. In fact, pigeons were used to deliver mail in peacetime, but during the First World War they became really necessary. In total, about 200,000 carrier pigeons were used during this war.
5th place occupied by dolphins. They, along with sea lions, have served in the US Navy since the 1960s. Dolphins/, for example, were used during the Gulf War. Basically, these animals serve as scouts, however, there are rumors that there are specially trained dolphins that can attack enemy divers. The US military denies these rumors.
On the 4th place are war elephants. These huge animals were a real thunderstorm of the ancient world. An army that had war elephants was more likely to claim victory, since elephants were feared by both horses and enemy soldiers.
3rd place, do not be surprised, rat-sappers. The use of rats as mine seekers has only recently begun (the Dutch began to do this, after all, allowing the use of soft drugs justifies itself).
Marsupial rats are trained for about 9 months and only after that they are released “into the fields”. Using its excellent sense of smell, the rat easily finds explosives. By the way, at the moment these wonderful rodents have neutralized about 2 million square meters. km in Mozambique. And yet, anyone can take care of such a rodent and allocate money for its maintenance, and in return enjoy letters about the career of their ward.
2nd place occupied by horses. Until recently, not a single military campaign could do without horses. Previously, it was the cavalry that was considered the elite of any army. Very good. that now the situation has changed, because horses are still a pity.
And on 1st place Of course we have dogs. There is nothing to say about their help to a person - a lot has already been said and written. So just post these cool little animals first place on your blog!
Dolphins, seals, rats and dogs:
animals in the army
With the transfer of Crimea under the control of Russia, our country also got a unique oceanarium in Sevastopol, which has been training combat dolphins since Soviet times. Mankind has long placed animals on guard for their military purposes. And today we will talk about several modern examples of the use of our smaller brothers in the needs of the army.
Fighting dolphins of Crimea
It is believed that dolphins are the most intelligent creatures on the planet after humans. And this is one of the best in terms of animal training on Earth. But do not think that a person can only teach them to do funny somersaults for the delight of the public in the dolphinarium. A school of saboteur dolphins has existed in Sevastopol for several decades.
The instructors teach the dolphins to defend the borders. They can uncover spies, find torpedoes lost at the bottom of the sea, and detect mines. But the trainers failed to make killers and suicide bombers out of them - dolphins categorically refuse to perform such tasks.
Seals-saboteurs on guard of the USA
And in the United States of America, not only dolphins, but also seals perform similar functions. The Americans believe that the latter are much better at coping with the combat missions assigned to them. The main plus in this case is that pinnipeds, unlike cetaceans, can move not only on water, but also on land. This means that a wider corridor of opportunities is open to them.
In addition, seals and fur seals are not afraid of remorse, they perform the task and are not responsible for the deed of mankind. They have been given a task, and when they complete it, they can easily pierce a person with a poisoned needle and swim up to an enemy ship, carrying an explosive charge.
The main training center for combat pinnipeds in the United States
located at a military base in San Diego.
HeroRAT - sapper rats
After the departure of the European colonialists, Africa has turned into an arena of endless wars and civil conflicts. With a protracted war of all against all, it is not surprising that the vast expanses of the Black Continent are covered with minefields. Fortunately, many international organizations are engaged in the fight against this problem. And in this they have completely unexpected helpers - rats.
HeroRAT is a sapper rat training program. These rodents are trained to walk through minefields along specially stretched ropes in order to find and clear mines there. Often at the cost of their own lives.
War pigs
The ancient Greeks and Romans came up with the idea of using pigs in military affairs - this animal was an ideal weapon against elephants, who were afraid of piglets and scattered in different directions, destroying not the enemy, but the soldiers of their own army. But nowadays they are used for completely different purposes.
For example, in Moscow, as an experiment, they taught a pig to be a sapper. After all, her relatives can find truffle mushrooms in the forest, so why not use them to search for explosives? The scent of pigs, although inferior to that of a dog, is not much.
And secular Israelis came up with an original way to fight terrorism. They taught pigs to attack Islamists - these animals are considered unclean, and the mere possibility of contact with them causes panic among Muslims.
Multipurpose military dogs
But the most popular among military animals were and will be dogs.
The first description of their use in war dates back to the time of the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. And in our time, dogs can perform a huge number of combat and rear tasks.
Dogs in war are not afraid to carry a charge to blow up enemy tanks, neutralize mines and bombs, directly throw themselves at the enemy, and also serve as pack animals, orderlies and guards.
As a bonus, we will cover the most famous cases of the use of animals in the hostilities of the past, from antiquity to the Second World War.
Hannibal's War Elephants
The basis of the strike force of the army of the legendary Carthaginian commander Hannibal was war elephants. In terms of their effectiveness, they can be compared with tanks in the twentieth century - not a single enemy could cope with this heavy combat unit.
But excessive confidence in their elephants played a cruel joke with Hannibal. Fighting animals, which could be successfully used on the sandy plains of North Africa, turned out to be a burden in Europe. When crossing the Pyrenees and the Alps, a significant part of them died, and the rest did more harm than good. Under a hail of Roman darts and spears, they stopped obeying the riders and ran away, destroying the Carthaginian system and destroying many soldiers in their path.
Burning of Iskorosten by Olga
In 945, Prince Igor of Kiev died in the city of Iskorosten at the hands of local residents, dissatisfied with the fact that he had come to them twice in a short period of time for tribute. And after some time, his wife Olga cruelly avenged the Drevlyans for this death.
Olga laid siege to Iskorosten, and a few months later announced that she would leave if each court gave her three doves and a sparrow. The townspeople gladly agreed to these conditions, for which they soon paid. The princess ordered fiery tows to be tied to the paws of the birds and released into the wild, and they flew back to Iskorosten and burned down the wooden city at that time. In any case, this is what The Tale of Bygone Years tells.
Battle mice landing in Japan
The American military acted in a similar way during the Second World War in the confrontation with the Japanese. Only they did not use pigeons, but bats, which, thanks to the efforts of people, turned into living bombs.
The military took advantage of the fact that some species of bats hibernate when the temperature drops. Therefore, it was decided to drop them from aircraft on Japanese settlements, while attaching small explosive devices to them (this animal can carry cargo three to four times its own weight). Once on the ground, the bats woke up and scattered to hide in nearby houses, bringing death and destruction there (the bomb exploded in about half an hour).
Several attempts to use bats in this way ended successfully. But it was decided to abandon the project after some of the animals came out of hibernation right at the military base, which led to the destruction of hangars with equipment.
Strategy lovers, we invite you to fight and evaluate this novelty! You will create your own units, and then a full-fledged army with which you can go to great victories. If you've ever played the famous Heroes of Might and Magic, these games have a lot in common, such as a lot of amazing opportunities to develop the story in your own scenario.
How to play?
The right to move will pass from one player to another. Ahead are two large companies - a magician and a warrior. The task of the first is to populate the territories with their own fighters-beasts. Military - destroy all the opponent's animals and free the land for yourself. Keep in mind that spells are more powerful than weapons. Choose where to start and strategize. It is possible to constantly buy new animals for battles. You will divide your fighters into several groups, any number of them there. But large groups are more combat-ready. Movement is limited by character characteristics. Try to quickly earn money to buy new fighters - orcs, mages, archers and others. The ability to upgrade characters, weapons, skills and spells is practically unlimited. Use all this to the maximum and win!
22.04.2014 - 18:39
“The offensive began, and the brigade commander was looking forward to the arrival of the carrier pigeon. Time passed, but the bird did not appear. Finally there was a cry: "Dove!" He did return, and unerringly sat down in his dovecote. The soldiers rushed to take off the paper, and the brigade commander roared: “Give me a report here!” The note was handed over, and this is what he read: “I’m sick to death of dragging this damn bird around France.”
(B. Montgomery, Field Marshal's Memoirs).
Fly, bird!
This amusing episode, which the British field marshal personally observed on the battlefields of World War II, is, of course, not typical of military operations. Few of the lower ranks could afford such liberties - to send a carrier pigeon with such a frivolous "report".
In fact, specially trained birds were used strictly for their intended purpose and perfectly performed their duty in many military conflicts, until they were finally supplanted by radio. But many of them still managed to distinguish themselves in battles and even receive awards. For example, an English carrier pigeon numbered 888 for exemplary service and outstanding service at the end of the First World War received the rank of colonel.
Interestingly, birds were also used to fight carrier pigeons. When the British discovered that the Germans were also using pigeons, a counter-unit was immediately created in the British army, "armed" with peregrine falcons, which did not even have to be trained - they already attacked pigeons with pleasure, as they had been doing this since birth. That's just how the falcons distinguished their pigeons from strangers - here history is silent.
Pigs vs Tanks
But not only the birds had to make war. Since the most ancient times, animals of various kinds fought steadfastly alongside the soldiers. Suffice it to recall elephants - the "progenitors" of modern tanks, sweeping out of their way not only enemy infantry, but cavalry.
Interestingly, animals - pigs - were also successfully used against elephants. Ancient historians say that far more than one battle tactic was invented for "anti-elephant" pigs. The most humane, this is when the pigs were pulled over their heads with something like trunks and in this form they were released to meet the attacking enemy elephants. Elephants mistook piglets for baby elephants, their “parental” feelings woke up and the attack failed.
Another option, much more cruel, was as follows: the pigs were smeared with combustible substances, set on fire and released towards the enemy armed with elephants. Elephants, seeing the fire rushing at them screeching in pain, began to scatter in a panic and crushed their own soldiers. Sadly, the second option was considered more practical and therefore used much more often than the first.
Vipers and camels
Hannibal left behind an interesting battle tactic using reptiles. To fight the enemy fleet, he successfully used snakes. Snakes were caught in large enough numbers and placed in clay pots with lids.
When enemy ships approached, Hannibal's soldiers threw these pots onto the decks, where they split, and the snakes had no choice but to viciously pounce on anyone who turned up. Since the rowers and soldiers from the ship had nowhere to go, instead of fighting the enemy, they had to jump across the deck in the most ridiculous way so as not to be bitten.
There is no need to talk about the use of horse-drawn vehicles in the war. Horses, mules, camels, donkeys, bulls and even elk - they all had a chance to pull a military team. But people tried, and not without success, to use these animals in other roles. For example, in East Asia, real kamikazes were prepared from donkeys, tying bales with dynamite and a fuse on their backs and sending them to enemy territory. And so that the donkeys were not afraid of accidental explosions and did not go astray, their eardrums were removed in advance.
Loyal dogs
Dogs have always been the best partners of man, both in peacetime and in war. They served as sappers, messengers and scouts, they blew up tanks and pulled the wounded from the battlefield.
Dogs were used to carry cartridges and machine guns; telegraph operators were made from them, restoring broken communication lines (for this purpose they attached a reel with an unwinding cable to the dog, which she pulled through enemy fire). To ensure long-distance communication, the dogs delivered the same carrier pigeons to the front line in light, portable dovecotes.
Medic dogs darted fearlessly across the battlefield, looking for the badly wounded. Having found a bloody, but still alive soldier, the dog grabbed his helmet or cap and galloped after the orderlies with it, and then showed them the way. A cap or any other personal item was a signal that a person was alive and needed medical attention.
One can not talk about guard duty, escorting prisoners and searching for lost patrols.
Dogs not only fought, but were also captured. For example, during World War II, a pointer named Judy served on one of the American ships. The Japanese sank the ship, the crew managed to get to a small island without food and water, and the dog disappeared. However, after a couple of days, Judy appeared, scoured the island and dug up a small spring of fresh water. Thus, the sailors managed to hold out for several days, but soon the Japanese sailed to the island and took everyone prisoner, including the dog. Judy spent four years in captivity. This is the only animal in the history of World War II officially registered as a prisoner of war.
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Or as miners. Elephants, pigeons, rats, and even dolphins and sea lions can also be used in times of war.
Animals as weapons
For attack on horseback or as direct combat
In ancient times, war elephants were used in the Indian, Roman, Carthaginian, and in the Middle Ages - in the Khmer army. At the same time, at first the warriors were very afraid of unprecedented animals, but then they got used to it, and the elephants became less effective. There were usually two riders: one controlled an elephant, the other held a spear (Khmers - a crossbow), or one, sometimes holding a spear, controlled an elephant, which simply trampled and scattered the enemy army with tusks. A metal plate was put on the muzzle and tusks of the animal, protecting them from spears and arrows. Khmer warriors sat in booths. From ancient times to the 19th century, horses served both as a direct means of transportation and as a draft force for chariots.
Animals are living bombs
During the Second World War, scientists in the United States developed a project to create a "mouse bomb". It was assumed that the carriers of these smallest (17 grams) in the history of aerial bombs would be bats dropped from aircraft in special self-extracting containers.
Mine-finding animals
During the Great Patriotic War, dogs were used as mine seekers.
Communication Animals
Since the 18th century, sending correspondence by means of pigeons has been widely used in the armies of many countries. The importance of the "military service" of some birds was highly appreciated: for example, the English carrier pigeon No. 888 for outstanding service during the First World War was quite officially awarded the rank of colonel in the British army. For their part, against the English pigeon mail, the Germans used trained falcons as "fighters".
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See what "Fighting animals" are in other dictionaries:
fighting dogs- - were used in the battles of the armies of the period of antiquity and the Middle Ages with the aim of directly killing enemy soldiers. At a later time, dogs in the war were used for various purposes, but directly for killing soldiers ... ... Wikipedia
war elephants- The elephant carrying the commander is trying to break through the enemy line. Engraving published in The Illustrated London News during the First Anglo-Sikh War ... Wikipedia
fighting dolphins- Fighting dolphin of the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, nicknamed KDog, performs mine clearance in the Persian Gulf during the Iraq War ... Wikipedia
War pigs- War pigs are the name of pigs used in ancient times and in modern times for combat purposes in the armies of various states. Contents 1 Combat use 1.1 Antiquity ... Wikipedia
War camels- A painting by the 19th-century artist Horace Vernet on a biblical story. Combat camels - camels used in the armies of antiquity and the Middle Ages to transport goods and horsemen, as well as directly in battle. Content ... Wikipedia
