Amazing Stories about Animals in War

Animals have a long history of being used in wars. Perhaps even a clever cave man was able to train a dinosaur to help him fight his enemies. Now a big creature like a T-Rex or even a vicious, speedy Raptor would really give you a great advantage in a battle. Imagine the surprise on your opponent’s face when you brought out one of these as your secret weapon.

We have never heard of any dinosaurs used to fight a war, but horses have been on the battlefield with humans for more than 5000 years.  Even the enormous elephant has been used for more than 3000 years.  People have depended on the talents and abilities of many different animals to help their country win fights on land, in the air and at sea.

• Oxen, mules and horses have helped pull supplies
• Cats have been used to get rid of rats and mice on ships and boats
• Pigeons have been used to carry messages across enemy lines
• Dogs have helped soldiers find bombs and mines, sniff out hiding enemy troops, act as guards, and they also perform search and rescue missions.

Here are some stories about animals in war that are; Strange but True.

The Flaming War Pigs

In ancient times, pigs were set on fire and then released. The soldiers hoped that the enemies fall from their elephants and horses and be crushed by their own frightened, stampeding animals.
 
This was not the best idea in the world. It is cruel to set a poor, defenceless pig on fire, and most of the time the pigs would attack the soldiers who did this instead of the enemy troops. It did not take long for people to understand that you cannot control a mad pig, and you certainly cannot expect a mad pig with flames on his back to listen to any instructions.

Batty Bat Bombs

Using a bat as a bomb was thought of during the World War II. It was called Project X-Ray, but while it was practiced and tested, these Batty Bat Bombs were never used in warfare.

The plan was to release bats that had tiny bombs attached. The bats would be released over enemy territory. The bats would roost in attics of buildings and homes that were then constructed mostly from wood. When the bombs were detonated, the buildings would burn to the ground. Tests showed that bat bombs were 10-20 times more effective than regular bombs used to start fiery explosions in the 1940s.

Soviet Anti Tank Weapons…Dogs

The Soviet army used dogs as anti tank weapons in the 1940s. This was very cruel because they starved the animals to teach them to search for food under tanks. There would be a bomb on the back of the dogs that would be triggered when they went under the tank. Not only was this a cruel thing to do, it did not work as planned. Sometimes the dogs would quickly run underneath the Soviet tanks because these were the ones used in their training. Many of the dogs, even though they were starving, refused to run under tanks because the engine noises scared them.

Dolphins in the Military

The US Navy has used dolphins since the early 1960's to search for mines, underwater enemies and for recovery missions. Some dolphins have been trained to place mines and bombs to destroy ships at sea.
The Soviet Union has trained dolphins to wear harpoons on their backs. These animals are then taught to track and find enemy divers in the water and bring them back to land where soldiers can capture them.  Iran bought some of these trained dolphins in 2000 and 2001.


The Amazing Voytek

Voytek was a Syrian Brown Bear who was drafted by the Polish Army. He learned to drink beer, smoke cigarettes, and live with the soldiers.  The Polish soldiers would wrestle with the bear and he would eat in the mess hall and sleep in the barracks with his comrades. He even was trained to help the troops move heavy crates and boxes. During one mission the soldiers needed to move heavy ammunition crates and Voytek helped them do this job quickly.

The Memorial For War Animals

Today there is even an “Animals in War Memorial”:
This memorial is found at Hyde Park in London.  David Backhouse, who is a famous English sculptor, designed this amazing and beautiful tribute. It is dedicated to all of the animals that have so courageously served with British troops.

There are two inscriptions that are engraved on this Memorial. The first reads:

"This monument is dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time."

The second inscription just says:
"They had no choice."

This is an original news article © The Kids Window

The Kids Pages Acid Rain Ancient Greece Ancient Greek Gods Animal Camouflage Animals in War Animals: Endangered Animals Animals: Extinct Animals Animals: Horses Animals: Mammals Animals: Pets Bathtime Games Batman Brains Cartoon Characters Child Actors Child Singing Stars Clothing around the World Colours Cooking: Mardi Gras Food Cowboys DC Comics Different Homes Dinosaurs for Kids Disney Princess News Dragons Early Weapons Earthquakes Egyptian Mummies Food Around the World Fun Facts About England Fun Facts About India Fun Facts on the USA Fun Random Facts Girls v Boys Global Warming Great Fire of London Gymnastics Hannah Montana Harry Houdini History of Cars History of Fairies History of Pirates History of Telephones History of the Computer History of the Internet Horse Riding How to Create Crafts from Pasta How to Make a Hand Puppet How to Make a Tin Can Phone How to Make Papier Mache How To Make Perfume How to Make Play Clay How to Make Silly Putty Jewellery Kids Area Homepage Kids in the War Magic Tricks for Children Manners Measuring Time Memory Tricks Mermaids Modes of Transport Money Motor Racing Mythological Creatures Nature's Body Protection Ocean Life Olympic Games Origins of Football People: Albert Einstein People: Arnold Schwarzenegger People: Elvis

The Kids Pages People: King Henry VIII People: Leonardo da Vinci People: Martin Luther King People: Mozart People: President Obama People: The Beatles People: Walt Disney People: William Shakespeare Pirates Quiz: Animal Kingdom Quiz: Children's Books 1 Quiz: Children's Books 2 Quiz: Disney Quiz: Inventions Quiz: Oceans Quiz: Premiership Football Racing Cars Rainforest Animals Real Knights Recipes - How to Bake Chocolate Brownies Recipes - How to Make Fun Fake Food Recipes - How to Make Gingerbread Men Recipes - How to Make Ice Cream Recipes - How to Make Pizza Recipes - How to Make Some Simple Foods Recipes for Kids Recycling Tips for Kids Riddles for Kids Rodents Skyscrapers Snowmen Space Exploration Space Quiz Space: Man on the Moon Strange Allergies Strange Phobias Street Games Superman Superstitions The Great Plague The Titanic Top Family Films Tornadoes TV: Glee and Glee Clubs TV: History of Television TV: The Simpsons Unicorns Valentines Day Vegetarians Volcanoes Wacky Inventions Water Animals Weather What would happen if... Why Animals Need Our Help Why Brush Your Teeth? Why Eat Your Veggies? Why Kids Need Sleep Why Wash Your Hands? Witches Wizards Words and Language Homework Help Pages The Kids Pages