Dogs were one of the first animals domesticated by humans, and canines were domesticated about 15,000 years ago, when our ancestors didn't have clothes to wear. Dogs accompanied humans from the Stone Age to modern civilization, and their functions ranged from nursing homes, animal husbandry and hunting to conquest.
Nowadays, despite the highly developed technology, the role of dogs in warfare can not be underestimated. After training, military dogs can be responsible for tracking, identifying, alerting, guarding, patrolling, searching, communicating, carrying bullets, detecting, searching for drugs and explosives.
In ancient times, there was no term "military dog", and the name at that time was "war dog". Ancient warfare only applied the sharp-toothed, fast-running nature of canines. Ancient Egyptians, Persians, Greeks, Slavs, Britons, Carthaginians, etc. have recorded the use of war dogs, of which the Romans used war dogs the most. The Molosus Hounds, equipped by the Roman legions, were known for their brutality and ferocity, and are said to be the ancestors of many of today's large dogs (of course, this ancestor is now extinct).
Usually, when the two armies are opposed, the canines will serve as the vanguard of the regiment, disrupting the enemy's formation, followed by the slower heavy infantry. Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar has this line: "Give the order to slaughter, and let the dogs of hell ravage in all directions." ”
During the "First World War", the weapons in human hands have become more and more deadly, relying on the tactics of "Ula charge" and close combat to gradually withdraw from the stage of history, the role of dogs in war has also undergone fundamental changes, and the term "military dog" has become popular - officially known as "military working dog". As you can see from the name, the dog has been reduced from "output" to "auxiliary". Yes, the military dog was an all-round "miscellaneous soldier" at the time, mainly equipped with a canvas bag that might fit and a gas mask that might fit the shape of a mouth. They can run 22 kilometers in 50 minutes, and their main job is to shuttle between trenches, passing letters, ammunition, medical supplies, etc., and occasionally set up sentries near barbed wire, search for the wounded, or catch rats in the trenches.
Although they did not participate directly in the battle, the damp and dirty sanitary conditions in the trenches, the artillery fire between the enemy and us, coupled with the lack of food, as well as the invasion of poison gas, plague, parasites, etc., most of the dogs were emaciated and infected with diseases. Throughout World War I, the Allies invested about 200,000 military dogs, mostly pet dogs from ordinary families and stray dogs on the streets. Even so, after simple training, military dogs still played a big role on the battlefield. Even the post-war Treaty of Versailles stipulated that the defeated Germany would surrender tens of thousands of military dogs to the victorious powers such as Britain and France as war reparations.
During the "World War II", in view of the outstanding performance of military dogs in the "First World War", some countries began to set up military dog training schools, through the experience accumulated in the war, with the characteristics of canine sensory sensitivity, each of them explored a set of military dog training methods. At the same time, according to the different attributes of different breeds, a variety of functions have been subdivided for the huge group of military dogs. The most special of these was the Soviet anti-tank dog.
The Soviets believed that the military dog was a disposable weapon that could be sacrificed. During the Great Patriotic War, the Central Military Dog School and the Moscow Civilian Police School provided 500 military dogs and trained them urgently to be anti-tank dogs capable of carrying explosives into the bottom of German tanks and then perishing with the enemy. Throughout the war, Soviet anti-tank dogs wiped out about 300 German tanks. However, there have also been some troubles during this period. Soviet dog trainers threw physical objects under the tank chassis each time they fed, giving the impression that the military dogs had food under the tank. However, the training was used in Soviet diesel tanks, and some overly clever dogs encountered the German tanks that burned gasoline, turned around and drilled under the Soviet tanks, and the scene was once very embarrassing...
Post-World War I Britain believed that in a modern, mechanized war, military dog would no longer be important. So soon after the end of World War I, the British closed their military dog training schools. When Germany blitzed Poland in 1939, neither Britain, France nor the United States had any training programs for military dogs. Even when the British hierarchy received information that the German army was equipped with 200,000 well-trained military dogs and supplied to Japan at the same time, they remained unmoved.
During World War II, Germany paid particular attention to the role of military dogs. In terms of breeding, the Germans only favored the Alsatian dog (commonly known as the "German Blackback" or "German Shepherd"). On the eve of the outbreak of World War II, Hitler signed the "Standard Plan for the Selective Breeding of Military Dogs", which aims to improve the tracking ability, obstacle crossing ability, endurance and survival and working ability of German military dogs in extreme weather.
After the end of World War II, the plan fell into the hands of the Soviet army that invaded Berlin, which greatly improved the breeding level of Soviet military dogs.
During the Cold War, east and west Berlin, which is separated by a wall, treated the domestication of Demu very differently, and the Demu in East Berlin was all controlled by the military, and according to the standards of the German army in "World War II", it was strictly screened and trained, becoming a complete working dog. Most of the Demu who lived in West Germany went into exile and became pet dogs. The cultivation method of the civilian is very different from that of the military, and the "West German Shepherd" is characterized by the civilian as a display dog breed due to its handsome appearance. In human aesthetics, the bowed back and bent legs are more beautiful than the flat back and straight legs, although this shape is contrary to the natural growth law of dogs, and the bred "West German Shepherd" is far inferior to the "East German Shepherd" in terms of explosiveness and endurance.
Even so, the hunched "West German Shepherd" still wins various awards in major dog display competitions (the "beauty contest" in the dog world) with a look that conforms to human aesthetic experience, while the working "East German Shepherd" not only undergoes rigorous training, but also always comes with various unpredictable dangers at work.
In fact, in addition to the Alsatian dog, there are many dog breeds suitable for breeding as military dogs or police dogs. For example, the Marinois, due to its good obedience, high alertness, strong aggression and other advantages, is favored by many national military police, and is also regarded as an all-round working dog with strong comprehensive ability; the Springer dog is an ancient hunting dog, due to its sensitive sense of smell, it is now used for anti-drug, explosive search, quarantine and security inspection; Labrador has a gentle personality, but other attributes are relatively excellent, and when carrying out pursuit or explosion search work, it is an excellent assistant; The Rottweiler has participated in "World War I" and "World War II", usually as a guard dog. At present, it is often used as a police dog, the U.S. Coast Guard is equipped with Rottweiler dogs, China has also introduced in recent years; Kunming dogs are the only military dogs in China with "independent intellectual property rights", filling the gap that China can not breed good breed dogs on their own, Kunming dogs are adaptable and disease-resistant, and are widely used in border patrol, anti-drug, explosives and other tasks; Doberman dogs, also known as Doberman, are obedient military dog breeds, with strong agility and coordination, and have a high IQ, but Doberman dogs are divided into German and American, according to the standards of working dogs. The Ashkenazi are better.
There are also some famous dogs that are not suitable for breeding as military dogs, such as border collies. The "Border Herder" has a high IQ, and because of this, he sometimes trusts his instincts more and refuses to obey the command; the Golden Retriever and the Labrador function almost completely, but the Golden Retriever's large long hair is not easy to manage, and its disease tolerance is weaker than that of the Labrador, so it is not the best choice; the Samoyed is strong, but the personality is too docile, and anyone can abduct it. But it is surprising that the other two of the "three fools of the sleigh" actually "served as soldiers", and during the "Second World War" in the United States, huskies were used for mountain transportation. Today's high-latitude countries and regions such as Russia and Canada are still domesticating huskies and Alaskan dogs as military dogs and police dogs, only because they are good at running and resistant to cold.
Of course, no matter what kind of military dog, the key to judging its excellence lies in its ability to work and obedience, and it has nothing to do with whether its blood is pure or not.
On the battlefield, a military dog is a soldier and obeys orders. No one wants a comrade-in-arms who does not listen to commands to make trouble everywhere. For example, when a military dog bites the enemy, it must not kill the red eye because it is too excited, and it is necessary to do the order prohibiting, bite it fiercely one second before, and the dog trainer must stop after giving the order.
Bravery is one of the qualities of a soldier, and the same applies to military dogs. Unlike the acrobatic troupe's walking balance beam and jumping circle, military dogs must get used to gunshots and explosions, get used to various unexpected situations that may be encountered in combat, and train with soldiers to cultivate tacit understanding. For example, soldiers will throw grenades into the house when they assault buildings, and other soldiers know that there will be an explosion in a few seconds, but the military dogs do not know, and the canines have a natural fear of sudden sounds and flashes, if not trained, the dogs are likely to be frightened and incontinent at the moment of the explosion.
Of course, bravery does not equal recklessness, in the face of the enemy's guns and bullets, military dogs can neither panic nor lose their minds, fear of the muzzle of the gun is sometimes a manifestation of high INTELLIGENCE, blind suicide charge may put the dog trainer and even the entire team in danger.
Usually people will take "bite force" as the criterion for judging the combat effectiveness of military dogs, claiming that "so-and-so dog breeds can easily bite people's bones, and these dog breeds should be allowed to become military dogs" and so on. In fact, this view is quite one-sided, good at fighting is not equal to good at fighting, military dogs agility, concentration, coordination, iq and obedience on the battlefield, are the criteria for judging their combat effectiveness, which is also the Tibetan mastiff, pit bull, Caucasian dog and other fierce dogs, although suitable for nursing homes, but not suitable for training into military dogs.
Flapping is the main attack skill of military dogs, and this skill comes from the nature of canines, so it is not difficult to train. In fact, swooping is a means of reward, commonly used in training rewards are food rewards, item rewards, stroke rewards, password rewards, etc., these rewards are to consolidate the correct behavior of military dogs, but no reward can release the nature of military dogs more than the bite rewards. After a series of boring obstacle courses, a tense and exciting bite, the military dog will quickly adapt and improve the enthusiasm of obstacle course training.
The military dog's running speed and reaction speed are faster than people, and they are low in stature, have a small area of bullets, and can sprint to the enemy at a speed of 12 meters per second in actual combat, and then attack any position of the enemy. Even if the bite is not the key to the human body, with strong inertia, it is still easy to throw the person to the ground and continue to attack.
Israel has a special army dog unit called Oket'z (formed in 1939, nearly a decade before the establishment of israel's independence and IDF in 1948), and its attack company attaches great importance to the bite ability of military dogs, especially known for its fierceness. Of course, the deadliest thing in modern warfare is still the weapon in the hands of soldiers, after all, "people" are the protagonists of war.
Do military dogs need chains? This doesn't seem to be a problem, after all, who would bother to go out walking the dog at night or not? However, the function of military dogs is different from that of pet dogs, and there is a big difference between leashing and leashing. The leash ensures that the dog trainer has better control over the military dog, which reduces the noise and reduces the gesture command. One of the most important aspects of training is for military dogs to learn to keep their belts loose so that the trainers don't get dragged along. But at the same time, because the distance between the dog trainer and the military dog is too close, once the military dog finds enemies or explosives, the dog trainer will also face danger.
In the late 1970s, military dogs began to untie their leashs during search, tracing, and patrol training. Through training, military dogs will sit down when they are aware of danger, which allows the dog trainer to detect the warning of military dogs at a long distance. Of course, whether or not to give a leash to a military dog depends on the degree of tacit understanding between the soldier and the military dog and the confidence of the soldier in the military dog.
In recent years of military operations, the main duty of U.S. military dogs is to sniff explosions. Dogs have 40 times the sensitivity of smell, and their accuracy is 30% higher than that of human beings' most advanced explosives detection devices, whether it is a hidden weapon, a roadside bomb, a booby trap behind a door or even an explosive object 100 meters away, which can be detected by military dogs, which also greatly improves the survival chances of the US patrol. In the process of patrolling, the team members disperse the positions, guarding the surrounding areas, while the dog trainers stand in front of the team, the main task is to observe the reaction of the military dogs in front, the team and the military dogs maintain a distance of about 15 to 25 meters, if explosives are found, the team members will not be too concentrated by a wave of "regiment annihilation".
Today, military dogs are more and more professionally trained, and the equipment of military dogs is becoming more and more advanced, such as the military dogs of the paratrooper unit will wear modular uniforms and goggles, the fluorescent strips on the back can avoid the loss of military dogs; the military dogs fighting in the desert will be equipped with sand-proof goggles, boots to prevent burns on the hot ground, and vests with chemical ice packs.
The life of military dogs is as important as the lives of soldiers, many countries even put on body armor for military dogs, and some special units have also upgraded the equipment of military dogs more modernly: the vests of military dogs should be equipped with GPS devices to let the commander always know their location; infrared cameras installed on the back can let soldiers in the rear understand the enemy observed by military dogs; bone conduction headphones allow dog trainers to direct military dogs from a long distance.
Many gamers were impressed by the call of duty: Ghosts' military dog Riley, and while it's a next-generation game, Riley's gear is prototyped in reality. During the assassination of bin Laden, the U.S. Navy SEALs used such a heavily armed military dog, mainly to search for explosives and booby traps near bin Laden's residence. Some people on the Internet claim that this military dog has been replaced with a mouthful of titanium alloy dog teeth that can bite through the body armor... This is naturally a very ridiculous fake news, fully armed is not fake, but not armed to the teeth, titanium alloy teeth are used in the treatment of military dogs, only after the accidental break of military dog teeth will be considered for installation, and even titanium alloy teeth, will not be more robust than natural healthy dog teeth.
The military dog is a powerful auxiliary of a team, in addition to improving the team's survival chances and combat effectiveness, it can also relieve the pressure on soldiers and improve morale.
Of course, the application of military dogs has not been smooth every time, and there have been cases of failure. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military provided the South Vietnamese army with 300 military dogs to search for the North Vietnamese army hiding in the jungle, but this seemingly easy thing did not go well. The American-trained military dogs could not understand the instructions issued by the Vietnamese, and the yellow-skinned Vietnamese were full of hostility, and they were used to getting along with the Vietnamese, and they became hostile to the tall Caucasians.
According to the standards of the US military, the daily diet cost of military dogs is higher than that of a Vietnamese soldier, and Vietnam was economically tight at that time, and the food provided to people was not enough, how to afford to raise a military dog with more stringent food requirements? So throughout the Vietnam War, 90% of military dogs died of malnutrition, and very few were actually sacrificed on the battlefield. However, Vietnamese eat dog meat, and military dogs are a delicacy in their eyes! In addition, it is difficult for Vietnamese soldiers to have friendship with military dogs, and most Vietnamese people firmly believe in reincarnation, believing that if they have too good a relationship with dogs, they will be born into dogs in the next life... It is also difficult for military dogs to get medical treatment after they fall ill, and there are only 20 veterinarians in the whole of Vietnam, and none of these 20 veterinarians have experience in treating dogs!
Dogs are man's most loyal friends, while military dogs are soldiers' closest comrades-in-arms. The life span of dogs is usually only 10 to 15 years, and the life span of military dogs is lower than the average life expectancy of normal dogs, they officially enter the workplace at the age of 2 to 3, and they face retirement at the age of 8 to 10, during which they will encounter various dangers and may be killed by weapons made by humans at any time.
Many retired military dogs suffer from occupational diseases, long-term stimulation by the sound of explosions will make the hearing of military dogs decline, repeated sniffing of the irritating smell emitted by explosives will make the dog's sense of smell degenerate, and some military dogs can not even smell the smell of food after retirement.
After retiring, military dogs will return to "civilian" life, and before retiring, they will go through weeks of transitional training, learn to let down their guard against strangers, and try to please others instead of attacking others. Before finding a new home, the relevant departments need to solve the transportation problems and breeding problems of military dogs, which cost money. Between 2012 and 2016, the British Ministry of Defence euthanized 231 retired military dogs, and the little heroes who were once born and died for humans were finally betrayed by humans.
The most common comment from this incident was: "Why kill them?" We are willing to adopt them! ”
Official explanations say military dogs are aggressive and not suitable for family adoption. The same thing is happening in the United States, which is really sad.
However, not all military dogs have been treated unfairly, and most of them have received the respect they deserve. To avoid abuse, some dogs have even higher ranks than dog trainers. Many meritorious dogs receive medals and earn their own honors, such as the famous Deacon Medal, the highest military medal for brave animals. After retiring, China's military dogs will be sent to a special "nursing home" to receive good care, and some can also be adopted by retired dog trainers or ordinary families after passing the application.
In Russia, military dogs are no longer the "disposable weapons" of the past, and although anti-tank dogs are still retained, explosive devices have evolved into dismantlable devices, and military dogs no longer have to die with the enemy.
There is a slogan at the Russian Red Star Army Dog Training Base: "A person who is rude to animals must also be a person who does not care about people." ”
Excerpt from "The Law of War Tease" / Author: Li Tuofu
The explosive military science comic is composed of eleven independent plots and rich pictures and texts, covering military, historical, war, weapons knowledge and other aspects, telling the original boring professional military knowledge. Every three lines get one knowledge point, read the complete book is half a military expert!
Li Tuofu
A potential military science writer, military theme cartoonist, graphic designer.
Former comic chief writer of the well-known domestic network military program "Military And Military Sub-Plane", he is good at using comics to interpret military and historical knowledge points.
In today's headlines, Baidu Tieba and Sina Weibo and other platforms to create a series of military and martial arts theme comics with a ghostly style, the average reading volume of a single article exceeded one million, which was highly sought after by military fans.