Ever since humans had wars, animals have been tamed by humans and used on the battlefield. Animals use their unique functions on the battlefield to create battlefield miracles that amaze humans. From the pigeons, bats, birds, seagulls, etc. flying in the sky, to the dogs, horses, elephants, snakes, etc. running on the ground, and then to the crocodiles, dolphins, sea lions, etc. swimming in the sea, human beings have widely applied the wisdom and special talents of animals to the military, which has become a common practice in the armies of various countries, and these animals play a special role in war.
The first to take the stage of human warfare is the legend of ferocious beasts
One. Ancient animal troops
About 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, the ancestor of the Han people, the Yellow Emperor, used ferocious beasts to defeat the Miao leader Xuan You.
Our third brother next door, their animal troops, are elephants, but the elephant's temper is elusive.
Animal troops in World War II
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During World War II, several countries had cavalry units, and an exhibit at the National World War II Museum shows that the U.S. Coast Guard at that time mainly relied on horseback to defend the coastline, rather than using speedboats, patrol boats and aircraft to prevent the infiltration of Axis agents. The title bar of the exhibition hall reads: During World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard used more horses than any other U.S. military unit. However, many U.S. generals believe that the use of horses is far from enough. George Patton once complained: "If we had a cavalry division with artillery in Tunisia and Sicily, not a single German soldier would be able to escape." ”
Less well known is that the Germans also made heavy use of cavalry units, with the German 1st Cavalry Division crossing the swamps and advancing northward against the Red Army. This force was made mechanized in November 1941, mainly due to the large amount of hay and manned care of the horses, which Hitler believed was outdated. However, most of the German supplies and artillery were transported and hauled by horses, and each German infantry division on the front line had a cavalry patrol squadron, which was regarded by the German command as "eyes and ears". According to statistics, the German army used a total of 2.75 million horses in World War II, more than the number of horses used in World War I, such as one of the German infantry divisions on the Normandy front, which had 5,000 war horses in 1944. Similarly, the Soviet Union used 3.5 million horses in the war.
In addition, during World War II, elephants were used to transport supplies and ammunition. In the battlefield, elephants can pass through many areas where cars cannot pass. In the China-India-Burma theater, mules are also indispensable "main forces". The British also formed camel commandos in the Middle East and North Africa. It is said that the Polish army once "conscripted" a bear, and during the Battle of Cassino, Italy, the bear was able to help Polish soldiers carry ammunition.
Carrier pigeons on the battlefields of North Africa
North Africa and the Mediterranean region are the battlefields of pigeon competition, and the heroic deeds of a carrier pigeon are still circulating in Western countries. It was a carrier pigeon named "Ms. Astor", who risked her life to cross the German front in order to deliver an urgent message to the Allied forces on the North African front, and although she was wounded in one leg by artillery fire and only half of her feathers fell off, it delivered the information to the designated location.
The carrier pigeon "Mary" is also famous, having been injured 22 times. It flew for the Allies for 5 years, was killed in the last operation, and was later found with multiple wounds all over its body. The Royal Canadian Air Force has two of the most successful pigeons, one of which is code-named "10601", born in 1928. Most of the missions of the "10601" were to fly from the submarine, which completed all the tasks, but was eventually killed by a bird of prey.
Statistics show that during the Second World War, the United Kingdom bred a total of 250,000 carrier pigeons, and 32 were awarded the highest animal medal, the "Digin Medal". Carrier pigeons flew several times to the German occupation to deliver important information to the resistance. In 1943, the carrier pigeon "Joe" in the southern Italian village of Calvi risotta, the Allies had planned to bomb the village on October 18, but thanks to the news of the British occupation of the village in time, "Joe" prevented the accidental bombing. During the Battle of Arnhem in September 1944, when the Germans surrounded the Allied airborne units, there was a serious problem with allied battlefield communications, and British soldiers released the carrier pigeon "William of Orange" at 10:30 a.m. on September 19, which flew to England at 2:55 p.m. This important military intelligence message it brought saved more than 2,000 Allied soldiers.
In the early days of the Soviet-German war, the Soviets used anti-tank dogs on a large scale to stop the German advance. Soviet officials announced that anti-tank dogs had destroyed a total of 300 German tanks during the war. It is said that after the German army discovered that the Soviet army used dogs as anti-tank weapons in batches, it shot all the dogs seen on the Eastern Front on the grounds of rabies, and the number of dogs became scarce, and after 1942, the Soviet military dog school changed the direction of training, mainly training mine detector dogs and communication dogs.
During the Vietnam War in 1964, in order to deal with North Vietnamese divers who frequently attacked American ships, the U.S. military strengthened the protection of bases and ships, and established special forces to pay for the Frogmen of North Vietnam
During the Iran-Iraq War, in order to prevent the landing of U.S. Marines, Iraqi troops laid large mines along the Gulf of Kuwait coast. The Defense of the Iraqi Army is quite tight, and the US divers are helpless. The underwater demining robots that took part in the battle after the frogman's defeat also failed to succeed, and were almost swept away by Iraqi divers. The U.S. military airlifted sea lion troops from the base into the Persian Gulf, quickly reversing the decline. Iraqi divers were either killed or captured as they surfaced.
After crossing the Gulf of Kuwait, the Anglo-American coalition encountered a new problem. The waters around Iraq's Fao Peninsula are so murky that it is difficult for divers to spot mines. But humanitarian aid vessels will not be able to pass without clearing the waterways of mines. At this time, it is time to rely on dolphins again. Their mission is to find mines and place special markers around them before soldiers go to clear mines