An article about how animals have been used to help fight wars.
Grades:
9
Themes:

For centuries, animals have been used to help fight wars. Before there were tanks, soldiers rode their horses into battle. Pack animals such as camels, mules, and horses carried ammunition and supplies. Many other animalshave been called upon to help the military.

Elephants

  • Battle elephants were used by Hannibal of Carthage when he crossed the Alps to fight the Romans. Elephants with carriages on their backs were able to hold four soldiers. Hannibal's elephant, Surus, was said to be extremely brave.
  • Alexander the Great conquered India with the help of elephants.
  • The Greek king Pyrrhus and his men rode elephants into battle against the Romans. Although the Greeks won, many men and elephants died. Today “Pyrrhic victory” means a victory won at great cost.
  • In the sixteenth century, Emperor Akbar of India used elephants in battle. The elephants were hung with bells in order to sound frightening, and their trunks were bound to straighten them so that poisoned daggers could be attached to their ends.

Dogs

  • The ancient Romans and Gauls used dogs trained to fight in battle.
  • In the fifteenth century, the Spanish used dog warriors. The dogs wore quilted overcoats into battle.
  • Christopher Columbus used dogs to fight Native Americans.

Cats, Canaries, and Mice

These animals didn't fight, but they were very useful in World Wars I and II.

  • Cats lived with soldiers in trenches, where they killed mice during World War I.
  • Canaries and mice were used during World War II, when soldiers sent them into the tunnels being dug behind enemy lines to detect bad air and poison gas.

Pigeons

  • During World War I, before radiotelephones were used, carrier pigeons took messages between ships at sea.
  • In nineteenth-century Europe, messenger pigeons were sent out two at a time because falcons were trained to attack them, thereby intercepting the message.

Featured High School Resources

Romeo and Juliet Teaching Unit Kit

LESSON PLANS

Romeo and Juliet Teaching Unit Kit

A complete teaching kit for a full or partial unit on Romeo and Juliet Take your students on a thought-provoking, insig...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
lesson plans for animal farm - kit for a complete unit on the novel

LESSON PLANS

Animal Farm Teaching Unit Kit

Everything you need to teach a full or partial unit on Animal Farm Help your students dive into the modern relevance, m...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
Poetry Packet for High School

ACTIVITIES

National Poetry Month Themed Packet for High School

To celebrate Poetry Month, this resource shares 3 activities that will help high school students to engage with poetry i...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

Related Resources

REFERENCE

Animal Communication

Most animals (including people) use “body language” as well as sound and smell in order to communicate with one anot...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

Vertebrates Versus Invertebrates

Almost all animals fall into one of two groups.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

President Classification of Animals

The inventor of modern scientific classification was Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) a Swedish botanist who classified and ...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

Cloning Milestones

1938Cloning envisioned. Dr.

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

The Northern Irish Conflict: A Chronology

A history of the conflict and the slow progress towards peace by Ann Marie Imbornoni, Borgna Brunner, and Beth Row...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER

REFERENCE

U.S. Casualties in the Major Wars

American Revolution (1775–1783)Total servicemembers217,000Battle deaths4,435Nonmortal woundings6,188War of 1812 (1812�...

Add to Folder
creative writing
children's book
activities
classroom tools
language arts and writing
vocabulary
Create new folderCREATE NEW FOLDER
loading gif