The Dogs of War

[Paul]

DOGS OF WAR

Where ever man has gone, his trusted friend has been by his side, sharing the trials and tribulations of the journey. So it is not surprising that the dog followed his Master to war.

Warfare has changed tremendously over the centuries, spears gave way to the bow and arrows which in turn were replaced by the gun. Catapults gave way to cannon, and mans other dear friend, the horse, was replaced by tanks and fast armoured vehicles. Tiger Moths have been replaced by Stealth Fighter planes, laser guided bombs and Cruise Missiles.

Over the years only two things have remained essentially unchanged, those rolls played by man and his dog. Man developed and adapted the new killing tools while his dog retained the natural gifts of speed and his great scenting ability. Ever faithful to one Master, the dog knew nothing of patriotism and politics, but he did know that his Master's survival depended on his natural abilities. So, it was only natural that dog should follow man to war.

Dogs used in war is not in anyway a new concept, the Pharaohs of Egypt used them for guards and war. The King of Persia invaded Egypt in 526BC using large packs of fearsome hounds.

The Romans used dogs for both offensive and defensive purposes, often fitting them with spiked collars before they went into battle with the legions.

History records that the war dogs of Rhodes could distinguish between the Christians and the Turks, while those of the Cimbrians guarded their wounded Master's chariots. Packs of dogs in excess of 300 were used in the 16th century to guard the walls of St Malo and 800 dogs were used by the Earl of Essex to suppress the Irish Rebellion.

When you hear or read of the battle of Waterloo, the mind conjures up the fearsome conflict between French and the British, but there was dog casualties too. Dash, who belonged to Lt William Hay of the 12th Light Dragoons was killed charging with the regiment, so also was another dog who was loved by the men.

"Into the valley of death rode the five hundred..", well,
to that five hundred add a dog. A little terrier charged through the hell of cannon and churning horse's hoofs to the gates of hell, not only did he make it all the way there, but safely back again, thankfully, so did his Master.

Many of you would have seen the film Zulu, starring Stanley Baker and Michael Caine. The story of the heroic stand at Rorkes Drift during the Zulu war.

The Zulu worrier had long since been formed into a formidable fighting machine by Shaka. The Impis could run for miles, fight a battle and run back again.

While the main column of the British army was being destroyed at Ishwandala, the small garrison and a small fox terrier held off, and survived, repeated assaults by thousands of Zulus.

The dogs mentioned were not specifically war dogs, but dogs involved in war. They did however play their part. In times of danger and severe stress these dogs provided a great moral booster to battle weary men. They provided an outlet for relief and affection.

The roll of the modern war dog changed during World War I, when Col. Edwin Richardson pioneered the British war dog.

Dogs are used because they can get into places humans cannot, with their acute sense of smell, they can detect intruders and track the wounded. They can seek and find hidden enemies such as mines and provide effective cover as guards.

Richardson made great use of dogs and they were trained in the roles of Sentinels, Scouts, Messengers, Carriers and Searchers. To find dogs for that task, he repeatedly raided the Battersee Dogs Home for recruits.

Even though these dogs were going to be used in the most hazardous of places, and men's lives would depend on their skills, the dogs were trained under the reward system, punishment in any form was banned. The reward system is by far the best in the training of an animal.

Handlers for these dogs were drawn from a variety of regiments within the British army and so the partnership between man and the modern war dog began.

It was not long before reports about dogs began to filter through. One Australian officer saw his first message dog, a little Welsh Terrier. He puzzled at what a small dog was doing crossing the muddy terrain which was pock marked with shell craters and assorted barbed wire. Despite the water and mud the determined little dog continued without falter on his mission, he was carrying an important message.

Message dogs served well, one covered a distance of thirteen miles to deliver its missive while yet another dog named Major covered nearly eleven miles in one hour.

These dogs were not without casualties, a dog called Dick while racing to deliver a message was struck twice, once in the back and another time in the shoulder. Still he raced through and successfully delivered his message.

Examined by a Vet who stitched up his wounds, he was sent back to work. It was a few days later that Dick was seen to be in pain and was mercifully put to sleep. A post-mortum examination revealed the brave dog had a bullet lodged in his shoulder and shrapnel was embedded close to his spine.

Then there was the story of Satan, racing across no-mans land under heavy fire, his handler watched him stagger and falter. Standing, the handler shouted, " Courage Mon Ami!, Venez Pour La France!", then struck by a bullet he fell dead to the earth. The rallying call from his Master encouraged Satan, limping home he delivered his message.

Finally the terrible war which was to end all wars came to an end, and with it, the problem of what to do with the dogs who had so faithfully served in the front line.

continued......

[Paul]

continued.......

The British Isles had been rabies free since 1902. The risk of returning those dogs who had served abroad was great. England being such a nation of dog lovers, there is no doubt that much trouble would occur if those faithful dogs were rewarded for their service with a bullet in the head.

Serving soldiers sent many request for the dogs to be allowed to return, one as follows:

"He has been a faithful animal to me in both holding and attacking. I have had him about 12 months and he was with me all through the retirement of 1918, and with me through the late attacks since August 1918. He has been slightly wounded twice in going over the top with me, but he has been inoculated by a friend in the Royal Army Medical Corps each time. Kindly do your best for me, as I think he deserves to come with me, as he has stuck to me through thick and thin, and when I was wounded and could not walk he stayed with me all through the attack under a heavy barrage for nearly three hours, so you can imagine how attached I am to him."

Thankfully, the R.S.P.C.A. attempted to return as many dogs as possible, resulting in 450 from France, 15 from Egypt, 10 from Italy and a further 25 from Salonika.

An appeal was launched to raise funds for the return of these dogs, that appeal was assisted by the following story which was widely published at the time.

James Brown lived with his wife and dog, Prince, in Ireland. In September 1914 leaving his wife behind in Buttevant, he travelled to France with the North Staffordshire regiment.

Sometime later his wife decided to leave Ireland and pay a visit to her husband's parents in Stafford, taking Prince with her. She then left Stafford to visit her parents home in Hammersmith, just one month later, Prince went missing.

Knowing how much her husband was attached to the dog she spent fruitless hours searching the streets, all to no avail. Sitting down she wrote a letter to her husband describing the circumstances under which Prince had vanished. Having had no reply to the first letter, she then wrote a second time, to that letter she received a reply from her husband saying that Prince was in France with him.

God and Prince are the only two who will ever know how he managed to cross the channel, negotiate his way to Armentieres and throw himself into the arms of a very surprised Master. News of Prince's arrival quickly spread through the ranks and it is reported that Brown was made to parade Prince before the Commanding Officer so that he could believe his eyes. Private Brown and Prince made it through the Great War and returned home unscathed.

Man never learns from his mistakes, twenty one years later he was back fighting World War II with yet another generation of war dogs.

Dunkirk. An ill equipped army in retreat, huddled in dunes and on the beaches, waiting for the miracle of rescue. Valiant French and British troops fought a savage rearguard action in town to allow the rescue to get under way. Among the troops were hundreds of dogs who had been driven before the onslaught of the Panzers. They too sheltered in the dunes seeking comfort from those who required comfort themselves.

From the ports of England sailed the armada of boats, any boat, so long as it floated and was able to rescue Great Britain's army which was trapped on foreign soil. They ran the gauntlet of bombs and artillery fire and rescued an army from the very jaws of hell. Tommy Atkins, temporarily defeated, scrambled for the boats that meant home, many of them clutching a terrified dog in their arms. Better that the dogs took their chances crossing the channel than to die of despair and starvation in their native France.

As far as World War II was concerned, it was not an auspicious beginning for our canine friends.

I have often wondered at the stupidity of Neville Chamberlain, who returned from Munich, saying,"Peace
in our time". It had to be obvious that Hitler had gone too far down the path and that war with Germany, was inevitable.

As slow as Britain was to recognise the threat of impending war, it was quick off the mark to ensure that the to ensure its doggy conscripts were called up once war had started.

Britain's industry swiftly began to change its production to war materials so suddenly, peacetime factories became targets for bombing and sabotage. Dogs were urgently needed to protect these essential industries and an urgent call went out to the public for 2,500 dogs.

For Mums and Dads, it was hard enough to send their young off to war let alone the family dog. But, typical of a nation that acts as one when trouble looms, over 10,000 dogs were inspected with just a little over 3,000 being accepted for wartime duty. I'll bet many a tear was shed the day Rover went off to war.

Once again the British training operated the reward system which was far preferable to any other. The American forces initially used, that of giving a dog an electric shock when it approached a mine. The ultimate result of that treatment was that the dog wouldn't go anywhere near the mine so it could pin point the position. On the other hand, those trained by the British did exceptionally well.

In one trial, 75 mines were laid in a field, the dog found all of them except for one, which due to an oversight, contained no explosives. Once again, the nose of the dog proved to be a far better detection device than man could ever develop. Metal detectors, or Mine detectors could only find metal, as far as the dog was concerned, you could put explosives in glass, wood or
ceramics, he would find them.

One could ask if it was fair to ask dogs to look for mines. According to one Royal Engineer, the weight of a dog is too light to set off a mine and the chances are that if the dog didn't find it, the handler who was following the dog most certainly would, with disastrous results. So how brave were these guys who put their trust in canine friends, knowing full well that if their nose missed a mine, they could be killed or at the very least, maimed for life.

So good were the mine detecting dogs that in 1943 alone, they found no fewer than 529,000 mines.

The major difference between the two World Wars was that the first was very static and fought in trenches while the second was highly mobile. Battles were often fought by small groups which easily became separated from the main body, just as easily, men could be lost or wounded.

The Ambulance dog was a great moral booster, trained to ignore anyone who was standing, they would seek out the wounded and dying, then return to their handler so they could point out the position. Soldiers knowing that if they fell wounded in isolated positions would have increased confidence due to the alertness of those wonderful dogs.

As if to avenge the defeat suffered by the British on the beaches of Dunkirk and the French dogs that retreated with them, a German Shepherd named Bing went to war.

Bing and his handler were attached to the 13th Parachute Regiment and were dropped into Normandy on the eve of D-Day. Bing unfortunately got stuck in a tree and was mortared by the Germans, wounded in both the neck and eye, his position was tenuous to say the least. True to the partnership between man and dog, his handler rescued him and both made ready for the invasion to come.

Despite his wounds and very heavy shelling, Bing stuck to his post, all the men found his alertness and loyalty
to be of comfort during their trial of war.

This section is not a glorification of war, but rather a celebration of a unique partnership in dire times, the stories of men and dogs who served their country.
Irrespective as to whether a war was right or wrong, those men and women who served their country, deserve the respect and support of those they served.

Vietnam was not a popular war and much to the shame of the Australian government and people, it is only recently that those that served in that war were given a homecoming parade.

© Paul Springthorpe ‘It’s a Dog’s Life’ 1990 Media Production Services. All rights reserved.