World War I: Enter the Animals

Wars invariably involve not just nations, cities, towns, and people, but animals as well.

World War I was no exception, and over the next few weeks I’m going to write about a variety of animals and their involvement in the war.

Owing to the movie War Horse, many are familiar with the torturous events of horses and the trenches.

Horses were the mainstay of some armies early in the war, but they weren’t the only animals pressed into service. Dogs, cats, camels,pigeons, elephants and even a tortoise found their way into history as army assistants.

Some animals were plainly mascots: bears from Winnipeg, baboons from Africa, jerboas in the desert and kangaroos from Australia. Why would a pilot need a fox to fly with him in a bi-plane except for companionship?

Sailors welcomed cats on board ships because they were not only excellent mousers/ratters to protect the food, but also good luck charms and harbingers of the weather.

Traditions and cats?

According to Neil R. Storey in Animals in the First World War,

This is actually a horse painted to look like a zebra for an African campaign.

“ancient tradition among mariners firmly believed that cats were lucky creatures to have aboard ships and that cats were endowed with magic powers to protect ships from dangerous weather.

“Many sailors held the belief that if the ship’s cat sneezed it meant rain, if it licked its fur against the grain a hailstorm was coming, and if it was frisky they could expect rain.”

Elsewhere I’ve written about the importance of the Imperial Camel Corps in the desert battles of Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula. They were as useful for the soldiers caring for them (cameliers) as for the bedouins from whom the army purchased the ships of the desert.

Carrier pigeons played an important role in passing messages during World War I, just as they had since the days they were first used as messengers in Egypt 2000 years before.

A variety of animals served as alerts for poison gas, stealthy Zeppelins, scouting soldiers and the lost injured.

Animals provided companionship for soldiers far from home, and a source of amusement during the long hours waiting for the whistle to sound sending them “over the top,” and into battle.

Animals put to work

Dogs were used to string communication wires, carry messages and even raise money!

One British naval vessel had its own pet pig.

The London Zoo featured a tortoise with a message painted in white: “we can’t do without our shells.”

Elephants took the place of draft horses and used their massive strength to assist in war efforts on both sides of the Western Front.

Like soldiers, animals suffered miserable conditions, poor food, injuries and gas. Their stories are interesting, however, and worth telling.

Four footed creatures helped the effort and made a difference for some of the many soldiers.

For more photos, see my Pinterest board: World War I Animals.

Tweetables

Animals doing their part in WWI. Click to Tweet

A tortoise, elephant and jerboa aiding the WWI effort? Click to Tweet

How did animals participate in WWI? Click to Tweet

(Many of these photos were courtesy of London’s Imperial War Museum collection.)