Dog Soldiers:
They have barrelled into the fiercest battles of history. They have
risked their lives for fallen comrades. They have remained loyal until
death – guarding, encouraging, fighting until all, but their spirit, was
lost. Dogs have certainly proved effective in battles throughout
history. As weapons of wars they have been ferocious, courageous and
intelligent. But it is their spirit, that undying and ever-faithful
spirit that has inspired men in arms and rallied them during history’s
bloodiest battles. When their effectiveness as weapons of war past they
continued contributing to the fight – guarding the men, inspiring them,
helping them to communicate.
Aim to Please: Perhaps it is their pack
nature or willingness to please their human counterparts that have made
them so essential in battle, but since the dawn of warfare they have
plunged headfirst into the fight. The Romans were not the first, but may
very well have used war dogs the most effectively. The Roman Army had
whole companies composed entirely of dogs. They wore spiked collars
around their neck and ankles, made more dangerous by the large curved
knives protruding from its ring. Sometimes they were starved before
battle, then unleashed on an unsuspecting enemy. Their dog of choice was
the great Molossian dogs of Epirus, specifically trained for battle.
These dogs, halved starved and ferocious, helped spread the Roman Empire
across the ancient world. They dominated battles until they meet their
match in the Britain, where powerful Mastiffs called Pugnaces Britanniae had been born and breed.
Born to Win: Gratius Falsius, an ancient
Roman author and historian, wrote of these frightful canines in the 8
AD. They were physically unspectacular, but renowned and feared on the
battlefield. The Roman Molossians were no match. Gratius writes,
“Although the British dogs are distinguished neither by color nor good
anatomy, I could not find any particular faults with them. When grim
work must be done, when special pluck is needed, when Mars summons us to
battle most extreme, then the powerful Molossus will please you less
and the Athamanen dog cannot measure up to the skill of the British dog
either. ”
Seeing first hand their effectiveness in battle, the
Romans quickly began employing these dogs in the Empire’s service. They
were set loose across the ancient world - trained, ravenous, and
fiercely loyal.
 An Age Old Battle:
Before the Romans, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Babylonians all employed
fierce fighting dogs in battle. Hammurabi, the sixth king of Babylon,
equipped his soldiers with huge war dogs. In Egypt, murals dating back
to perhaps 4000 BC commemorate the fighting spirit of dogs in battle.
They show vicious animals unleashed by their soldier-masters and leaping
upon their feeble enemies. A war dog was also immortalized in a mural
depicting the great Battle of Marathon.
 Faithful Hounds:
After the fall of Rome, armies across the globe continued using war
dogs, but no longer limited their service to fighting. They were trained
as guard dogs, sentries, messengers and draught dogs. Medieval knights
draped their faithful hounds in chain mail and plunged into battle with
the dogs by their side. At death, the knights, who loved the dogs
dearly, had an image of these faithful hounds inscribed on their tombs,
linking the two forever.
Charles V of Spain used 400 mastiffs to drive the English
from the field in the Siege of Valencia. So heroic was their conduct
that Charles held all the dogs up as an example of honor and courage.
William the Conqueror, Queen Elizabeth, and Edward Longshanks all
utilized the dogs to defend the crown. Even Napoleon unleashed fighting
dogs in front of his reserves. After the Battle of Marengo, he wrote, "I
walked over the battlefield and saw among the slain, a poodle killed
bestowing a last lick upon his dead friend's face. Never had anything on
any of my battlefields caused me a like emotion."
A Whole New World: As Europeans expanded
into the New World, so did their dogs. Dogs were used, especially by
the Spaniards, against Native Americans, who in turn used dogs for their
own purposes. And our own Founding Fathers saw the effectiveness of
dogs in battle and used them whenever they could. The first mention of
them comes in the 2nd Seminole War, where 33 Cuban-bred bloodhounds were
used by the U.S. army to track Seminole Indians and runaway slaves
throughout the swamps of western Florida and Louisiana.
 Although
certainly used savagely and for dishonorable purposes, dogs were still
able to inspire men and women through their courage and faithfulness.
During the Civil War, a woman named Mrs. Pfieff left her home in
Illinois to find the remains of her husband, Lt. Louis Pfieff of the 3rd
Illinois Infantry, who had died on the battlefield of Shiloh. When she
arrived, no one knew for certain the final resting place of her beloved
husband. She was undeterred and trekked through the battlefield for
clues. Her perseverance was rewarded when she saw her husband’s faithful
dog, who he had brought along with him, walking towards her. She
embraced the dog and hid her facing, sobbing, in his fine coat. The dog
tried to led her somewhere and she, knowing the dog’s devotion,
followed. The dog led her to an unmarked grave, which she uncovered and
discovered the remains of her late husband. She learned later that the
dog had stood by the grave for 12 days, leaving only for food and water.
 A New Era:
In the modern era, essentially every nation used dogs in wartime. Like
the ancient Romans, the Soviets starved dogs then unleashed them onto
the battlefield. They trained the dogs to search for food beneath tanks.
During battle the were strapped with anti-tank bombs and, after being
unleashed, they sprinted beneath enemy tanks, with both tragic and
heroic results.
During World War I, the Germans used possibly 30,000
dogs, the French used 20,000, and the Italians 3,000. The other Allied
forces used thousands more. The U.S. did not use war dogs but sort of
borrowed some from their Allies. By World War II however they had become
convinced of a dog’s effectiveness in war.
Dogs for Defense: Dogs for Defense was
created in January 1942 and used as a sort of clearinghouse for military
dogs. Dogs that volunteered for service would be send to Dogs for
Defense where they would be trained and prepared for battle. Thousands
of dogs were eventually used by the U.S. Military in their efforts to
defeat the Axis powers.
One of the most famous was Chips. This German
Shepherd-Collie-Husky mix was the most decorated dog during World War
II. Trained in Front Royal, Virginia, Chips served the 3d Infantry
Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany as a sentry
dog. In 1943, he attacked a small fort and, in spite of receiving wounds
to the head, forced 4 Italian crew members to surrender. Later on the
same day, he helped capture 10 prisoners. For his actions he was later
awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart, although both were later
revoked.
 Always Faithful:
25 Marine War Dogs gave their lives liberating Guam in 1944 and many
more served as sentries, messengers, and scouts, exploring caves,
detecting mines and booby traps, and bringing vital information across
the battlefield. A statue was erected in their honor. The inscription on
the statue perhaps sums up the efforts of these dogs and war dogs
throughout history. “Given in their memory and on behalf of the
surviving men of the 2nd and 3rd Marine War Dogs Platoons, many of whom
owe their lives to the bravery and sacrifice of these gallant
animals..."Always Faithful" was inspired by the spirit of these heroic
dogs who are the embodiment of love and devotion.”
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