Brief History of Dogs in War.
THROUGHOUT the history of warfare, from the days of the Medes and the Persians and the conquests of the Roman Empire, to the police action in Korea, dogs have undergone active service at the sides of their masters or have been used in direct support of active operations. lnitially, entire formations of attack dogs, frequently equipped with armour or spiked collars were sent into battle against the enemy as recognized and effective instruments of offensive warfare. However, with the development of long-range warfare and the consequential change in military tactics, the value of dogs as combat soldiers steadily diminished. At the same time his usefulness in other military activities has increased.
Greek vase painting of War Dogs with Hercules in the capture of Cerberus.
(approx. 500 B.C.) (British Museum, London)During World War I, vast numbers of dogs were employed as sentries, messengers, ammunition carriers, scouts, sled dogs and casualty dogs. It is estimated that Germany alone employed over 30,000 dogs for such purposes and about.20,000 served with the French army. The American and British forces had no organized dogs units, but borrowed a limited number of dogs from the French and Belgian forces for casualty, messenger and guard duty.
During World War II, dogs were used on the largest scale yet realized, and in all over 250,000 dogs served with the armies of the Allies and Axis powers. A number of these dogs established distinguished records and were officially cited for outstanding and faithful service.
During this war, dog training reached an all time high with patrol work, guarding, tracking, air-borne rescue work and mine detecting. During this period the British Royal Air Force (RAF) Guard Dog School came into being in November 1941 and later in April 1946 became known as the RAF Police Dog Training Centre.
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Research and Construction of these pages by: Page last reviewed 19 May 2006.
RAAF Police Dog Handler Warrant Officer Glenn J Andrews (retired).
