Animals & The First World War

Animal's have been used during war for hundreds of years. Even at the outbreak of the First World War, the majority of the army was cavalry based. On the Western front horses were being used and in desert areas camels were being used, all for one reason, to help the fight during wartime. The First World War saw a great many changes in tactics and one that would change the course of the war was a new weapon - the machine gun. The machine guns were just to big, bulky and heavy to assist on cavalry charges, so the majority of the cavalry was disbanded and soldier's regrouped with new tactics and weapons. 

Having said this, the use of animals didn't lesson. Large, strong animals, such as horses, found themselves being used to carry supplies such as food, water, ammunition and medical supplies to the soldiers on the front line. Those horses at the front line, found themselves carrying the injured and were also used to transport goods alongside the soldiers fighting as they advanced or retreated. In fact horses where seen as a huge necessity during wartime and even had gas masks made for them. Of course, if any of you have seen the film War Horse, you will know how the army came about so many horses and how much of a daily struggle life was for the horses used in wartime. 

Dogs were also used during the first world war as messengers, scouts and guards. They also helped to find the wounded soldiers and provided companionship in times of distress. Many soldier's found themselves looking on the dogs as their trench mascot and took great care of the dogs when they weren't working. Cats could also be found in the trenches and also became mascots. This was because of the job they were there to do - catch the rats. Unfortunately, rats were extremely common in the trenches and they were an animal the soldiers would rather not sea. Not only did they eat the suppliers, but they carried germs and diseases as well. They were also reported to be the size of rabbits and sometimes bigger which would be enough to give anyone nightmares. 

It wasn't just bigger animals that were used during wartime. Pigeons are one of the most famous animals to be used and their role was to carry messages. Sometimes they would even send messages to the enemy in the hope of confusing them. Another type of bird used was canaries which were used to detect poisonous gas. By today's standards we would deem it too cruel, but during the first world war it was a necessity. If gas was in the air, the canaries would die before the soldiers, hopefully giving them enough time to put their gas masks on. Of course, we now know that in many cases the gas had reached the lungs before anyone had a change to put the mask on, yet on the front line, that was the only way of knowing gas was in the air. 

It goes without saying that many animals were injured or killed during the war, with shooting and shelling a constant danger. Extreme weather conditions and mud and barbed wire were also dangerous, especially to an animal who probably wouldn't have understood what was going on. An animal could slip off the duck boards and fall in the mud with no hope of being rescues, just the same as a soldier could. With the noise of war and the explosions, I would imagine that the animals would be absolutely terrified, after all, they never asked to be a part of the war. 

This photograph belongs to animalsinwar.org.uk
and is used solely to show how moving the memorial, of which I am yet to visit, really is.

A staggering 484143 animals are estimated to have died whilst on duty during the war. When victory was finally declared in 1918, a lot of the animals that had somehow survived the war were just too ill or tired to carry on and had to be put down. Those that lived were sold off to local people in France and Belgium because they were too expensive to feed and transport home. I am sorry to say that those who could not be sold were shot on the spot, where the meat was often sold to local butchers for a price. Needless to say, animals were never to be used in such a huge way during wartime again. But it wasn't until 2004, 86 years after the end of the first world war, that the Animals In War memorial was unveiled and animals finally got the recognition they deserved. 
The epitaph says it all - "This monument is dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and Allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time. They had no choice."