Sentry dogs were used to defend camps or other priority areas at night and rarely during the day. They would bark or growl to alert civilian or military guards of a stranger's presence. During the cold war, American military used sentry dog teams outside of nuclear weapons storage areas. A test program was conducted in Viet Nam to test Sentry Dogs. It was launched two days after a successful Viet Cong attack (July 1, 1965) on Da Nang Air Base. Forty dog teams were deployed to Viet Nam for a four month test period. Dog teams were placed on the perimeter in front of machine gun towers/bunkers. The detection of intruders resulted in a rapid deployment of reinforcements. The test was successful. Handlers returned to the US and dogs were reassigned to new handlers. The Air Force immediately started to ship dog teams to all the bases in Viet Nam and Thailand. The buildup of American forces in Viet Nam created large dog sections at USAF Southeast Asia (SEA) bases. Four hundred and sixty seven (467) dogs were eventually assigned to Bien Hoa, Bien Thuy, Cam Ranh Bay, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Tuy Hoa, Phu Cat, Phan Rang, Tan Son Nhut, and Pleiku Air Bases. Within a year of deployment, attacks on several bases had been stopped when the enemy forces were detected by dog teams. Captured Viet Cong told of the fear and respect that they had for the dogs. The Viet Cong even placed a bounty on lives of handlers and dogs. The success of sentry dogs was determined by the lack of successful penetrations of bases in Viet Nam and Thailand. Sentry Dogs were also used by the Army, Navy, and Marines to protect the perimeter of large bases. During the Second World War, the United States came up with the idea of a Bat bomb using the Mexican Free-tailed Bat as a delivery system for incendiaries which the Americans would use on Japan. It was hoped that after dropping this bomb, the bats would be released to fly into attics and other dark places in the Japanese cities. After a set period of time the incendiaries would go off and burn down whatever buildings the bats had roosted in. The program was halted because of the first atomic bomb test. They never saw operational service. ccording to Pr. Shi Bo, in "Trente-six Stratagèmes Chinois", monkeys were used, in the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, in a battle between rebels of the Yanzhou province and the Chinese Imperial Army, led by Zhao Yu. The monkeys were used as live incendiary devices. The animals were clothed with straw, dipped in oil and set on fire. They were set loose into the enemy's camp, thereby setting the tents on fire, and driving the whole camp into chaos. In World War II, the Soviets attempted to use anti-tank dogs. In World War II, the USA attempted to use pigeons to guide missiles. Anti-tank dogs, also known as dog mines, were starving dogs with explosives harnessed to their back and trained to seek food under enemy tanks and armoured vehicles. By doing so, a small wooden lever would be tripped, detonating the explosives. The dogs were employed by the Soviet Union during World War II, to be used against German tanks. The dogs would be starved, then trained to find food under a tank. The dogs quickly learned that being released from their pens meant to run out to where a tank was parked and find some victuals. Once trained, the dogs would be fitted with an explosive charge and set loose into a field of oncoming German tanks. When the dog went underneath the tank where there was less armour the charge would detonate and gut the enemy vehicle. Realization of that plan was less successful. The Hundeminen, as they were called by the Germans, had been trained using Soviet tanks, and would sometimes be loosed into a battle only to turn round and attack the Soviets' own forces. Other times the dogs would spook at the rumble of a vehicle's engine and run away. During World War II, the Soviet Union trained anti-tank dogs. These dogs were taught to find food under tanks. They were then starved until a battle occurred, during which they would be released to seek food. The dogs wore a pouched canvas overcoat in which high explosives were placed. When they ducked under a tank in search of food, the explosives were actuated by means of a tilt fuse on the dog's back, which when bent or broken set off the explosives in the dog's overcoat, with the hope of destroying the tank. Obviously, a cruel by-product of this practice was the brutal death of the unsuspecting wardog. These dogs were apparently successful at damaging many German tanks, reportedly disabling eleven armoured fighting vehicles in a single battle. They were considered dangerous enough by the Germans that Panzergrenadiers were ordered to shoot all dogs on sight. However, the dogs were unable to distinguish allied from enemy tanks, and were also easily scared away from battle, and from moving tanks, despite their hunger. The project was eventually abandoned. Military animals are creatures that have been employed by mankind for use in warfare. They are a specific application of working animals. Generally these animals are domesticated creatures, such as the dog or horse; more exotic animals such as the elephant and the pig have also seen use during wartime. Animals have even been awarded medals for their courage in battle. The horse has been the most widely-used animal throughout the recorded history of warfare. Early mounts could be used to pull the chariot or to carry lightly armored skirmishing forces. With the appearance of heavier mounts and the invention of the stirrup, the horse-mounted cavalry became the most prestigious military arm in Europe for several centuries. The combination of the horse-mounted warrior armed with a bow made the Mongol army the most powerful military force in Asian history. Dogs were often used as unit mascots for military units. The dog in question might be an officer's dog, an animal that the unit chose to adopt, or one of their canines employed in another role as a working dog. Some units also chose to employ a particular breed of dog as their standard mascot, with new dogs replacing the old when it died or was retired. The presence of a mascot was designed to uplift morale, and many were used to this effect in the trenches of World War I. 'British Magazines during the Great War' Many dogs were used to locate mines. They did not prove to be very effective under combat conditions. Marine mine detecting dogs were trained using bare electric wires beneath the ground surface. The wires shocked the dogs, teaching them that danger lurked under the dirt. Once the dog's focus was properly directed, dummy mines were planted and the dogs were trained to signal their presence. While the dogs effectively found the mines, the task proved so stressful for the dogs they were only able to work between 20 and 30 minutes at a time. The mine detecting war dogs anticipated random shocks from the heretofore friendly earth, making them extremely nervous. The useful service life of the dogs was not long. Experiments with lab rats show that this trend can be very extreme, in some tests rats even huddled in the corner to the point of starvation to avoid electric shock. Dogs have historically also been used in many cases to track fugitives and enemy troops, overlapping partly into the duties of a scout dog, but use their olfactory skill in tracking a scent, rather than warning a handler at the initial presentation of a scent. Pliny the Elder wrote about the use of war pigs against elephants. As he relates it, elephants became scared by the squeal of a pig and would panic, bringing disaster to any soldiers who stood in their path of flight. It is unsubstantiated that rhinoceros were used for war functions[citation needed]. Analyzing Albrecht Dürer's famous 1515 woodcut, it is possible that the liberties taken with the rhino's design were in fact designs for a suit of armour created for the rhinoceros's fight against an elephant in Portugal.However, rhinos' apparent "thick" or "plated" skin is actually very sensitive and the animals have poor eyesight, limiting their ability to run in any particular direction. Their tendency to charge anything within 10 feet would make them impractical for domestication. It is said that War Elephants were used by some African and Eastern nations in combat, such as Carthage and India. Chips the dog was the most decorated war dog from World War II. Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Husky mix owned by Edward J. Wren of Pleasantville, NY. During the war, private citizens like Wren donated their dogs for duty. Chips shipped out to the War Dog Training Center, Front Royal, Virginia, in 1942 for training as a sentry dog. He served with the 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France and Germany. His handler was Pvt. John P. Rowell. Chips served as a sentry dog for the Roosevelt-Churchill conference in 1943. Later that year, during the invasion of Sicily, Chips and his handler were pinned down on the beach by an Italian machine-gun team. Chips broke from his handler and jumped into the pillbox, attacking the gunners. The four crewmen were forced to leave the pillbox and surrendered to US troops. In the fight he sustained a scalp wound and powder burns. Later that day, he helped take 10 Italians prisoner. For his actions during the war, he was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart; however these awards were later revoked. His unit unofficially awarded him a Theater Ribbon with an Arrowhead for an assault landing, and Battlestars for each of his eight campaigns. Chips was discharged in December 1945 and returned to the Wren family.

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 historys 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. With the appearance of modern ranged weapons and motorised vehicles, the use of the horse for military purposes fell into decline. However the horse was still used extensively by the German Army during World War II for transporting supplies and equipment, including artillery. The U.S. Army also used pack horses during the war. While elephants are considered domesticable, they can be trained to serve as mounts, or for moving heavy loads. Sanskrit hymns record their use for military purposes as early as 1,100 B.C. A group of elephants was notably employed by Hannibal during the Punic Wars. They were employed as recently as World War II by both the Japanese and Allies. Elephants could perform the work of machines in locations where vehicles could not penetrate, so they found considerable use in the Burma theater. 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. Camels have typically seen use as mounts in arid regions. They are better able to traverse sandy deserts than horses, and require far less water. Camels were employed in both world wars. Camels are used by the Indian Army & Border Security Force for patrolling in the desert regions of Rajasthan. Mules were used by the U.S. Army during World War II to carry supplies and equipment over difficult terrain. Pack animals that are innately patient, cautious, and hardy, mules could carry heavy loads of supplies where Jeeps and even pack horses could not travel. Mules were used in North Africa, Burma, the Philippines, and in Italy. They are also used for transporting supplies in mountainous regions. Oxen have been used widely in war as beasts of burden, especially to transport heavy or siege artillery through heavy terrain. Homing pigeons have seen use since the time of the French Revolution for carrying messages. They were employed for a similar purpose during the World War I. In WWII, experiments were performed in the use of the pigeon for guiding missiles, known as Project Pigeon. The pigeon was placed inside so that they could see out through a window. They were trained to peck at controls to the left or right, depending on the location of a target shape. Dogs were used by the ancient Greeks for war purposes, and they were undoubtedly used much earlier in history. During their conquest of Latin America, conquistadores used Mastiffs to kill warriors in the Caribbean, Mexico and Peru. Mastiffs, as well as Great Danes, were used in England during the Middle Ages, where their large size was used to scare horses to throw off their riders or to pounce on knights on horseback, disabling them until their master delivered the final blow. More recently, canines with explosives strapped to their backs saw use during World War II in the Soviet Army as anti-tank weapons. In other armies, they were used for detecting mines. They were trained to spot trip wires, as well as mines and other booby traps. They were also employed for sentry duty, and to spot snipers or hidden enemy forces. Some dogs also saw use as messengers. Beginning in the Cold War era, research has been done into the uses of many species of marine mammals for military purposes. The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program uses military dolphins and sea lions for underwater sentry duty, mine clearance, and object recovery. On land, the Gambian giant pouched rat has been used with considerable success in demining, as its keen sense of smell helps in the identification of explosives and its small size prevents it from triggering mines. Cats were used in the Royal Navy to control vermin on board ships. Able seacat Simon of HMS Amethyst received the Dickin Medal. Simon was born probably in the latter part of 1947, on Stonecutters Island, Hong Kong, a busy naval dockyard at the time. (A resident of Stonecutter's Island later tried to research Simon's parentage, but without success.) A few months later, early in 1948, the Royal Navy's HMS Amethyst called there for supplies; she was based in Hong Kong, but had been on operations in Malaya. One day Simon was found in the dockyard looking in need of a good meal by Ordinary Seaman George Hickinbottom from the ship; he was a 17-year-old at the time and had joined in the previous November. The cats of Stonecutters Island were well known for becoming ships' cats and George decided to smuggle the waif aboard. To avoid the man on watch, he concealed the cat under his tunic and took him to his tiny space hardly a cabin that served as his accommodation. George had been appointed 'captain of the fo'c'sle', meaning that he had to ensure that everything there was kept shipshape and in good order. As such, he was quartered close to the captain's cabin. A war dog (or wardog) is a dog trained for war. Dogs have been used in wars since ancient times. Their jobs have varied over the years, from being trained to track with their acute sense of smell, to bringing down infantry or even horses by biting into the hamstrings of their targets. The history of war dogs is long and detailed, stretching up to conflicts ongoing today. In ancient times, they disrupted battle lines and frightened soldiers. Their use was much lessened as the ages drew on, however. Stubby, a war dog of World War I, was promoted to the rank of sergeant. Chips, a German Shepherd mix, and Smoky, a Yorkshire Terrier, were honored for service in World War II. Gifts of wardog breeding stock between European royalty were seen as suitable tokens for exchange throughout the Middle Ages. Wardogs were used by England against the Gaels in Ireland and by many European forces, such as Spanish Conquistadors, in the New World. Mine dogs These dogs were used to locate mines. They did not prove to be very effective under combat conditions. According to Lt. William Putney DVM, USMC War Dog Platoon, GUAM, WW2, mine detecting dogs were trained using bare electric wires beneath the ground surface. The wires shocked the dogs, teaching them that danger lurked under the dirt. Once the dog's focus was properly directed, dummy mines were planted and the dogs were trained to signal their presence. Dr. Putney related that while the dogs effectively found the mines, the task proved so stressful for the dogs they were only able to work between 20 and 30 minutes at a time. The mine detecting war dogs anticipated random shocks from the heretofore friendly earth, making them extremely nervous. The useful service life of the dogs was not long. Experiments with lab rats show that this trend can be very extreme, in some tests rats even huddled in the corner to the point of starvation to avoid electric shock. Dogs have been used in war for a very long time. Some ancient civilizations that used war dogs included the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Ancient Britons and the Romans. The Molossian 'Canis Molossus' dog of Epirus was the strongest known to the Romans, and were specifically trained for battle by the military. About the time World War I broke out, many Europeans used dogs to pull small carts. Many European armies adapted the process for military use. The Belgian Army used dogs to pull their Maxim Guns and other supplies or wounded in their carts. The French had 250 dogs at the start of World War I. The Dutch army copied the idea and had hundreds of dogs trained and ready by the end of World War I (the Netherlands remained neutral). The Soviet army also used dogs to drag wounded men to aid stations during WWII. The dogs were well-suited to transporting loads over snow and through craters. Dogs were often used to carry messages in battle. They would be turned loose to move silently to a second handler. This required a dog which was very loyal to two masters, otherwise the dog would not deliver the message on time, or at all. Some messenger dogs also performed other communication jobs, such as pulling telephone lines from one location to another. Canaries, used for the detection of poisonous gas

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