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Therefore, it was not without precedence that in 1942, following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the entrance of the United States into World War II, a small group of civilian dog enthusiasts approached the Army about creating a program that would utilize the special traits and skills of “man’s best friend” in order to further the war effort.
- M551 Sheridan Light Tank
The M24 Chaffee, introduced in late 1944, had a larger 75mm...
- 12th Engineers (Light Railway)
Until February 1918, the regiment operated and maintained...
- Korean War
716th Military Police Battalion Major General Henry W....
- Vietnam War
The Army Historical Foundation is the designated official...
- General History
History of the U.S. Army Center of Military History Renegade...
- Civil War
The Army Historical Foundation is the designated official...
- M551 Sheridan Light Tank
- Military Breeds of Choice
- Training The Dogs in WW2
- The Reliable Messenger Dog
- Guard and Patrol Dogs
- America’s Dog Paratroopers at The Bulge
- Soviet Dog Mines Against German Tanks
- Medical Dogs of WWII
- Chips’ Heroic Charge
For their war dogs, the British Royal Army Veterinary Corps preferred the Alsatian, which is merely another name for the German shepherd, but also used dobermans, airedales, and rottweilers. Later, they found high pedigrees to be less important than originally thought. Mongrels with Alsatian blood and even some outright mutts could learn and perfor...
The German Army had special eight-week schools for training their dogs in WW2, beginning with testing the animals’ potential at age six months. For this early examination, the weeding out process required the potential doggy recruit to follow his owner day or night across different terrain, to behave properly in climbing stairs, in going into a dar...
Use as messengers was the most common and often the most important role for dogs in WW2. The Germans, in fact, selected only the smartest of their canine recruits for this duty. They provided scent trails for their messenger dogs to follow, using a 10-to-1 mixture of water and a molasses-like substance smelling like root beer, which they dribbled f...
Dogs used in conjunction with reconnaissance patrols were known variously as tracker dogs by the Germans, patrol dogs by the British, and scouts by the Americans. These dogs were used mostly at night, moving usually 30 to 40 yards ahead of the human patrollers, and were specially trained to make no noise whatsoever. When the dog scented enemy perso...
One often overlooked war dog was the draft animal. Some of the minor warring nations had dogs trained to pull small, two-wheeled carts full of machine-gun ammunition or other supplies. Draft dogs were especially popular with the German Gebirgsjaeger (mountain troops), who utilized them to pull carts or sleds in rough, mountainous country. Canadian ...
The strangest and most gruesome use of war dogs came on the Eastern Front. In early 1942, Operation Barbarossa found the Soviets hard-pressed. They had lost vast numbers of tanks and antitank weapons in 1941, their industries were in the process of relocating to the Urals, and they were desperate for anything to stop the German panzers. Enter the d...
A more noble and humanitarian task that was common during World War I was the use of first-aid or Medical Corps dogs. These animals located wounded men among the dead and saved countless lives. Russian medical dogs of World War I were trained to drag wounded men to safety. This mission was continued mainly in the European Theater during World War I...
World War II even had canine heroes who were official members of some units, received their own ranks, and were awarded decorations for bravery. American doggie daredevils included Chips, a mongrel of shepherd, collie, and husky heritage with a penchant for doughnuts, who served with the 3rd Infantry Division. On the Sicily beachhead, the tired sol...
Evidence that military interest was developing in the potentialities of war dogs for tactical purposes was demonstrated early in July 1942 when Headquarters, Army Ground Forces announced plans to utilize 100 messenger and scout dogs and 100 sled dogs in the proposed Mountain Division, and submitted a request for eleven of these dogs in November for use in a test at Camp Hale in Colorado.
1966–1973: About 5,000 US war dogs served in the Vietnam War (the US Army did not retain records prior to 1968); about 10,000 US servicemen served as dog handlers during the war, and the K9 units are estimated to have saved over 10,000 human lives; 232 military working dogs [27] and 295 [28] US servicemen working as dog handlers were killed in action during the war. An estimated 200 Vietnam ...
Aug 16, 2022 · News of dogs serving in a war isn’t anything new. It’s a practice that’s been done for decades; the United States began steadily using dogs for fighting and training purposes during World War II. However, as a new program, there wasn’t a force of dogs to choose from. Handlers had to train dogs, and obtaining them wasn’t exactly easy.
Aug 17, 2017 · The American Army brass, however, could not be convinced that dogs would be of much use in modern warfare and steadfastly refused efforts to create a K-9 Corps until the advent of World War II. They had to be convinced by civilians that dogs had capabilities that would not only free up soldiers to fight, but would also save soldiers' lives.
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In the Pacific, many sailors brought dogs with them, particularly ships’ captains who could keep a pet in their personal cabin. But in the Mediterranean and Europe, servicemen picked up dogs as they went. The dog of choice: mutts. Americans identified with their mixed breed pedigree—something the Nazis would never understand.
