War Elephants

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Arica Flores
Professor Thomson
History 134
7 June 2016
The Mighty War Elephant from Ancient India to Vietnam
Asian elephants stand approximately 21 feet long, standup to 10 feet tall and weigh up to
10,000 pounds.i The war elephant was the tank of their time. All decked out in metal plate and
mail armour with swords on their tusks. With a driver atop of their head and a castle like
structure was on their back housing archers these elephants were formidable opponents. The
majestic mighty war elephant would have been a sight to behold.
Fear was the first strategy in using this large animal. They were so big and forbidding with their
armour and noise. If you had never seen then in combat before the noise of them stomping and
trumpeting swinging their trunks around was enough to frighten many opponents away. They
charged at the enemy at 25 kph and could smash a human to death under their feet. The horse
were also frightened of the smell of the beasts. (Griffiths)
If not frightened by the sight of a wall of these animals you soon found out the
advantages of having them. In battle they could impale the enemy with swords attached to their
tusks. They provided an elevated platform for the archers to work from. The armies of your
enemies could be trampled under the feet of these enormous animals. It was said that they could
be trained to swing a heavy iron ball from their mouth to injure or kill the enemy. They could
also pick up an enemy soldier with their trunk and throw them. (Knodell)

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As with anything disadvantages come along with the advantages. One of the
disadvantages was they were not easy to maneuver like a horse. If wounded or if they lost their
driver the elephants could turn on their own army. If this happened they could cause chaos and a
lot of damage to their own side. It is for this reason that the driver would often carry a hammer
and chisel or spike to drive down into the back of the head of the animal stopping it or killing it
quickly. (Griffiths)
The use of elephants as a weapon began about 4000 BCE in the Indus river valley.
Elephants were used by the Sultans of India against the Mongols, but it was Alexander the Great
that brought the idea of using elephants beyond India. Alexander discovered the use of Elephants
in his battle against Porus in 326 BC and after defeating Porus took the surviving elephants with
him. The elephants proved a mighty resource in battle and the use of them picked up in
popularity after Alexander. The Greek General Pyrrhus used elephants in his armies. (Griffiths)
After Alexander elephants were a symbols of wealth, power, and status of an army. It is
because of this status that there are famous elephants of history. Surus the African Forrest
elephant crossed the Alps with Hannibal to attack the Romans during the 2nd Punic war. In India
Kandula the elephant was King Dutugamunu the ruler of Sri Lankas royal mount. In 801AD
Charlemagne the Frankish King had Abdul-Abas. Hano a white Indian elephant was sent by
King Manuel I of Portugal as a gift to Pope Leo X in 1514. Lin Wang was an elephant used by
both sides during WWII. He started off being used by the Japanese until captured by General Sun
Liren of China. After the war Sun took Lin Wang back to China where he eventually ended up in
the Taipei zoo. He lived there until 2003 when he died at 86 years old. (Barkdale)
The fear factor lost its power as more and more armies became familiar with war
elephants. Armies came up with strategies to limit the effect of the elephants. Some of these

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strategies were separating and letting them run past and attacking them in a way as to make them
turn on their own army. Other strategies included poking and hurting them and getting them to
turn on their own armies. The elephants days on the battlefield came to an end as gunpowder
started becoming a part of warfare. An elephant was no match for musket balls and eventually
armored vehicles took their place.
Elephants were used more than just on the battlefield. These large animals were strong
and were used to clear paths. An elephant could knock over or uproot trees with their trunks.
They carried vital resources such as food and equipment. They were used to make the roads to
transport the armies. It was in this capacity that elephants were used in WWII and Vietnam. In
WWII James Howard also known as Elephant Bill showed the advantage of using these
animals to transport heavy supplies through the jungles and across river not assessable by
vehicles. (Knodell)
The US Army Corps used elephants at the airfield in India to load planes. They were also
used once in a salvage operation for a plane that crashed in the jungle. In 1960s Elephants were
employed along the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War by both the north and the south
to move heavy supplies. In 1968 2 elephants were loaded on 2 CH53 helicopters and dropped in
the central highland of Vietnam to perform farm tasks. (Knodell)
Elephants have had a long run in helping with the outcome of wars. From Ancient India
in 4000 BCE to Vietnam in1968 almost 6000 years they have served well in battle. All that time
they have served their masters in battle and been used to protect them. As technology has
progressed and helicopters, tanks, and other armored and amphibious vehicles have come into
being the elephant can take a much deserved break from being a tool in warfare. We now need to

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protect these animals as they fight their own war for their survival against the men who kill them
for their ivory, causing their numbers to be low and them to be on the endangered species list. ii

Bibliography
Barkdale, Nate. 10 Famous Elephants from History. 2014. 11 June 2016.
<http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/10-famous-elephants-fromhistory>.
This article give a summary of 10 famous elephants some of which were used
as war elephants. It is interesting to see how prestigious it was to own an
elephant. Barkdale shows that these animal were more than just war tools,
their owners named them they were more of a trusted steed in some cases.
Griffiths, Andrew. "the war elephant through history." 22 July 2013. history.com. 12
June 2016. <http:www.articlesonhistory.com/index/the-war-elephant-thoughhistory>.
Griffiths gives a good history of where and how the elephant began its
journey as a tool of war. He elephant was using on the battlefield as well as
the advantages and disadvantages of using them. This article shows how and
why. He also sheds light into the reasons that we stopped using them on the
front lines.
Knodell, Kevin. "battle of the dumbos." 25 March 2014. warisboring.com. 11 June
2016. <http://www.warisboring.com/battle-of-the-dumbos-elephant-warfarefrom-acient-greece-to-the-vietnam-war-ca62af225917#.mnbhtix5b>.
This article gives a brief history of the war elephant and a good description of
why they were no longer useful on the battlefield after the invention of gun
powder. Knodell show good examples of how these animals were utilized after
they were not on the front lines. He explains the resourcefulness of some
soldier to use them in later wars for their size strength and ability to get
places in the jungle vehicles could not.

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i Nationalzoo.si.edu was a good source of information for elephant facts such as size,
weight, what they eat, types of elephants, and where they live.
ii worldwildlife.org.n.d is a good resource for more information on which types of
elephants are extinct, which ones are on the endangered species list, why these animals
are going extinct, as well as we are doing to help prevent their extinction.

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