During the war, animals were used by warring armies because of their unique ability to undertake tasks that were difficult or impossible for humans. Over challenging terrain, they carried messages and transported equipment, people and supplies. They also helped to find people and save lives. Unfortunately, many animals suffered and died as a result of the war.
Camels
Camels can travel long distances with heavy loads, through hot dry country. Before motorised transport was available, camels were useful for exploration and work in arid regions. They were imported into Australia from the 1860s and used in the outback. During the war, the Allies used camels during the Middle East campaigns to transport equipment and people.
Fresh supplies from ships came ashore on barges and then travelled by camel to military camps. Some camels were used as ambulances, with stretcher-like cacolets attached to their saddles.
The dromedary is a single-humped camel native to the Middle East and North Africa that can:
- carry up to 145kg
- survive without water for up to 6 days
- travel over 40km a day
Camels eat almost any green vegetation they can find in the desert.
The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade was formed in Egypt in 1916. The Corps included men from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In 1918, the Corps was disbanded and the men transferred to the Australian Light Horse brigades due to changing requirements.
Dogs
Dogs worked as guards, messengers, saved lives and were also companion animals.
Sometimes dogs were used to carry important messages when telephone links or wireless failed. A message was secured in a canister attached to the dog’s collar. The dogs were trained to operate in the noise and chaos of battle, and they could move quickly around shell holes and through trenches.
Corporal James Coull from the 4th Division Signal Company with messenger dogs, Nell, Trick and Bullet, France 1918 AWM E02318
Teams of large dogs could be used to haul heavy equipment, such as carts loaded with a machine gun or ammunition.
Many dogs were adopted as mascots and pets.
Donkeys and mules
Donkeys are smaller than horses and are well suited to hot rugged environments. They can travel quickly over rough country, even when weighed down with a heavy load.
Many donkeys were brought ashore at Gallipoli to help with transport. They would haul ammunition, supplies and water from Anzac Cove up the steep hillsides to the men in the trenches. They also became walking ambulances.
Private John 'Jack' Simpson of the 3rd Field Ambulance became famous for using donkeys at Gallipoli. Simpson would lead a donkey to carry wounded men from the front line to the beach for treatment. He worked with donkeys every day until he was killed in action on 19 May 1915.
Horses
Horses were needed for the officers and many of the troops in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during the war.
The Australian Government preferred to buy Waler horses because they were:
- medium-sized tough bush horses
- more suited to a fast walk or smooth canter, instead of an unsettling trot
- suitable for heavy pack duties
- tolerant of extreme stress from lack of food and water
Walers were well suited to the desert conditions in the Sinai Campaign.
Most horses need about 30L of water per day, but a Waler in the Middle East could survive up to 3 days without a drink. They proved to be better than camels for quickly transporting troops to a battle.
Individual horses were selected for their ability to carry up to 120kg, day after day. This load included a rider, saddle and horse tack, rations for the horse and rider, a bedroll, clothing, rifle and ammunition.
While on the move, the horses were fed from a nosebag, a canvas bag filled with feed and tied over its head.
During the war, horses were used as transport to:
- deliver mail
- pull heavy military equipment and ambulance wagons
- carry the wounded out of battle
Australia shipped some 120,000 horses overseas during the war. More than 81,000 were sent to India. Over 39,000 horses served with the AIF, mostly in Egypt and Palestine with the Australian Light Horse.
The AIF horses travelled by ship with the men.
It took about 6 weeks to ship the horses from Australia to Egypt or England. Sadly some horses died on the voyage.
To prevent illness during transport, decks were kept clean, horses well fed and stalls well ventilated. The horses were massaged regularly to keep them healthy. In the port, they were often unloaded one by one using a crane.
The AIF sent more than 6000 horses to the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 but most were returned to Egypt. The rugged hills and gullies of the Gallipoli peninsula more suitable for donkeys.
Just as the soldiers needed food every day, so did their horses. Food for horses is called 'fodder'. Each horse needed the equivalent of a bale of hay per week.
The original caption of this image reads:
A general view of our supply company at Heliopolis 2nd oasis camp. There are three companies in the 20th ASC the first, second, & third. Every third day it falls to our lot to supply all the units with fodder for the horses which total something like 5,000. What you see here in the picture will only last for one day. It averages about 1/6 a day for each horse to feed & it is costing the Government a nice little penny. They do very little work.
Caring for a horse included many extra daily tasks:
- grooming (rubbed, massaged and brushed)
- hooves cleaned and polished
- exercise to keep fit and increase stamina
- feeding and watering
- training to obey commands and withstand battle noises
Specialist horse handlers and veterinarians travelled with the horses and helped to prepare them for battle.
Famous Australian poet Banjo Paterson, who wrote the poem 'Waltzing Matilda', was an experienced horseman. During the war, he was a Major in command of a remount squadron. Paterson also worked as a journalist and ambulance driver during the war.
On the Western Front in Belgium and France, opposing lines of trenches were dominated by artillery, mortars, machine guns and small arms. The trenches were bombed by aircraft. Conditions were made worse by cold, rain and mud. This was a terrifying place for horses and other animals.
Australian war correspondent, Charles Bean, wrote in his diary:
The poor old things were covered with dry mud, their tails clotted with it, their eyes blinking at you through it.
No animals used in the war could be brought home due to Australia’s strict quarantine laws, which helped to prevent the spread of animal and plant disease and pests. Some men tried to smuggle small animals home, and sometimes they succeeded.
At the end of the war, Australians had to decide what to do with more than 20,000 horses in the Middle East and Europe. In France, Belgium and England, the horses were sold to locals. In Egypt, donkeys and camels were more popular work animals, and many soldiers feared their horses might be mistreated. Commanders decided to give some horses away. Many horses were sold to the British Indian Army, which had purchased many Waler horses from Australia before the war.
Horses that were too old or unfit to give away had their manes shorn and shoes removed before being euthanised by a veterinary officer. No doubt, many light horsemen were very sad to farewell their horses.
Only one horse is known to have returned after the war. Sandy the Waler was originally owned by Major General William Bridges, who died at Gallipoli. Then Sandy served in Egypt and France until, after months in an English quarantine station, he returned to Melbourne by ship in 1918. When the horse died years later, his head was displayed in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Pigeons
The pigeon is a hard-working military bird. Pigeons can fly fast over very long distances - without stopping - and they have very strong 'homing' instincts to help them find their way back home to their loft.
The Australian Corps Signal Company used pigeons kept pigeons in lofts. The birds were delivered to the front line in baskets and released with messages on the situation.
The birds would carry messages in small containers attached to their legs, or in small pouches looped over their backs.
When a pigeon returned to the loft, its message was secured and the valuable information was reported.
Sometimes a message didn't get back to base. Pigeons could be shot down by the enemy, blown off course in bad weather, or die of exhaustion.
Mascots for military units
Sometimes animals served as mascots or symbols for military units during the war. Dogs were the most popular companions. They provided friendship and comfort to the soldiers before and after deployment to the front.
The unusual mascot of the 2nd Divisional Signals Company in France was 'Jackie' the rooster, who had come from Egypt as a chick.
Ship's cats were common on ships to catch the rats. The mascot of HMAS Encounter was a kitten who would sit inside a large naval gun.
Some troops brought animals from Australia to Egypt, like kangaroos and koalas, but they could not go home again due to the cost and quarantine laws. At the end of the war, many were donated to the Cairo Zoo, which was said to have a large collection of Australian native animals in the 1950s.
During and after the war, animals helped soldiers who were recovering in hospitals.
In Melbourne, 'Cocky' the cockatoo became a mascot for veterans in No. 1 Red Cross Rest Home. He was known to use colourful words that made the nurses blush and the soldiers laugh. He even spoke some German. One nurse recalled that Cocky 'gave much pleasure to many a sick man'.
Veterinary care
The Australian Army Veterinary Corps was formed in 1909 to care for horses in the military.
Veterinarians treated animals with wounds and injuries, and inoculated them against dangerous diseases if vaccines were available. They also looked after their teeth.
Horses were often injured when they stepped on nails. The nail injury was called a 'PUN', which stood for 'picked-up nail'. Nails became a common source of lameness because they were left in the ashes of burned packing boxes, which were raked out onto roadways on the Western Front.
The 9th Australian Mobile Veterinary Section, attached to the 4th Australian Light Horse Brigade, in camp. The horse in foreground is having his fetlock bandaged and two soldiers are stretching out a bandage ready to roll it up.
Memorials to animals
Thinking about the animals that died during wartime makes us sad. We can also feel proud and thankful that they worked hard to help save lives. At many memorials, animals help us to remember the people who served in the war and those who died.
Lest we forget animals on Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.
Glossary
- cacolet
- euthanise
- quarantine