The elephant's thick hide protects it from injury. The high riding position gave the rider a good view but made them a visible target.

War elephants were important, although not widespread, weapons in ancient military history. Their main use was in charges, to trample the enemy and/or break their ranks. They were first employed in India, where the elephant corps served as one of the four classical wings of the Indian Army. A war elephant. ... A war elephant. ... For other uses, see Weapon (disambiguation). ... Military history is composed of the events in the history of humanity that fall within the category of conflict. ... Battle of Wołodarka Polish infantry charging enemy positions during the Polish Defensive War A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed to engage in close combat. ...

In the Hellenistic period of Greece, they were also used by the Diadochi to protect against cavalry attack. Their most famous use in the West was by the armies of Carthage, especially Hannibal, who brought elephants with his army to Spain and transported them over the Pyrenee Mountains and Alps into Italy, where he campaigned against Rome for several years. Eventually improved tactics and weapons such as the axe^{[citation needed]} mitigated the value of the elephant in battle, as did decreasing contact with the East at the start of the 1st Millennium AD. However, it was the cannon which brought the combat elephant to an end, war elephants being limited to engineer and labour roles. In general Diadochi (in Greek Διάδοχοι, transcripted Diadochoi) means successors, such that the neoplatonic refounders of Platos Academy in Late Antiquity referred to themselves as diadochi (of Plato). ... For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Hannibal (disambiguation). ... For other meanings see: Pyrenees, Victoria and Montes Pyrenaeus. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ...

It is commonly thought that all war elephants were always male, as they would be more aggressive, but this is not always true.^[1] Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas antiquus † Elephas beyeri † Elephas celebensis † Elephas cypriotes † Elephas ekorensis † Elephas falconeri † Elephas iolensis † Elephas planifrons † Elephas platycephalus † Elephas recki † Stegodon † Mammuthus † Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pachyderm, and the only remaining family in the order Proboscidea...

History

Antiquity

Elephant taming (not full domestication, they were still captured in the wild) may have begun in the Indus Valley civilization around 4,500 years ago. The oldest evidence of tamed elephants is in a Mesopotamian relief, also from around 4500 years ago. The ancient population of wild elephants in Shang China, north of the Yellow river has also led to China as a possibilty.The first species to be tamed was thus the Asian elephant, for agricultural ends. As a result of these 3 ancient centres of elephant usage, we do not know where elephant warfare began. The earliest known military application of elephants dates from around 1100 BCE in Vedic India, which is mentioned in several Vedic hymns from this era. Nevertheless, Mesopotamia and Shang China may have primitively used elephants for military purposes around the same time,^[2], perhaps as early as 1500 BC. However, unlike India, Mesopotamia's and China's populations dramatically declined from deforestation and overpopulation; by c. 850BC the Mesopatamian elephants being extinct, and by c.500 BC the Chinese elephants being of somewhat ineffective numbers, and limited south of the Yellow river. Dogs and sheep were among the first animals to be domesticated. ... Excavated ruins of Mohenjo-daro. ... Binomial name Linnaeus, 1758 Asian Elephant range The Asian or Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus), sometimes known by the name of its nominate subspecies (the Indian Elephant), is one of the three living species of elephant, and the only living species of the genus Elephas. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Veda redirects here. ... Mesopotamia was a cradle of civilization geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq. ... Remnants of advanced, stratified societies dating back to the Shang period have been found in the Yellow River Valley. ...

From India, military doctrines for using war elephants spread to the Persian Empire where they were used in several campaigns. The battle of Gaugamela (October 1, 331 BC), fought against Alexander the Great was probably among the first confrontations of Europeans with war elephants. The fifteen elephants, placed at the centre of the Persian line, made such an impression on the Macedonian troops that Alexander felt the need to sacrifice to the god of fear in the night before the battle. Gaugamela was Alexander's greatest success, but the enemy elephants made enough of an impact on him that following his conquest of Persia, Alexander recognised the use of the animals and incorporated a number of them into his own army. Five years later, in the battle of the Hydaspes River against Porus, although without his own, Alexander already knew how to deal with elephants. Porus, who ruled in Punjab region of modern day Pakistan, employed 85 war elephants in this battle, which presented a great challenge to Alexander, though he eventually defeated Porus in a Pyrrhic victory. At this time, the Magadha Empire further east on the Gangetic plain had 6,000 war elephants, while Chandragupta Maurya years later acquired 9,000 war elephants. These numbers of war elephants were many times larger than the numbers employed by the Persians and Greeks, which was discouraging for Alexander's men and stayed further progress into India.^[3] Persia redirects here. ... Combatants Macedon Achaemenid Persia Commanders Alexander the Great Darius III Strength 9,000 peltasts,[1] 31,000 hoplites,[1][2] 7,000 cavalry[2] 1,000,000 total (See Size of Persian army) Casualties 4,000 40,000[3] The Battle of Gaugamela (IPA: ) took place in 331 BC between... is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the film of the same name, see Alexander the Great (1956 film). ... Combatants Macedonian Empire Greek allies Persian allies Indian allies Paurava Commanders Alexander the Great, Craterus King Porus Strength 34,000 infantry,[2][3][4] 7,000 cavalry[5][6] 50,000 infantry,[7] 5,000 cavalry,[7] 200 war elephants,[8][9] 1,000 chariots[10] Casualties 4,000 infantry... King Porus (also Raja Puru), was the King of Pauravaa, The state falls with in the territory of Trigata Kingdom of Katoch Rulers i. ... The Punjab/ پنجاب province of Pakistan is part of the larger Punjab region. ... A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with devastating cost to the victor. ... Magadha was an ancient kingdom of India, mentioned in both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. ... Allegiance: Maurya Dynasty Rank: Emperor Succeeded by: Bindusara Maurya Reign: 322 BC-298 BC Place of birth: Indian subcontinent Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य; Romanized Greek: Sandrakottos), whilst often referred to as Sandrakottos outside India, is also known simply as Chandragupta (born c. ...

The successful military use of elephants spread across the world. The successors to Alexander's empire, the Diadochi, used hundreds of Indian elephants in their wars, with Seleucus even selling the conquered part of India to Chandragupta for five hundred war elephants.^[4] The Egyptians and the Carthaginians began taming African elephants for the same purpose, as did the Numidians and the Kushites. The animal used was the African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), or another North African relict (Loxodonta africana pharaohensis) population which eventually became extinct from overexploitation^[5]. These animals were smaller than the Asian elephants used by the Seleucids, particularly those from Syria (Elephas maximus asurus), some 2.5-3.5 meters (8-10 ft) at the shoulder maybe. In particular the North African ones of Carthage are not known to have carried a howdah, and were quite often too scared^{[verification needed]} to engage them in combat. The favorite elephant of Hannibal, on the other hand, was described as an impressive animal named Sarus ("the Syrian") and it is likely that at least some Syrian elephants were traded abroad. The African Savanna Elephant (Loxodonta africana oxyotis), larger than the African forest elephant or the Asian elephant, proved difficult to tame for war purposes and was not used as extensively. Elephants used by the Egyptians at the battle of Raphia in 217 BC were smaller than their Asian counterparts, but that did not guarantee victory for Antiochus III the Great of Syria. In general Diadochi (in Greek Διάδοχοι, transcripted Diadochoi) means successors, such that the neoplatonic refounders of Platos Academy in Late Antiquity referred to themselves as diadochi (of Plato). ... Silver coin of Seleucus. ... This article is about the ancient city-state of Carthage in North Africa. ... Distribution of Loxodonta africana (2007) Species Loxodonta adaurora (extinct) Loxodonta africana Loxodonta cyclotis African elephants are the two species of elephants in the genus Loxodonta, one of the two existing genera in Elephantidae. ... Numidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in North Africa that later alternated between a Roman province and a Roman client state, and is no longer in existence today. ... This article is about the Nubian civilization. ... Binomial name Matschie, 1900 The green white orange African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) was until recently considered a subspecies of the African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana); however, DNA testing has now shown that there possibly are three extant elephant species: the two African types, typically considered to be different populations... Binomial name (Blumenbach, 1797) The African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana) is the larger of the two species of African elephants. ... Seleucus I Nicator (Nicator, the Victor) (around 358–281 BC) was one of Alexander the Greats generals who, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, founded the Seleucid Empire. ... The Syrian elephant (Elephas maximus asurus) lived in Syria and Iran before becoming extinct by around 100 B.C. Syrian elephants were among the largest elephants, measuring 3. ... A howdah, or houdah, is an ornate carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal, used most often in the past for rich people who travelled in India via elephant. ... For other uses, see Hannibal (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Matschie, 1900 The African Plains Savanna Elephant or West African Steppe Elephant (Loxodonta africana oxyotis) is the largest of all the living elephants measuring 3. ... The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was a battle of the Syrian Wars between Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. ... Silver coin of Antiochus III. The reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. ...

Sri Lankan history records elephants were used as mounts for kings leading their men in the battle field.^[6] The elephant Kandula was King Dutugamunu's mount (200 BC) and "Maha Pabbata" the mount of King Elahara during their historic encounter in the battlefield. Kandula is a famous elephant mentioned in the Mahavamsa by Mahanama. ... Dutugemunu, also known as Dutthagamani and Gamini Abhaya, reigned 161 BC to 137 BC, was a Sinhalese king of the ancient kingdom of Rajarata in modern day northern Sri Lanka. ...

Pliny the Elder (AD 45) one of the great Roman historians, in Book 6 of his 37 volume history, states that Megastenes had recorded the opinion of one Onesicritus that the Sri Lankan elephants are larger, fiercer and better for war than others. For this reason and the proximity of elephants close to sea ports inter alia made Sri Lanka's elephants a lucrative trading commodity. Even in peacetime, death by elephant was reserved for traitors and other offenders against the state and royalty. Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... A condemned prisoner being dismembered by an elephant in Ceylon. ...

A medieval Armenian miniature representing the Sassanid Persians War elephants in the Battle of Vartanantz.

In the next centuries, further use of war elephants in Europe was mainly against the Roman Republic by Carthage. From the battle of Heraclea (280 BC in the Pyrrhic War) to the famous march across the Alps by Hannibal during the Second Punic war, elephants terrified the Roman legions. Like Alexander, the Romans found a way to cope with the dangerous elephant charges. In Hannibal's last battle (Zama, 202 BC), his elephant charge was ineffective because the Roman maniples simply made way for them to pass. More than a century later, in the battle of Thapsus (February 6 46 BC), Julius Caesar armed his fifth legion (Alaudae) with axes and commanded his legionaries to strike at the elephant's legs. The legion withstood the charge and the elephant became its symbol. Thapsus was the last significant use of elephants in the West.^[7] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2476x1880, 1492 KB) Summary The Battle of Avarayr, Sharaknots, 1482, Akants Desert, MS 1620, 295b-296a, size 12,8 X 8. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2476x1880, 1492 KB) Summary The Battle of Avarayr, Sharaknots, 1482, Akants Desert, MS 1620, 295b-296a, size 12,8 X 8. ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate... Combatants Sassanid Empire Armenian rebels Commanders Yazdegerd II Vartan Mamikonian Strength 180,000 to 220,000(According to Armenian sources) 60,000 Casualties Unknown Heavy Battle of Vartanantz (May 26, 451) is remembered by Armenians as probably the greatest battle in their history. ... This article refers to the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For alternate meanings, see Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century). ... Combatants Roman Republic Epirus, Magna Graecia Commanders Publius Valerius Laevinus Pyrrhus of Epirus Strength 29,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry 31,500 infantry, 4,000 cavalry, 20 war elephants Casualties 7,000 dead 4,000 dead The Battle of Heraclea took place in 280 BC between the Romans under the... Combatants Carthage* Roman Republic* Epirus Magna Graecia Samnium Commanders Publius Valerius Laevinus Publius Decius Mus Pyrrhus of Epirus * Note: Carthage and Rome were not strong allies in this conflict. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Hannibal (disambiguation). ... Combatants Roman Republic Carthage Commanders Publius Cornelius Scipio†, Tiberius Sempronius Longus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, Gaius Flaminius†, Fabius Maximus, Claudius Marcellus†, Lucius Aemilius Paullus†, Gaius Terentius Varro, Marcus Livius Salinator, Gaius Claudius Nero, Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus†, Masinissa, Minucius†, Servilius Geminus† Hannibal Barca, Hasdrubal Barca†, Mago Barca†, Hasdrubal Gisco†, Syphax... The Roman Legion (from Latin , from lego, legere, legi, lectus — to collect) is a term that can apply both as a transliteration of legio (conscription or army) to the entire Roman army and also, more narrowly (and more commonly), to the heavy infantry that was the basic military unit of... Combatants Carthage Roman Republic East Numidia Commanders Hannibal Scipio Africanus Masinissa Strength almost 58,000 infantry 6,000 cavalry 80 war elephants 34,000 Roman infantry 3,000 Roman cavalry 6,000 Numidian cavalry Casualties 20,000 killed 11,000 wounded 15,000 captured 1,500 killed 4,000 wounded... Maniple (Latin: manipulus) was a tactical unit of the Roman Legion, consisting of two centuriae within a single cohort. ... Combatants Populares Optimates Commanders G. Julius Caesar Metellus Scipio †, Cato the younger † Strength Unknown (at least 10 legions) Unknown (at least 10 legions), 2,500 cavalry Jubas allied troops with 60 elephants Casualties 1,000 30,000 The Battle of Thapsus took place on February 6, 46 BC near... is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Julius Caesar (disambiguation). ... Legio V Alaudae, the larks, sometimes known as Gallica, was levied by Julius Caesar in 52 BC from native Gauls. ...

A reportedly effective anti-elephant weapon was the war pig. Pliny the Elder reported that "elephants are scared by the smallest squeal of a pig" (VIII, 1.27). A siege of Megara during the Wars of the Diadochi was reportedly broken when the Megarians poured oil on a herd of pigs, set them alight, and drove them towards the enemy's massed war elephants. The elephants bolted in terror from the flaming squealing pigs (Aelian, de Natura Animalium book XVI, ch. 36). War pigs, also known as incendiary pigs, are those pigs speculated to have been used at most rarely in ancient warfare as a countermeasure to war elephants. ... Pliny the Elder: an imaginative 19th Century portrait. ... Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα (Big Houses); see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ... The word Diadochi means successors in Greek. ... Synthetic motor oil For other uses, see Oil (disambiguation). ... Claudius Aelianus (c. ...

The Parthian dynasty of Persia occasionally used war elephants in their battles against Roman empire, but they were of substantial importance in the army of the subsequent Sassanid dynasty. The Sassanids used these giant beasts in many of their campaigns against their western enemies. One of the most memorable ones was Battle of Vartanantz in which Sassanid elephants caused much fear against the Armenians, which were fighting for Christianity. Another example is the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah in which elephants were used in numbers in the Sassanid army. Parthia at its greatest extent under Mithridates II (123–88 BCE) Capital Ctesiphon, Ecbatana Government Monarchy History  - Established 247 BCE  - Disestablished 220 CE Parthia[1] was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeast of modern Iran, but at its height covering all of Iran proper, as well as regions of... The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquest of Cappadocia was temporary Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of... Combatants Sassanid Empire Armenian rebels Commanders Yazdegerd II Vartan Mamikonian Strength 180,000 to 220,000(According to Armenian sources) 60,000 Casualties Unknown Heavy Battle of Vartanantz (May 26, 451) is remembered by Armenians as probably the greatest battle in their history. ... Combatants Rashidun Caliphate Sassanid Persian Empire Commanders Sa`d ibn AbÄ« Waqqās Rostam Farrokhzād â€  Strength 30,000[1] 120,000[1] Casualties 6,000 [2] 40,000 [3] The Battle of al-Qādisiyyah (Arabic: ; transliteration, Marakat al-Qādisiyyah; Persian: ; alternate spellings: Qadisiyya, Qadisiyyah, Kadisiya) was... Relief of Ardashir I, in Naqsh-e Rustam The birth of the Sassanid army (Persian: ‎ Læškar-e SāsānÄ«yān) dates back to Ardashir I rise to the throne, when he planned a clear military aimed at the revival of the Persian Empire by forming a standing...

Middle Ages

A Romanesque painting of a war elephant. Spain, 11th century.

In the Middle Ages, elephants were seldom used in Europe. Charlemagne took his elephant, Abul-Abbas, when he went to fight the Danes in 804^[8], and the Crusades gave Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor the opportunity to capture an elephant in the Holy Land, later used in the capture of Cremona in 1214. Download high resolution version (400x602, 26 KB)Romanesque painting of a war elephant. ... Download high resolution version (400x602, 26 KB)Romanesque painting of a war elephant. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Charlemagne (left) and Pippin the Hunchback. ... The first historically recorded elephant in northern Europe was Abul-Abbas, an Asian elephant given to Emperor Charlemagne by the caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid, in 797. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ... Frederick II (December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250), of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. ... For other uses, see Holy Land (disambiguation). ... Cremona is a city in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left shore of the Po river in the middle of the Pianura padana (Po valley). ...

The Khmer army waged war with elephants against the Cham in the 12th century.

It was the use of elephants, again by an Indian Sultanate, that almost put an end to Timur's conquests. In 1398 Timur's army faced more than one hundred Indian elephants in battle and almost lost because his troops were so afraid. Historical accounts say that the Timurids won due to an ingenious strategy: Timur set flaming straw on the back of his camels before the charge. The smoke made the camels run forward and scared the elephants, who crushed their own troops in an attempt to retreat. Another account of the campaign (that of Ahmed ibn Arabshah) reports that Timur used oversized caltrops to halt the elephant charge. Later, the Timurid leader used the animals against the Ottoman Empire. Description Khmer army going to war against the Cham Relief at the Bayon temple in Angkor (S section, E gallery), late 12th to beginning 13th century see also: Angkor Thom, Cambodia Source Photographed by Manfred Werner (profile at de. ... Description Khmer army going to war against the Cham Relief at the Bayon temple in Angkor (S section, E gallery), late 12th to beginning 13th century see also: Angkor Thom, Cambodia Source Photographed by Manfred Werner (profile at de. ... Map of Asia and Europe circa 1200 C.E. and the golden age of Khmer Empire. ... This article is about the Cham people of Asia. ... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic monarch ruling under the terms of shariah. ... For the similar-sounding word Timor, see Timor (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Caltrop used by the Office of Strategic Services. ... Ottoman redirects here. ...

It is recorded that King Rajasinghe the First, when he laid siege to the Portuguese fort at Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1558, had an elephant phalanx of 2,200 (Peris 1913). The officer-in-charge of the Royal stables was called the "Gaja Nayake Nilame". His off-sider was the "Kuruve Lekham" who controlled the Kuruwe or elephant men. The training of war elephants was the duty of the Kuruwe clan who came under their own Muhandiram. Map of Colombo with its administrative districts Coordinates: , District Colombo District Government  - Mayor Uvaiz Mohammad Imitiyaz (Sri Lanka Freedom Party) Area  - City 37. ...

Burma (Myanmar) and Thailand also used elephants in all their wars. One famous battle took place in 1591 when the Burmese army attacked Thailand's Kingdom of Ayutthaya. The war ended when the Burmese crown prince Minchit Sra was killed by Thai King Naresuan in personal combat on elephant back in Nong Sarai (Suphanburi). The kingdom of Ayutthaya (Thai: ) was a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767. ... King Naresuan the Great (1555 - April 25, 1605, also sometimes called Naret or the Black Prince, Thai สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช) was king of Siam (today Thailand) from 1590 until his death in 1605. ...

With the advent of gunpowder warfare in the late 15th century, war elephants became obsolete for charging because they could be easily knocked down by a cannon shot. Non-battle-trained elephants have been used for military purposes up to and during World War II^[9], where the animals could perform tasks in regions that would be problematic for machinery. Gunpowder (also called black powder) is a pyrotechnic composition, an explosive mixture of sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate that burns rapidly, producing volumes of hot solids and gases which can be used as a propellant in firearms and fireworks. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Modern era

Today elephants are more valuable to armies for their ivory than as transport, and many thousands of elephants have died during civil conflicts due to poaching. They are classed as a pack animal in a U.S. Special Forces field manual issued as recently as 2004, but their use by U.S. personnel is discouraged since elephants are an endangered species.^[10] The last recorded use of elephants in war occurred in 1987 when Iran was alleged to have used them to transport heavy weaponry for use in Kirkuk. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Poaching (disambiguation). ... A pack animal is a beast of burden used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weigh bears on the animals back; the term may be applied to either an individual animal or a species so employed. ... The United States Special Operations Forces is the official category where the U.S. Department of Defense lists the U.S. military units that have a training specialization in unconventional warfare and special operations. ... U.S. Army Field Manuals are published by the United States Armys Army Publishing Directorate. ... The Siberian Tiger is a subspecies of tiger that are critically endangered. ... Kirkuk (also spelled Karkuk or Kerkuk; Arabic: كركوك, Kirkūk; Kurdish: كه‌ركووك, Kerkûk; Syriac: ܐܪܦܗܐ, Arrapha; Persian: کرکوک; Turkish: Kerkük) is a city in northern Iraq and capital of Taamim Governorate. ...

Tactical use

There were plenty of military purposes for which elephants could be used. As enormous animals, they could carry heavy cargoes and provided a useful means of transport before mechanized vehicles would render them practically obsolete in that respect. In battle, war elephants were usually deployed in the centre of the line, where they could be useful to prevent a charge or start one of their own.

During World War I, elephants pulled heavy equipment. This one worked in a munitions yard in Sheffield.

An elephant charge can reach about 30 km/h (20 mi/h), and unlike horse cavalry, could not be easily stopped by an infantry line setting spears. Its power was based on pure force: crashing into an enemy line, trampling and swinging its tusks. Those men who were not crushed were at least knocked aside or forced back. Moreover, the terror elephants could inspire against an enemy not used to fighting them (even the very disciplined Romans) could cause them to break and run just on the charge's momentum alone. Horse cavalry were not safe either, because horses unaccustomed to the smell of elephants panicked easily. The elephants' thick hide made them extremely difficult to kill or neutralize in any way, and their sheer height and mass offered considerable protection for their riders. Besides charging, the elephants maintained a vital role in providing a stable and a safe platform for archers to fire arrows in the middle of the battlefield, from where more targets could be seen and engaged. The elephant mahouts, and riders in the elephant carriages carried bows and arrows to attack oncoming cavalry and infantry and also carried long spears for close quarters combat. The archery evolved into more advanced weapons, and several Khmer and Indian kings have utilized giant crossbow platforms (similar to the Ballista) to fire long armor piercing shafts to kill other enemy war elephants and chariots/cavalry. The late 1500s also saw the use of culverin on elephants, but the onset of gunpowder made the large and relatively slow war elephants obsolete. Image File history File links Ww1-elephant. ... Image File history File links Ww1-elephant. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Munition is often defined as a synonyn for ammunition. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... Kilometre per hour (American spelling: kilometer per hour) is a unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector). ... Miles per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of international miles covered per hour. ... Not to be confused with Golgotha, which was called Calvary. ... Infantry of the Royal Irish Rifles during the Battle of the Somme in World War I Infantry or footmen are very highly disciplined and trained soldiers who fight primarily with small arms(rifles), but are trained to use everything from their bare hands to missle systems in order to neutralize... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... The Khmer people are the predominant ethnic group in Cambodia, accounting for approximately 90% of the 13. ... The ballista (Latin, from Greek ballistÄ“s, from ballein to throw, plural ballistae) was a powerful ancient crossbow, although employing several loops of twisted skeins to power it, it used torsion (instead of a prod). ... A culverin is a cannon that fires an 18-pound solid round shot. ...

A king chess piece. Note the two culverins on the back of this war elephant.

However, they also had a tendency to panic themselves: after sustaining moderate wounds or when their driver was killed, they would run amok, indiscriminately causing casualties as they sought escape. Their panicked retreat could inflict heavy losses on either side. Experienced Roman infantry often tried to sever their trunks, causing an instant panic, and hopefully causing the elephant to flee back into its own lines. Fast skirmishers armed with javelins were also used to drive them away, as javelins and similar weapons could madden an elephant. The cavalry sport of tent pegging grew out of training regimens for horse mounted cavaliers to incapacitate or turn back war elephants.^[11] Image File history File links Download high resolution version (349x619, 46 KB) Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (349x619, 46 KB) Licensing Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1. ... A culverin is a cannon that fires an 18-pound solid round shot. ... Tent pegging (sometimes spelled tentpegging or tent-pegging) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. ...

Sri Lankan history records^{[citation needed]} that heavy iron chains with steel balls at the end were tied to the trunks of elephants which they were trained to swirl and whirl menacingly with great agility. This was a very efficient way to keep advancing troops at bay. For other uses, see Elephant (disambiguation). ...

In the Punic wars, a war elephant was heavily armoured and carried on his back a tower, called a howdah, with a crew of three men: archers and/or men armed with sarissas (a six metre long pike).^[12] Forest war elephants, much smaller than their African or Asian relatives, were not strong enough to support a tower and carried only two or three men. There was also the driver, called a mahout who was responsible for controlling the animal. The mahout also carried a chisel-blade and a hammer to cut through the spinal cord and kill the animal if the elephant went berserk. Elephants have been compared to Second World War tanks, but their tactical uses differ too much for the comparison to hold. The Punic Wars were a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage between 264 and 146 BC. They are known as the Punic Wars because the Latin term for Carthaginian was Punici (older Poenici, from their Phoenician ancestry). ... For other uses, see Armour (disambiguation). ... A howdah, or houdah, is an ornate carriage which is positioned on the back of an elephant, or occasionally some other animal, used most often in the past for rich people who travelled in India via elephant. ... Archery is the practice of using a bow to shoot arrows. ... For the Bronze Age Hittite city, go to Kusakli. ... A modern recreation of a mid-17th century company of pikemen. ... A mahout is a person who drives an elephant. ... Steel woodworking chisel. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Jayantha Jayawardhene in his "Elephant in Sri Lanka" (1910) gives the view that elephants were unreliable in battle except to intimidate the enemy. He says, "they have been found to be skittish and easily alarmed by unfamiliar sounds and for this reason they were found prone to break ranks and flee."

War elephants in popular culture

In literature

• Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book contains two stories in which war elephants appear, "Toomai of the Elephants" and "Her Majesty's Servants".
• J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional war-beasts, the Mûmakil or Oliphaunts, are modelled after war elephants.
• The Age of Empires series, a real-time strategy game, has war elephants as a unit used by various civilizations.

This article is about the British author. ... Embossed cover from the original MacMillan edition of The Jungle Book, 1894, based on art by John Lockwood Kipling (Rudyards father) For other uses, see The Jungle Book (disambiguation). ... Tolkien redirects here. ... An oliphaunt from Peter Jacksons The Two Towers; note the humans riding on it for size comparison (note also that Tolkien himself did not necessarily envision them as being this large). ... This article is about the Age of Empires computer game series. ... A real-time strategy (RTS) video game is one that is distinctly not turn-based. ...

In film

• War elephants are featured in a key scene in the 2001 Thai film, The Legend of Suriyothai.
• They also have a key scene of Oliver Stone's 2004 film Alexander
• Khan Kluay, a 2006 animated depicts the life of a baby elephant who grows up to become the war elephant for King Naresuan.
• In the Thai movie Tom-Yum-Goong (Warrior king- The protector) Tony Jaa's character's background is raising war Elephants.
• War elephants (along with rhinoceroses) were shown in the movie 300 to be used by the Persian army against the Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae, though there is no historical evidence that they were used in that battle.

The cinema of Thailand has a history that stretches back to early days of filmmaking, when King Chulalongkorns 1897 visit to Berne, Switzerland was recorded by Francois-Henri Lavancy-Clarke. ... The Legend of Suriyothai is a Thai film directed by Prince Chatri Chalerm Yukol of the Thai Royal Family. ... William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... Alexander is a 2004 epic motion picture film, based on the life of Alexander the Great. ... Khan Kluay (Thai: ก้านกล้วย; IPA: ) is a 2006 Thai computer-animated feature film set during Ayutthaya-era Siam about an elephant who wanders away from his mother and eventually becomes the war elephant for King Naresuan. ... King Naresuan the Great (1555 - April 25, 1605, also sometimes called Naret or the Black Prince, Thai สมเด็จพระนเรศวรมหาราช) was king of Siam (today Thailand) from 1590 until his death in 1605. ... Tom-Yum-Goong (Thai: ต้มยำกุ้ง; IPA: , distributed as Warrior King in the UK, as The Protector in the US) is a 2005 Thai martial arts film starring Tony Jaa. ... Panom Yeerum (Thai: ; Khmer: ចាភ្ំ យីរុាំ; IPA: ) born on February 5, 1976 in Surin Province, Thailand, better known in the West as Tony Jaa and in Thailand as Jaa Panom, is a Thai martial art film actor, choreographer and director. ... 300 is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel 300 by Frank Miller, and is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... For other uses, see Battle of Thermopylae (disambiguation). ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

War elephant

• List of battles involving war elephants
• Tent pegging
• Crushing by elephant
• Sassanid army
• History of elephants in Europe
• List of historical elephants
• Military animals
• Cavalry tactics
• Chaturanga (Indian chess) - Includes the war elephant as a chess piece; the bishop piece was originally a war elephant (Gaja). In Russian, the bishop piece is still called an elephant (Слон).
• Chinese chess - Includes the war elephant (象 Xiàng) as one of the pieces; the bishop piece was also originally an elephant.

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Some notable battles involving war elephants include: 331 BC, Battle of Gaugamela 326 BC, Battle of the Hydaspes River 317 BC, Battle of Paraitacene 316 BC, Battle of Gabiene 312 BC, Battle of Gaza 301 BC, Battle of Ipsus 280 BC, Battle of Heraclea 279 BC, Battle of Asculum 275... Tent pegging (sometimes spelled tentpegging or tent-pegging) is a cavalry sport of ancient origin, and one of only ten equestrian disciplines officially recognised by the International Equestrian Federation. ... A condemned prisoner being dismembered by an elephant in Ceylon. ... Relief of Ardashir I, in Naqsh-e Rustam The birth of the Sassanid army (Persian: ‎ Læškar-e SāsānÄ«yān) dates back to Ardashir I rise to the throne, when he planned a clear military aimed at the revival of the Persian Empire by forming a standing... [[Image: // ]]The history of elephants in Europe dates back to the ice ages, when mammoths (various species of prehistoric elephant) roamed the northern parts of the Earth, from Europe to North America. ... Historical elephants Hannibals war elephants -- In 218 BC, Hannibal crossed the Alps with 37 elephants in the Second Punic War. ... Military animals are creatures that have been employed by humankind for use in warfare. ... For much of history humans have used some form of cavalry for war. ... Chaturanga. ... A bishop (♗♝) is a piece in the board game of chess. ... Xiangqi (Chinese: 象棋; pinyin: xi , Wade-Giles: hsiang-chi; roughly pronounced shyang-chee; literally translated as elephant chess) is one of a family of strategic board games of which chess and shogi are also members. ... A bishop (♗♝) is a piece in the board game of chess. ...

References

• Alexander the Great, by Robin Lane Fox, Penguin (2004) ISBN 0-14-102076-8
• History of Warfare, by John Keegan, Pimlico (1993) ISBN 0-679-73082-6
• The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265-146BC, by Adrian Goldsworthy, Orion (2003) ISBN 0-304-36642-0

1. ^ John M. Kistler, War Elephants (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006), xi.
2. ^ War Elephants in Ancient and Medieval China, Edward H. Schafer, Oriens, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Dec. 31, 1957)
3. ^ The Life of Alexander the Great by Plutarch, AD 75.
4. ^ The Classical World, by Robin Lane Fox, Penguin (2006)
5. ^ BBC Science and Nature
6. ^ Sri Lankan Elephants
7. ^ The African Elephant in Warfare, William Gowers, African Affairs, Vol. 46 No. 182
8. ^ His Majesty's Elephant
9. ^ War Veteran Elephant Dies
10. ^ FM 3-05.213 (FM 31-27) Special Forces Use of Pack Animals. John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (2004).
11. ^ Canada's National Tent Pegging Team
12. ^ The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World, H.H. Scullard, The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 9 No. 3

Robin Lane Fox (born 1946) is an English academic and historian, currently a Fellow of New College, Oxford, and University Reader in Ancient History. ... Sir John Keegan OBE (born 1934) is a British military historian, lecturer and journalist. ... Adrian Goldsworthy (born 1969) is a British historian and military writer. ... Mestrius Plutarchus (Greek: Πλούταρχος; 46 - 127), better known in English as Plutarch, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist. ... unit crest John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School (USAJFKSWCS) trains United States Army personnel for the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) and Army Special Operation Forces (ARSOF). ...

External links

Listen to this article ( info/dl)

This audio file was created from an article revision dated 2005-04-21, and may not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

   

• Military Use of Elephants in the Greek and Roman Period
• Elephants in Sri Lankan History and Culture
• The Battle of Khajwa