[Since ancient times, animals have been involved in the lives of men — and their wars. They are “drafted” into a war, have no choice and no voice, but serve loyally. Animals in wartime have the ability to fight the enemy, transport men and equipment, contribute to the success of military operations, save lives, and boost morale.
These are their stories.]
CAMELS
Camels have been called the “Ships of the Desert” as they thrive and work in a sea of sand, not water. The first documented use of camel cavalries in warfare was 853 BC. They were also used to transport people, goods, and freight as was the case in their use on the Silk Road (second century BCE – 15th century) which was a Eurasian system of trade routes from China and the Far East to Europe and the Middle East, a span of 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers). A caravan on the Silk Road could consist of 500 – 12,000 camels. For hundreds of years they were the only means of transportation in the deserts of Australia, Africa, and Asia.
The two most common camels are the Bactrian (two-humped) and Dromedary (one-humped). Sometime before 1200 BC Bactrian camels could be ridden and saddles for them were developed.
A camel’s unique characteristics make them a valuable asset for use in the desert or other arid and unfriendly environments: (a) able to carry a 600 pound load (270 kilograms) over 60 miles (95 kilometers) per day and can walk 12 hours straight for over 15 days without water, (b) thick, padded feet and long legs allow easy movement over sand and rough terrain, (c) voluntary closure of nostrils in sandstorms and thick, long eyelashes protect the eyes, (d) withstand body temperature changes (hot days and cold nights in the desert) that would kill other animals, and (e) can eat almost all plants including cacti because of their protective leathery, thick mouth lining. It is said that a thirsty camel can drink over 20 gallons of water (75 liters) in a couple minutes.
On the downside, it was noted that horses do not like the smell of camels, and horses could become disoriented and alarmed when near them. Depending on what side you are on, the camel could be an effective horse anti-cavalry weapon.
And since camels move so slowly, they are perfect targets for the enemy.
The United States Army (USA) Camel Corps Experiment
As the United States (US) expanded westward, some military officers as early as the 1830s expressed an interest in using camels in a military capacity in the desert areas of the American Southwest.
In 1855 then US Secretary of War Jefferson F. Davis secured from the US Congress an appropriation of $30,000 to purchase camels in the Mediterranean area. Jefferson, a West Point graduate and former Senator from Mississippi, had served during the Mexican-American War (1846 – 1848) in Mexico and in the Southwest and was familiar with the proposal of camels being used by the USA.
That same year Major Henry C. Wayne of the US Quartermasters Corps and David Dixon Porter who commanded the USS (United States Steamship) Supply set sail to the Mediterranean to purchase camels. In February 1856 the Supply set sail for Texas after purchasing 33 camels in Egypt, Tunisia, and Turkey. On May 14, 1856, the ship arrived in Indianola, Texas, a then port town on the Gulf of Mexico. The camels were moved approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of San Antonio, Texas, to Camp Verde, Texas, which was designated a camel station. It was there that the camels were evaluated for military use.
The camels excelled as pack animals, but soldiers had difficulty with them agitating horses, spitting, biting, and the smell. Then Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee who led a small caravan of camels in 1860 had a positive view of the camels as effective military pack animals. They maneuvered well in the climate and terrain. Some of the camels were moved to a USA post in California.
The start of the American Civil War in 1861 essentially ended the experiment. A dedicated use for the camels was never established, and the war took place mostly in the eastern US with different climate and environment issues than the American West.
Confederate troops occupied Camp Verde in February 1861. One of the camels there, “Old Douglas,” became the mascot of the Civil War 43rd Mississippi Infantry.
In the end, some of the camels escaped, some were sold to circuses and gold prospectors, or simply abandoned. After the Civil War the government sold the remaining camels. There were camel sightings in the American Southwest as late as the 1940s; some of the escaped camels had acclimated to the area and made it home.
Camels in World War I
“World War I [WWI] or the First World War (July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East … [and] was characterized by trench warfare and the use of artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas).” Source wikipedia.org.
The principal Allied powers were France, United Kingdom, Empire of Japan, Kingdom of Italy, Russian Empire (until 1917) and the United States (from 1917) against the Central Powers of Germany, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, and Bulgaria. Between 1914 and 1918 30 global nations declared war and joined either the Allies or Central Powers.
Camel cavalry units were already in the Middle East before the start of WWI. France created a camel corps in 1912 as part of the Armée d’Afrique and was used mostly in the Sahara Desert region. The Somaliland Camel Corps was established by the British in 1912. The Bulgarian military was using camel caravans in 1912 during the First Balkan War.
During WW1 the British Army formed the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps comprised of Egyptian camel drivers and their camels and was used to transport supplies for the British to Syria, Palestine, and Sinai. A British Indian Army unit, Bikaner Camel Corps of British India, fought with the British in WW1 and World War II (WWII).
In 1916 the British created the Imperial Camel Corps (ICC). It conducted long-range patrols in the Sinai Desert and around the Suez Canal. The ICC was a part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) which in WWI had engagements in the Palestine and Sinai campaign. The ICC was disbanded in 1919.
It is estimated that in WWI alone over 100,000 camels died during combat, as well as harsh conditions, neglect, exhaustion, and disease.
Camels in World War II
As in WWI, the military in WWII from a number of nations used camels in warfare notably Britain, France, Russia, Germany on the Eastern Front (camels were also being used in the Germany North African campaign), Romania, Bulgaria, and Italy.
British Imperial units using camels were the Sudan Defense Force, Egyptian Camel Corps, the Indian Bikaner Camel Corps, the Arab Legion, and the British organized Druze Regiment.
The Free French Camel Corps was active in northern Africa and successfully repelled the Italian Army in December 1942 at the Tunisia-Tripoli border.
The use of camels on the Eastern Front by Russia and Germany is a lesser known story.
The Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943) was a Soviet victory commonly considered the turning point of WWII in the European Theater. Military and civilian losses are estimated at over one million. The German 6th Army surrendered on February 2, 1943, the 4th Panzer Army was decimated, and Army Group B was routed.
The city of Stalingrad was the largest industrial center of the Soviet Union, the Volga River served as a transport hub, and controlling the city meant having a strategic location to access the Caucasus oil fields.
Getting military, medical, and food supplies into Stalingrad during the siege was critical to the eventual Soviet victory. And that is when a Bactrian camel named Kuznechik (meaning “grasshopper”) helped support the Soviet effort.
The Soviet 308th Rifle Division formed in March 1942 (later renamed the 120th Guards Rifle Division) had been using a Bactrian camel from Kazakhstan named Kuznechik to transport ammunition, food, fuel, other supplies, and wounded soldiers. The 120th Guards Rifle Division helped defend the Barrikaddy [arms] factory during the Stalingrad siege.
After the Battle of Stalingrad many Soviet military units started using camels. Camels were able to carry heavy loads of cargo long distances over difficult terrain with little food or water. They were especially useful navigating the Russian Kalmyk steppes’ (an area northwest of the Caspian Sea consisting of 24,710,538 square acres (100,000 square kilometers) in the southern theater of the war which was a difficult, open terrain for horses and trucks due in part to primitive roads and lack of water.
The eventual fate of Kuznechik is unknown. One story is that he followed the Soviet troops all the way to Berlin and when led to the Reischtag he spit on it. Another story is that he was killed near the Baltic Sea in 1945 during a German air raid.
No reliable statistics were found on the number of camels killed or lost due harsh conditions, neglect, exhaustion, and disease during WWII. But the count may be equal to or surpass the numbers in WWI.
ELEPHANTS
Elephants were first used by humans in India about 4,000 years ago. Initially used in agriculture but because of their trainability and strength, the elephant was later incorporated into military use. Sanskrit sources cite that the use of elephants for warfare took place around 1100 BC. The type of elephant used, Asian or African, was generally based on geography.
Elephants provided transportation and moved heavy equipment and supplies. Because of their sheer size and ability to charge at a great speed while trumpeting and roaring, they were used as an “elephant cavalry.” The sight of such a cavalry scared the enemy horses and men of an opposing army, especially if they had not encountered military elephants before then.
The military use of elephants is probably best remembered in the story of the Carthaginian military commander Hannibal who crossed the Alps in 218 BC during the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome.
But working with war elephants uncovered some weaknesses or vulnerabilities in their use. An elephant worked best with a mahout (a person who works with, tends to them, and rides them); the enemy would try to kill the mahout to render the animal useless in warfare. The foot pad of the elephant is its “Achilles heel,” so to speak; when barbed planks or spiked devices are put into the path of elephants, the wounding could make them lame. And the elephants trunk was often attacked and damaged, so the elephant was not able to lift up troops to ride them.
Elephants in World War I and World War II
During WWI horses were conscripted (military horses as well as privately owned horses) and sent to the Western Front. This was true in Allied countries, as well as the Central Powers. Germany sent horses to the Western Front but also used them on the Eastern Front. WWI in the Balkans and the Middle East used horses. In WWI military vehicles were not yet in mass use, so animals were used and needed for various purposes.
The shortage of animals for farm work, heavy labor, and other trades created a problem. Elephants, usually from circuses and zoos, as well as camels, were recruited to fill the loss.
Elephants also played a role in WWII and is noted later in this story.
Elephant Heroes
Gyles Mackrell (October 9, 1888 – February 20, 1959) was a British tea planter and representative for tea agents Octavius Steel & Company in Assam, India (a northeastern state in India along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys and south of the eastern Himalayas mountain range), and he owned a Burmese elephant transport business.
The Japanese were advancing from Burma (present day Myanmar) towards India which resulted in refugees fleeing ahead of the Japanese advance. Mackrell received an urgent message on June 4, 1942, that refugees were stranded near the monsoon swollen Dapha River and Chaukan Pass area near the Burma-India border.
After a near 100 mile (160 kilometer) trek through jungles, the elephants arrived at the Dapha River on June 9. The next day when the river calmed, Mackrell rescued 68 members of the Burma Rifles and Burma Frontier Force who had been stranded on an island in the river.
Mackrell set up a camp there and continued to rescue refugees, mainly British and Indian soldiers. By September it is estimated they rescued about 200 people.
James Howard “Billy” Williams (November 15, 1897 – July 30, 1958), the “Elephant Whisperer,” who later in life would also be known as Elephant Bill, was born in St Just, Cornwall, England. His love of animals would be a theme throughout his life.
In WWI Williams served with the Devonshire Regiment, or the “Bloody Eleventh.” His wartime duties would take him to Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. While in Africa he served with the ICC.
In 1920, after the end of WWI, Jim secured a job as a forester with a teak logging company in Burma. While living there he learned the Burmese language and developed his lifelong love of elephants.
In caring for the “fleet” of elephants that he managed in his job, Jim became educated in the medical care and treatment of sick and injured elephants. His close contact with the elephants and his advanced knowledge of animal behavior, along with the love of the species, he would become known as the “elephant whisperer.”
It was assumed in WWII that when the Japanese invaded the Far East and Burma in 1942, they would not advance beyond Malaya and Singapore which was not the case. Being protective the Bombay Burma Corporation decided to evacuate European women and children to India from Burma. While in Burma, Jim had gotten married and had two children. He accompanied one evacuation party with his family but then returned to Burma to help fight the war.
Jim became a member of Force 136, a British intelligence organization, which was a branch of the British Special Operations Executive (SOE). Operating behind enemy lines, Jim’s Elephant Company at its peak numbered 1,600 elephants. The elephants built bridges, carried supplies, smuggled weapons, clean cut trees to create emergency airfields, transported people escaping the Japanese over treacherous mountain terrain, and were used for other needed war efforts. At one point the Japanese “put a price” on Jim’s head.
And this brings us to a main character in this story, an elephant named Bandoola. Bandoola was born November 3, 1897 in Burma. Po Toke, a master mahout, had raised him “gently” without any sort of violence which can often be part of raising and taming an elephant. After Jim met Bandoola, they developed a unique human-animal bond.
In March 1944 Jim was ordered to take his elephants out of Burma to India to prevent their capture by the Japanese and to keep them far from the raging fighting. The wartime actions of Elephant Company was recognized as being indispensable to the Allied effort in Burma, and their protection was vital.
Jim’s trek to safety would be a journey of 120 miles (193 kilometers) on foot through jungle, heavy terrain, and mountainous areas. It was during this journey, which also included 64 refugees, that Jim’s and Bondoola’s bond was put to the test when they encountered one of the five mountain ranges on their flight from Burma.
On the 9th day of the journey to India at the Kabaw Valley, with roads being cut off, the only way to continue their trek was to climb a 270 foot sheer cliff. The issue — climbing is not a natural behavior for an elephant. The cliff was composed of porous sandstone. An “elephant stairway” was needed. So steps were created by sawing steps out of the sandstone to accommodate the size of an elephant’s foot. Vegetation was cut back and so the seemingly impossible journey up the cliff began.
Bandoola led the way up the cliff stairway followed by a line of the other elephants. In total there were 45 adult elephants and eight baby elephants. It took three hours for each elephant to ascend the stairway, and they were all successful.
In April 1944 with the Japanese retreating, it was deemed safe to have the elephants return to Burma. The elephants returned and continued their work helping the Allies.
When Jim returned to the elephant camp at a later date, he could not find Bandoola. After five days of searching he returned to Po Toke’s camp and was told Bandoola was dead. He went immediately to the meadow where he was told he could find the body of his friend. Bandoola had been shot in the head, and his right ivory tusk had been removed. Jim’s investigation pointed to Po Toke as the one who killed Bandoola. Bandoola’s killing haunted Jim for the rest of his life.
Jim had Bandoola buried on the Burma-India border. Carved on a giant teak tree there are the words: BANDOOLA BORN 1897, KILLED IN ACTION 1944.
Part 2 of Animals in WWI and WWII will be about horses.
The story of Bandoola and James Howard “Billy” Williams, the “Elephant Whisperer,” is examined and told in the book Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke.
The tale of Gyles Mackrell’s daring rescue using elephants in WWII can be found in the book Flight by Elephant written by Andrew Martin. Gyles Mackrell filmed part of the rescue; the video can be viewed at BBC News .
A good friend of mine and fellow WWII historian, Floyd Cecil Cox, Jr., passed away in 2023. He encouraged me to start this website and to write the stories of WWII. One of his books that I was given as a remembrance of him was the book Elephant Company. It inspired this story. This story is for you, Floyd.
