“Both the Allied and the Central Powers used tens of thousands of homing pigeons to send messages between military detachments. In fact, they were so important to communication during the war that the British Defense of the Realm Act made it a crime to kill, wound, or otherwise molest, or not take adequate care of pigeons.”3
Pigeons saved hundreds of thousands of soldiers lives from all of the belligerents due to their keen ability to relay information quickly and efficiently. Among these ordinary war-time animals were others less common, such as slugs. Simple garden slugs were the most qualified candidates for detecting mustard gas. The best way for soldiers to detect a presence of gas was through smell. One would experience a funny smell, …show more content…
The commandant of the brigade noticed that no matter how he shifted the position of his forces, enemy bombardments were always accurate. He came to the realization that there had to be a spy in their midst, however no human efforts could uncover the mystery. Helda once attacked a soldier named Vachet. Her behaviors toward him were so suspicious that commandment and other soldiers became weary about Vachet. He denied all accusations until his day in court came. Helda was present for the event, and at sight of Vachet, became vigilant, “snarling madly and struggling to get at him.” She finally got lose and attacked Vachet again, and this time Vachet helplessly screamed out admittance.1 The keen senses of Helda and other dogs alike allowed for many noteworthy successes for all belligerents. Another use included medical detachments. They are trained to look for wounded soldiers, particularly in no man’s land. The dogs would use their sense of smell to scope out soldiers, and then lead its handler to the position. This implementation saved the lives of wounded soldiers with a timely response, and the lives of countless soldiers who did not have to wander the land searching. By 1915, German Army dogs had been credited with the saving of over 4,000 wounded men.6 Communication was also a large concern that dogs dealt with during the war. The most dangerous task dogs had was as messengers. Their small stature compared to a
Pigeons saved hundreds of thousands of soldiers lives from all of the belligerents due to their keen ability to relay information quickly and efficiently. Among these ordinary war-time animals were others less common, such as slugs. Simple garden slugs were the most qualified candidates for detecting mustard gas. The best way for soldiers to detect a presence of gas was through smell. One would experience a funny smell, …show more content…
The commandant of the brigade noticed that no matter how he shifted the position of his forces, enemy bombardments were always accurate. He came to the realization that there had to be a spy in their midst, however no human efforts could uncover the mystery. Helda once attacked a soldier named Vachet. Her behaviors toward him were so suspicious that commandment and other soldiers became weary about Vachet. He denied all accusations until his day in court came. Helda was present for the event, and at sight of Vachet, became vigilant, “snarling madly and struggling to get at him.” She finally got lose and attacked Vachet again, and this time Vachet helplessly screamed out admittance.1 The keen senses of Helda and other dogs alike allowed for many noteworthy successes for all belligerents. Another use included medical detachments. They are trained to look for wounded soldiers, particularly in no man’s land. The dogs would use their sense of smell to scope out soldiers, and then lead its handler to the position. This implementation saved the lives of wounded soldiers with a timely response, and the lives of countless soldiers who did not have to wander the land searching. By 1915, German Army dogs had been credited with the saving of over 4,000 wounded men.6 Communication was also a large concern that dogs dealt with during the war. The most dangerous task dogs had was as messengers. Their small stature compared to a