Anti Tank Dogs - Hundeminen

Posted: Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:01 pm

In something that sounds more like the makings of a cruel Saturday night live skit, the Russians did actually train and deploy anti tank dogs during WW2. The dogs were trained to run under a tank to eat, and in battle would have a crude explosive on their back, with a lever that would be triggered when the dog went under a tank (or anything else)

There were some MAJOR PROBLEMS with this!

The dog's were trained to run under Russian tanks, and were more likely to run under an friendly tank
Often the dogs would panic during combat and run around the battlefield, causing great danger for anyone around

Not only incredibly cruel, this tactic ended up being very ineffective, if not extrememly dangerous.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia wrote:

Anti-tank dogs, also known as dog mines, are starving dogs with explosives harnessed to their back, trained to seek food under enemy tanks and armoured vehicles. By doing so, a small wooden lever would be tipped, detonating the explosives.

The dogs were employed by the Soviet Union during World War II, to be used against German tanks. Unfortunately, in battle the dogs were as likely to run beneath a friendly tank as they were to attack the enemy. This was due of the fact that the dogs were trained to follow and seek food underneath Soviet tanks, making the dogs less comfortable running towards a German tank. Also, the dogs were reluctant to run towards an active tank, and as such became a menace to everyone on the battlefield. In 1942, after dogs forced an entire Soviet tank division into retreat, dog mines were withdrawn from use.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-tank_dog

Soviet-Empire.com wrote:

The simplicity of the dog mine must have been appealing concept in 1942 when the Russian army was still hard pressed fighting to keep the German invaders in check. The basic idea was that the dog carried on it's back a wooden box or packets containing explosives strapped on with a harness. The dogs were then trained to run underneath enemy tanks and in doing so they would tip back a vertical wooden lever on their backs, which would detonate the explosives, much to the surprise of the German tank crews and the dogs.

http://www.soviet-empire.com/1/military/anti-tank/dog_mine/