The troops of Ancient Rome in their battles willingly used a very original "weapon". These are the famous fighting dogs of the Roman legions. These animals were not tasked with delivering mail or taking out the wounded. No, these were war dogs specially trained to kill …
Four-legged weapon
The first evidence of the use of dogs in military operations dates back to the times of Ancient Ggypt. There is a curious depiction of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in battle: next to his chariot, dogs “attack”. And the ancient Persians were familiar with this type of "weapon". It was thanks to the invasion of Xerxes that the Greeks became familiar with this unusual way of using dogs. The Greeks began to purposefully breed dogs for the needs of the armed forces. The main canine center in Hellas was the Molossian region. Hence the name Molossky mastiff and Molosser came from. This was the name of the best fighting dogs.
During the wars of Rome with the Greek states, these dogs ended up in republican Rome. Over time, the Romans brought the matter of training fighting dogs to the maximum perfection that the ancient world knew.
Killing machine
Military dogs were trained to fight the enemy from puppyhood. For this purpose, we used training methods that have retained their relevance to this day. The assistant teacher, dressed in a special cape made of a thick hide, teased the dog, driving it into a frenzy. When the teacher released the dog from the leash, she threw herself on the "tease" and gnawed at him with her teeth. At this time, the helper tried to expose the dog to potentially vulnerable body parts (focusing on the warrior in armor).
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So the dogs developed the habit of grabbing the enemy for certain, most vulnerable places. People who teased dogs were often changed to instill in the dog anger towards all people, and not towards a specific person. At the next stage of preparation, the armor of the enemy was put on the clothing made of the skin, then the armor was put on the dog, gradually accustoming it to fight in an environment as close as possible to combat. Dogs were taught to push, hit the shields, clink weapons, horses. As a result, after such training “at the exit” we got a perfect four-legged “killing machine”.
Bite to death
So what did a fight with fighting dogs look like? In battles, whole packs of such dogs were used. They rapidly cut into the enemy's battle formations, causing incredible confusion, crippling horses, wounding and overturning enemy soldiers.
In addition to disrupting the enemy's battle formations and distracting his attention, fighting dogs literally destroyed enemy soldiers. The entire system of training a fighting dog was aimed at ensuring that, seizing a warrior, the dog fought with him until he won or died in a duel. It was extremely difficult to tear off or hit a heavy, physically very strong dog specially trained to kill a person.
The use of dogs against the Germanic barbarians was especially successful for the Romans. Those, as you know, almost did not know armor and often fought just half-naked. What a tasty prey they represented for hundreds of angry dogs!
Often, dogs were dressed in special armor to make them less vulnerable to blows from melee weapons. The armor consisted of a metal or leather carapace that covered the back and sides of the dog. Sometimes a metal helmet was worn on the dog's head. In addition to armor, collars with long spikes or blades were worn on dogs. With their help, the dog stabbed and cut through the body, legs and arms of enemy soldiers, wounded the tendons of the legs and ripped open the bellies of horses. Dogs for which there was not enough armor were painted with various frightening patterns. In battle, packs of dogs were looked after by beaters who commanded the dogs on the battlefield. At a signal, the dogs were released from the leashes and set on the enemy (preferably from the flank or rear).
The attack of the furious painted dogs produced a strong psychological impression. She unwittingly aroused deep fear in enemy soldiers. And the one who is afraid, as a rule, loses. So the Roman legions owed their "invincibility" to their four-legged "fighters" as well …
Dmitry STRUKOV