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 In 1942, after dogs forced an entire Soviet tank division into retreat, dog mines were withdrawn from use.
The German army learned of the use of Hundeminen as anti-tank weapons,
and on the
Eastern Front dogs were shot on sight, under the pretence that they were
likely to be rabid.
Dogs became scarce as a result, making the use of dogs as a surprise weapon even
more improbable.
After the war, more efficient and easier
anti-tank methods became available, but there has been speculation that this
method was still being used by Russia as late as the mid 1990s.
[[|Pile, Stephen, ]], () (1979). "" [
The Book of Heroic Failures: Official Handbook of the Not Terribly Good
Club of Great Britain], , , , : Futura. ISBN
0708819087..