Chapter 105 "Ancient Tanks" - War Elephants

In the history of ancient warfare, there used to be a special force, the Elephant Army, which played the role of modern weapons and tanks in modern troops in wars.A trained war elephant is brave and invincible when it comes to battle. It can break through city gates, destroy camps, break weapons, step on enemy troops, and trap enemy formations, often causing great damage to the enemy. The use of war elephants was first used in Southeast Asian countries, and the arrangement of the elephant army is very distinctive.On the back of the war elephant, there is an elephant, with a soldier sitting in the middle, and there is an elephant driver at the front and back of the elephant.Beside the elephant's four pillar-thick legs, there stood a warrior guard with a sword and shield on each side.In this way, seven people form an independent combat unit.It is said that war elephants are famous in history in Thailand.The inscription on the stone stele of Rama Ganxiang in the ancient Tai Dynasty of the Qin State records: Rama Ganxiang rode a war elephant "Nipeng" to fight against the enemy camp when he was 19 years old, rescued his father, and turned defeat into victory.Rama Ganshi's famous name is engraved on the stele along with his war elephant.The most famous elephant war in Southeast Asia was the one fought by King Naresuan of Siam against the Kingdom of Burma in 1584. Hundreds of war elephants were invested. The war ended Siam's dependency on Burma.

The Greeks learned to use war elephants during their expedition to India.In 305 BC, Alexander's general Seleucus made another expedition to India, but it was still unsuccessful.In the peace treaty signed with the Mauryan Dynasty, Seleucus ceded a large area of ​​territory and married his daughter to the Indian king in exchange for 500 war elephants.These war elephants played an important role in later wars.The most famous of these is the battle of Pylos, king of Epirus in northern Greece, who fought with elephants. In 280 BC, Pyrrhus used war elephants to fight the Romans on the Italian battlefield.Pyrrhus was a commander with great military ability. His army included 20,000 heavy soldiers, 2,000 archers, and 3,000 horsemen, as well as 20 war elephants, which appeared for the first time on Italian soil. For special training, an elephant slave will drive the elephant in battle, and four soldiers holding spears stand on the back of the elephant, which is very powerful when charging.

Near the city of Heracles, the Roman legions fought the first fierce battle with Pyrrhus.The well-trained and brave Roman soldiers withstood the powerful impact of the Pylos spearmen and cavalry, and the two sides had seven battles to decide the outcome.Just as the people on both sides were screaming and neighing to fight bloody battles, the war elephants of Pylos attacked bravely.The Roman horses were frightened by these giant elephants and fled around, and the Roman soldiers retreated one after another.Pylos took turns to charge, the Romans were defeated, more than 7,000 people were killed and wounded, and more than 2,000 were captured.In April of the following year, Pyrrhus attacked Rome again.The battle took place in the city of Osculen.The Romans assembled an army of 70,000 men and invented a chariot with charcoal fire.They believed that animals were afraid of fire, and they chose a favorable terrain—a forest as their infantry and cavalry phalanx.But Pyrrhus cleverly led the snake out of the hole and forced the Romans to a plain.After several days of fierce fighting, Roman soldiers suffered heavy casualties at the feet of the elephants.The Romans lost 6,000 men, and their consuls.Pylos also suffered heavy losses: 3,500 lost and slightly wounded himself.Although Pylos won, he had to sigh: "If there is another victory, no one will be able to return home with me." Since then, "Pylos' victory" has been compared to a victory that is actually close to defeat.

In 257 BC, the Romans and Pylos fought their last battle near the city of Beniwendon.Unfortunately, Pylos lost his way, and the Roman archers shot dense rockets at the elephant. The elephant turned and ran backwards crazily, trampling its own army. elephant.Pylos was able to escape under the cover of cavalry. In the history of ancient warfare, the elephant did exert its might as a tank, but its merits and demerits are mixed, because it is a living thing after all and cannot be completely manipulated by humans.It has brought both brilliant victories and unfortunate fiascos to its masters. Weapons come first, usually daggers or swords.Then the lion or tiger that had been hungry for three days was put into the yard, and amidst the cheers of the crowd, a bloody battle between humans and animals began.The wild animals used in the games were almost extinct due to excessive capture, and many dependent countries also fought back because they could not hand in the animals for tribute.The extinction of the beasts also sounded the death knell of the decline of ancient Rome.