Wings, Tusks, and Talons: A History of Animals in War Protection

From the war elephants of Alexander the Great to the mine-sniffing rats of Tanzania - a sweeping, shocking, and deeply moving history of the animals who fought beside us. They have stormed battlefields as living tanks, flown through machine-gun fire with life-saving messages, and crawled through minefields to protect children they will never meet. In Wings, Tusks, and Talons, Roy Shiba uncovers the extraordinary true stories of creatures conscripted into human conflict - from ancient Assyrian wasp catapults and WWII bat bombs to Cold War spy dolphins and the heroic rats who clear landmines for a banana. Discover the pigeon who saved a lost battalion, the bear who carried artillery shells at Monte Cassino, the Russian beluga whale who may have escaped his handlers, and the Soviet anti-tank dogs that ran home to the wrong tank. With meticulous research and unflinching honesty, Shiba explores not only the courage of these animals but the moral weight of using them. A must-read for military history buffs, animal lovers, and anyone who wonders what we owe the creatures who fight our wars.