Impression sketch
of French War Dog - by
Jamie. Original image can be seen at: <http://www.documentingreality.com/forum/f241/war-dogs-wwi-140711/>
[Accessed: 28 March 2016]
London based Pall Mall Gazette,
Went into detail how the French
Were using dogs as auxiliaries
In war zones - a fact was told how
Shooting dogs were not the best
To assist the army.
An initial belief was overruled by
Presence of mountain and sheep
Dogs, these breeds placed into five
Ranks; messengers, patrols, watch,
Pack and ambulance dogs - all with
Good noses.
Ideally the canine recruits needed
To be gentle and obedient - attempts
To beat a dog into obedience, would
Only heighten their fright - making
Them a danger.
Female animals proved themselves
As better messengers, to carry notes
Over distances; reaching four miles,
To be reliable returning with replies
Without hesitation, or apparent worries
To gunfire.
Ambulance dogs had been taught
To return a wounded soldier's cap
Or handkerchief - the technique was
Changed to avoid mistaking bandages
For handkerchiefs.
The process had altered, for the dogs
Taught not to touch vital dressings -
Instead to retrieve an item close by;
Equipment, a pipe or a stone to show
They had discovered a wounded soldier
Needing attention.
Those trained for
watch dogs would
Pick up any
nearby hostile presence
Or approach - indicated by their alert
Attitude - or by
giving a low growl; not
By barking.
A newly trained
dog brought into
The front trenches one night, kept
His attention to
a corner of trench
And would not
turn away - guards
Said the handlers
idea of Germans
Nearby as absurd.
While the men
felt this impossible,
The handler replied - nothing could be
Impossible - as one
soldier asked
If he perhaps had
detected a enemy
Listening post; they believed one lay
Nearby, undetected.
The leading captain
was informed
Of the watch dog's
alert, to ordered
Fire rockets be
launched - the light
Showed three
Germans were holed
Up, 12 yards away.
That French regiment
had tried
To find out the enemy
post for over
Two months, which the watch dog
Had detected by his
senses within
15 minutes.
An army dog of
the French named
Cadet, had been
assigned tasks -
He worked to
challenge and catch
German dogs -
with daily frequency
Cadet caught
them.
Often the dogs
were bigger than
Cadet, as he grabbed
them by their
Ears to march
them back - this led
him to be mentioned in
despatches
More than once.
by Jamie Mann.
Anon.,1916. Use
Of Dogs In War - How They Serve The French. The Daily Telegraph,
[online] 28 March 1916.
P.5. Col.3. Available at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/12202449/Daily-Telegraph-March-28-1916.html
[Accessed: 28 March 2016].
Mann, J., 2016. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication,
28 March 2016).
#WW1 #WW1centenary #WW1poem #GreatWar #WW1centenary #worldwarone
#worldwaroneremembered #WW1France
No comments:
Post a Comment