| benglish | 16 Aug 2017 4:33 a.m. PST |
I happened across the 1983 movie UNDER FIRE on TV last night. Decent flick with Nick Nolte playing a war correspondent. The opening scene (set in Chad in 1979 -- I guess at the tail end of the Chadian Civil War eventhough it looks more like the Congo) shows a column of troops moving through the bush, and with them are troops mounted on elephants. The elephants are being used to carry equipment and supplies. This is movie nonsense, right? Or have elephants really been used as transport in any of the modern African wars? And even if it's based in fact, the movie still got it wrong by using Indian elephants for a scene set in Africa … |
jurgenation  | 16 Aug 2017 5:10 a.m. PST |
..I remember same Movie..and I don't remember African elephants ever being used in Africa since Carthage.And yes I think African elephants are too hard to train. |
| Prince Rupert of the Rhine | 16 Aug 2017 5:11 a.m. PST |
I'm pretty sure African savannah elephants are pretty much untrainable and have never been used as pack animals. The wiki page on war elephants has a bit about elephants used in modern warfare that is interesting. link |
 Legion 4  | 16 Aug 2017 6:36 a.m. PST |
Something like this may be used in the Future … my 6mm Squigoths …
[I've added some flock after this pic was taken !] |
| Fatman | 16 Aug 2017 7:59 a.m. PST |
Yeah good film but that scene is pure Hollywood. |
| Prince Rupert of the Rhine | 16 Aug 2017 1:18 p.m. PST |
found this labelled South Vietnamese on patrol
Gennorm | 16 Aug 2017 1:53 p.m. PST |
It was considered during the Malayan Emergency ro help SAS operations but as far as I know never happened. |
| Ryan T | 16 Aug 2017 3:45 p.m. PST |
The Fleet Air Arm used elephants to move their aircraft around at Puttalam on Ceylon in 1944.
Robert Taylor did a great depiction of FIFI hard at work.
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| Lion in the Stars | 16 Aug 2017 7:41 p.m. PST |
I wouldn't be surprised to see elephants at work in Southeast Asia and India (long tradition of draft nellies), but not in Africa. I'd imagine that the SEA folks would want to keep their nellies as far away from the shooting as possible, though, they treat their elephants like members of the family. |
| Legion 4 | 17 Aug 2017 5:35 a.m. PST |
Don't forget the "Classis" film … "Operation Dumbo Drop" …  |
| Noll C | 18 Aug 2017 1:50 p.m. PST |
… or the elephants in the German lines sketched by Lt George from No Man's Land in Blackadder |
| per ardua | 31 Aug 2017 4:08 a.m. PST |
"Good luck against those Elephants Blackadder!" |
| Andy ONeill | 02 Sep 2017 1:08 p.m. PST |
African elephants were trained and used in the belgian congo.
I don't think they are currently though. That's a great picture by robert taylor. |
| Lookingglassman | 22 Feb 2018 8:12 p.m. PST |
A sabot round from a tank will defeat any elephants |
| Wolfhag | 22 Feb 2018 9:16 p.m. PST |
Elephants are an easy target for infantry because they don't have a hull MG for self-protection. Wolfhag |
| Pyrate Captain | 04 Apr 2018 5:50 p.m. PST |
I'd name my war elephant Hillary. I don't really know why. |
