"How Ancient Thailand Used Elephants as Instruments of War" Topic

"The more-aggressive male elephants were trained in loud environments amidst the sound of drums to simulate the environment of war to ensure they wouldn't be spooked during conflict, and they were cajoled forwards into battle with the help of a spear. Sadly, such training hasn't been left in the past; whilst the circumstances and finer details might be a little different, this concept of training such a majestic, wild animal still occurs today in Thailand. The practice of Phajaan, or crushing, is still used by mahouts who wish to make elephants rideable for tourists, a practice which is harmful for the animals and should never be done when visiting Thailand.

The use of elephants in war in the region began as early as the 9th-century. The Khmer Empire—now modern-day Cambodia—ruled Thailand for centuries, with war elephants an effective tool in their arsenal which helped them to conquer and subjugate those around them. The collapse of the Khmer Empire and the rise of Ayutthaya (modern-day Thailand) saw war elephants continue to be used in battle…"

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Armand

Thanks!

Always happy to read about elephants.

Now I just need to check all my rulesets to see which include duels between elephant-mounted leaders…

I vaguely remember a Thai war movie where both sides had war elephants. The "driver" rode on the elephants back and the "fighter", usually with a long pike (maybe a sarissa?), rode in front on the beast's neck.

"The Legend of Suriyothai"? It had a scene like you describe when the Siamese invaded.

Cheers,
John

A votre service mon ami…

Armand

Do not ride elephants while in Thailand.

I'll fix it.

Do not attempt to ride wild elephants in Thailand. It will be a life crushing experience.

(smile)

Armand