The Olden Days Panzer/Tank-The Elephant

Modern armies rely on the tank or panzer as an essential part of their offensive capability. But in an age long past the elephant fulfilled the same purpose. The elephant is a large mammal and its natural habitat is Africa and South East Asia. With a developed civilization and abundance of this beast in the sub continent the use of the elephant was predominant in India. The epic Mahabharata (4000 BC) makes the earliest mention of the elephant as an instrument of war.It certainly was used in the battle at Kurukshetra. The rulers of the sub continent made good use of the elephant for a massed charge and also as a weapon of shock and awe.

The Hindu King Porus confronted Alexander with 200 elephants at the battle of Hydaspes in 326 BC. By all accounts it was a terrifying battle and though technically Porus lost, yet it was enough to stop the Greeks from advancing further. Selecus the Greek general who faced the elephants of Porus followed the Hindu Kings and incorporated large elephant corps in the Greek army. Thus the war elephant became the mainstay of the Armies of that period in India.

From India, The practice of using war elephants as an adjunct to military charge spread to the west and Greece . Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus and Hannibal against the Romans made notable use of the elephant as an instrument of war.But the elephant did not become the main stay of the European armies as elephants were not available in Europe.

However in the sub continent the elephant reigned supreme and the Generals of this period had their strategy based on large elephant corps. They were normally placed in front and had cavalry and infantry on their flanks. The strategy was to lead a massed charge to the accompaniment of drums, trumpets and conch shells. The idea was to over awe the enemy and scare him. A massed charge by elephant could reach speeds of almost 28- 30 km/h. Such a charge was difficult to stop and the elephants moved forward spreading confusion in the enemy ranks. The shock effect cannot be underrated. Many soldiers were sometimes just crushed to death.

The elephants had also ornate armor to cover them for their defense. The Hindu Kings like Raja Harsh and the Magadha kings had large elephant forces. These elephants normally were winners in case the battle was fought in hilly terrain or a battle field.The hey day of the elephant was till about 1200 AD. But Muslim invaders with swift moving archers on horses put a question mark on the utility of the elephants.

The commander-in-Chief normally mounted an elephant and directed the battle. This helped him control the battle from a vantage point but also made him vulnerable. It is estimated that at a conservative estimate at least a 100,000 elephants may have died as instruments of war. The introduction of muskets and cannon in mid 1700 put an end to the use of the elephant as an instrument of war.

It will not be wrong to say that the elephant was in the olden days the equivalent of the modern Tank/Panzer divisions.