WWII Photo Feature 27

The following intelligence article and illustration appeared in the September 1945 issue of the Intelligence Bulletin published by the U.S. War Department for military training. Although the Japanese military did make limited use of dogs in WWII, the anti-tank dogs described seem to be the dogs used by the Russians against German panzers during WWII. A Pacific report tells of a Jap Army outfit which will not be popular with the S.P.C.A.—a so-called Trained Dog Battalion, composed of four companies of 250 dogs each. There is a trainer to every four dogs. The brains behind this outfit envision trained dogs, with mines strapped to their backs, sent after advancing allied tanks. The mines are supposed to explode upon contact with the tanks. Dogs are trained by tying meat under a tractor, and teaching the dogs to crawl under the vehicle for their chow. It takes 40 days to teach them to crawl under a slow-moving vehicle. Once Rover has been schooled properly, he is equipped with a saddle-bag pack loaded with explosive and firing device. A 20-inch wooden rod is rigged to the firing device, and sticks up above the dog's back. When the rod contacts the tank body, the fuze is fired.

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