Elephants In Battle

Many ancient Asian and even African nations used elephants in battle, with the most famous usage being Hannibal of Carthage when he crossed the Alps into Rome in 218BC, starting the Second Punic War.

The inhabitants of Carthage (just across the bay from modern day Tunis) where the descendants of the Phoenicians, and were often referred to as the "Phoeni", as distinguished from the other races that inhabited North Africa at the time, and it is from that term that the "Punic" Wars derived. Hannibal's elephants were from Africa, but they were a smaller species than the African elephant we know today. They apparently became extinct not long after Hannibal's era - possibly due to their use (and losses) on the battle field.

The elephants pictured above are actually Indian elephants, specifically designed for use in the era of the Persian and Greek Wars. After Alexander "The Great" conquered Persia and started using Indian elephants, his successors tended to put more heavy armor on the animals for further protection. Indian leaders were still using elephants in battle in the 1700s when the British and French fought for control of India, but most other nations had stopped using them by Julius Caesar's era.

(Caesar actually took some elephants, driven by dark-skinned African natives with him when he invaded Britain in 54BC. The Celts, who had never before seen either elephants or such dark skinned humans, believed them to be devils).

While they look intimidating, elephants aren't really that dangerous (to a clever enemy) in battle. They are very easily frightened, and ancient generals were very conscious of the risk they would be chased back onto their own troops, causing more damage to their friends than their enemies.

The big "edge" elephants have, however, (and yes, my wargames rules cater for this) is their smell!

Horses are terrified of it, and become much more difficult for their riders to control when they catch wind of it. So if you have elephants, and you are facing an army that has lots of horses in it, you should try to put your elephants in their way.

If you are really observant, you may niotice a painting error in the photo. (I didn't pick it up when I painted the figures, but it stood out like a sore thumb when I took the photo). When I first painted the drivers of the two elephants on the left, I forgot to paint their beards!

I have since corrected the mistake - I just need to update the photo.