Anti-tank dogs, also known as dog mines, were hungry dogs with explosives harnessed to their back and trained to seek food under enemy tanks and armoured vehicles. By doing so, a detonator (usually a small wooden lever) would be set off, triggering the explosives and damaging or destroying the military vehicle.
The dogs were employed by the Soviet Union during World War II, to be used against German tanks. The dogs would be kept without food for a few days, then trained to find food under a tank. The dogs quickly learned that being released from their pens meant to run out to where a tracked vehicle was parked and find some food. Once trained, the dogs would be fitted with an explosive charge and set loose into a field of oncoming German tanks and other tracked vehicles. When the dog went underneath the tank—where there was less armour—the charge would detonate and damage the enemy vehicle.
Realization of that plan was less successful. The Hundeminen, as they were called by the Germans, had been trained using Soviet tanks, and would sometimes become confused in battle, only to turn round and run towards the Soviets' own vehicles. Other times, the dogs would spook at the rumble of a vehicle's engine and run away.
According to Soviet propaganda, the anti-tank dogs were successful at disabling a reported three hundred German tanks. They were enough of a problem to the Nazi advance that the Germans were compelled to take measures against them. An armoured vehicle's top-mounted machine gun proved ineffective due to the relatively small size of the attackers and the fact that they were low to the ground, fast, and hard to spot. Orders were dispatched that commanded every German soldier to shoot any dogs on sight. Eventually the Germans began using tank-mounted flame-throwers to ward off the dogs. They were much more successful at dissuading the attacks—but some dogs would not stop, neither for fear of the fire nor of being burned.
However, in 1942 one use of the anti-tank dogs went seriously awry when a large contingent of anti-tank dogs ran amok, endangering everyone in the battle and forcing the retreat of an entire Soviet division[citation needed]. Soon afterward the anti-tank dogs were withdrawn from service.
Training of anti-tank dogs continued until at least June 1996 (Zaloga et al 1997:72).
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