Blogging the Bookshelf

Several German Panzer divisions also encountered a new form of unconventional weapon during this fighting. They found Russian dogs running towards them with a curious-looking saddle holding a load on top with a short upright stick. At first the panzer troops thought they must be first-aid dogs, but then they realised that the animals had explosives or an anti-tank mine strapped to them. These ‘mine-dogs’, trained on Pavlovian principles, had been taught to run under large vehicles to obtain their food. The stick, catching against the underside would detonate the charge. Most of the dogs were shot before they reached their target, but this macabre tactic had an unnerving effect.