Figure 1.--Here the Germn 30th Infntry Division, a tansard unmotiruzed division enters Paris. wee see a horse being used by the Germnan commander, presumably General der Infanterie Kurt von Briesen, for ceremonial puposes with fall of France (June 16, 2940). More horses can be sen if you look fr down the German column. You might think this is nont unusul in a cremony, but did you ever see Allied commanders (Marshal, Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Montgomery, etc.). We see images like this in coutless German images. This is because the German Army was dependent on horses. The Germans used more horses in World War II than they did in World War I. This is not widely understood in part because of NAZI Propagnda Minister Josef Gobbels. He liked tanks, but not horses. Thus his army of photograhers (you can see one in this photogrph) were told to photograph tanks, plnanes, and artillery, but there was no interest in horses.

The Germans made the greatest use of animals during World War II. The German Wehrmacht despite its mechanized reputation launched the War heavily dependent of horses as draft animals. The horses als had the advantage thatg they did not use gas/petrol--something which the German military had troublr obtaining in the quantity needed. German industry did not have the capacity to fully mechanize the Wehrmacht. A major problem for the Germans was the inability of German horses to withstand the rigors of the Russian winter. As winter set in at the end of Barbarossa (1941-42), huge numbers of German horses died. The Germans were still using horses in the Stalingrad campaign. There the horses were some of the last food available tgo the 6th Army. The Germans as in World War I also made extensive use of dogs, primarily for sentry duty. The Wehrmacht bred large numbers of dogs. The Luftwaffe also had a breeding program as did the SS for its concentration camp system. Terrible attrocities were committed by the SS with their dogs in the camps. Herman Göring had a special intrerest in animals and hunting. He suppoted a breeding program to recreate the animals that ancient Germans once hunted in the forests of northern Europe. In essence this was a real life Jurasic Park story. And Göring and his associates had an actual park in mind, at the time the Germans began planning, still in pre-War eastern Poland far from the German border.

Horses

The German Wehrmacht despite its mechanized reputation launched the War heavily dependent of horses as draft animals. The Germans actually used more horses in World War II than World War I. They had more horses than vehicles. The horses all had the advantage that they did not use gas/petrol--something which the German military had trouble obtaining in the quantity needed. German industry did not have the capacity to fully mechanize the Wehrmacht. Unlike the Allies and the Soviets, German factories never fully embraced assembly line mass production. As a result, they were not only outproduced by the Americans, but the Soviets as well. Despite having a larger industrial base, they were also out produced by the Soviets. This is why when the Ostheer plunged into the Soviet Union (June 1941), with them was not only 0.7 million horses, but large numbers of civilian vehicles seized from all over occupied Europe creating a nightmare logistical problem for German motor pools. And even with limited motorization, the Germans were unable to supply the vehicles they had with fuel. There were a range of disadvantages. Horses did no provide the mobility and speed needed for the Wehrmacht's stunning Blitzkrieg tactics. And the fodder needed for these horses further strained the already over-stretched Reichbahn. Another major problem for the Germans was the inability of German horses to withstand the rigors of the Russian winter--and it was in the East that the decisive campaign of the War was being fought--the Ostkrieg. There was a non military factor. European agriculture was largely unmechanized. And seizing so many horses affected the farm harvests. Hitler foresaw a swift victorious summer campaign as achieved in France occurred in France. Soldiers moving with horse-drawn carts was sufficient for the relatively small distances involved in the West. A quick victory was possible. The Soviet Union was a different matter. Moving East into the vastness of the Eurasian steppe with horse-drawn carts was a recipe for disaster. As winter set in at the end of Barbarossa (1941-42), huge numbers of German horses died. The Germans were still using horses in the Stalingrad campaign. There the horses were some of the last food available to Paulus' trapped Sixth Army. And they continued using them throughout the War, although they seem conspicuously absent in the Bulge. There the German offensive was premised on seizing American fuel dumps. .

Dogs

The two most commonly used dog breed used in World War II were the German Shepherd (GSD) and the Doberman Pinscher (DPD). YThey weere not the only breeds used, butere by far the most common. The GSD was developed by Captain Max von Stephanitz of the German Army as a working (199-1914). Stephanitz ovr several years bred the GSD for intelligence, loyalty, dedication, and tenacity to be used for for military and police duties. This was a novel exercised. The troops were first amised by the dos and becme attached to them. But they quickly saw tht the dogs could perform very valuable services. The Allies saw this as well and the GSD became a popular breed in America. As Germany moved toward war (1930s), the military again began to create dog units foe extensive use in the War. The primary use was for sentry duty. The Wehrmacht bred large numbers of dogs. The Luftwaffe also had a breeding program as did the SS for its concentration camp system. Terrible attrocities were committed by the SS with their dogs in the concentration camps. This of course is very unsettling for this of us who have special affection for the GSD.

Ancient Oxen

Wildlife biologists Lutz and Heinz Heck launched a breeding program to recreate the animals that ancient Germans once hunted in the forests of northern Europe. They were primarily concerned with the auroch, the wild ancestor of modern oxen. he Lutz brothers were the directors of the world famous Berlin and Munich zoos. They began the project before the NAZIs seized power, but got important support after the NAZIs were in power. The idea of reenginnering aspecies once hunted by anvient Germans fit in nicely with NAZI ideology, especially the idea of survival of the fitest. An anything that harkened back to the purity of ancient German appealed to the NAZIs. The Heck project attracted the support of Herman Göring, the second most powerful man in the Reich. Göring had a special intrerest in animals and hunting. One of his many titles was Reich Master of the Hunt, a position he took seriously. His favorite residence was Carinhall--a converted hunting lodge. And as Heck's project began to bear fruit, a reserve for the animzls was needed--in essence a real life Jurasic Park story. Carinhall was a temporary sollution, but Heck and Göring had a reserve on a more grandiose scale in mind. The Białowieża Forest. Forest. At the time this was a huge area in eastern Poland far from the pre-War German border. Once the War began the German seized the Białowieża Forest and converted into a vast reserve that was returned to natural forest. Göring used Luftwaffe ground units to clear the Forrest of all people. Jews found there were sumarily shot andleft to rot. This was one of countless examples of how the Holocaust was not just an SS operation, but conducted with the active particiption of the Wehremacht. Poles were driven out. At the same time, the Lutz brothers pilfered zoos in occupied Europe for their breeding program.

Pets

Created: 3:09 AM 7/16/2014
Last updated: 1:20 AM 6/6/2022